Page 11 of Embers in the Outfield

The moment the song ends, “Freak-A-Leek” comes on, and I immediately spot Clay’s eyes on me. The moment our eyes connect, he’s pointing at me, moving those hips of his. If the Nichols men can do one thing, it’s dance. Clay gets close to me and moves his hand around my waist. I move with him, my back against his chest, and once again get lost in the movements. I’ve always felt completely at ease around Clay, and we’ve danced together before. It’s always been entirely platonic.

I hear a chuckle from him and look back to see what’s got him laughing. I look in the direction of his gaze and realize he’s chuckling at his brother, who’s eyeing us as he dances with one of Sam’s cousins, Taylor. Before I know what’s happening, I see River say something to Taylor, gesturing toward Clay and me. Once River makes his way over, I feel like the temperature of the ballroom has increased tenfold. I’m not sure why, but the anticipation of River and I dancing causes my heart rate to spike.

Without asking, River juts his chin, and it seems to be all Clay needs to walk away from me. Clay quickly kisses my cheek and says, “Try not to bite his head off,” before he saunters off to find his next dance partner.

As River gets closer to me, his strong hands take hold of my hips and move me closer to him. Unlike my movements withClay, with River it feels electric. We haven’t danced together in years, usually avoiding sharing the same air when possible. But tonight, something has switched, and each time his eyes have found mine, he makes me feel like my skin is on fire.

River points a smile my way, his eyes shining, and I see the sweat lining his forehead. He’s been dancing as much as I have. I saw him moving his body with every woman on the dance floor, although now that I think about it, he hasn’t danced with his date most of the night.

He’s charmed everyone he’s shared space with tonight. Each one is captivated by his beauty and his moves. I don’t blame them. He knows what he’s doing, and I can’t help the way my mind deviates to how those hips would hit all the right spots in bed.

Where the fuck did that come from?

“I like you like this,” River whispers in my ear, his lips grazing my skin, and I swear I feel my pussy aching in need.

I’m speechless for a second, trying to allow my brain to catch up with my body. Finally, words process and spill out. “Like what?”

“Quiet. Not inventing ways you could cut me up and feed me to the wolves.” He laughs, his movements light, and I can’t help but laugh with him.

“Yeah, well, you’re making me feel good right now, so I have no complaints,” I say and then wish I could immediately take it back.

He pulls his face away from me, probably in shock, then gives me that panty-melting smile where his dimples make my ovaries want to explode. I’ve apparently lost my mind.

He brings his lips near my shoulder, moving up my neck to the lobe of my ear. I am immediately turned on, and I feel the goosebumps lining my flesh.

“Oh, Skipper. You have no idea how good I could make you feel.” His words surprise me, and I lean into his heat.

We continue grinding our bodies together, and the longer we’re in this close proximity, the more turned on I’m becoming. The way our bodies sway in unison makes me feel like we’re made for one another. And the more River moves his body against me, the more I feel my mind drifting to what else his body could do if we were alone.

The song ends, and River’s face comes close to mine, and I’m paralyzed in place. Is he going to kiss me?

At the last second, he moves his face to my ear and says, “I think I need to grab some water.”

And just like that, it feels like a bucket of cold water was dumped on me. Good thing because I swear I was in a trance.

I simply nod, and he pulls away from me and walks toward the tables. I’m instantly longing for his touch when he steps away. Following him would be a bad idea, so I continue to dance, but something about it feels muted compared to how I was feeling prior to River’s movements.

I look around, hoping to find Mr. Exciting, a.k.a. Darius, but he’s nowhere to be seen right now. Tonight I found out Darius works in finance, which isn’t surprising with his colorful personality. He’s nice enough, but I think my personality would squash him, poor guy.

My eyes connect across the dance floor with River, who is surprisingly not dancing with anyone. I stand there, my gaze locked on his, and his eyebrows rise. Before I can react, he’s walking my way.

I decide I may as well grab some water myself. I start to walk off the dance floor, my gaze swinging around the ballroom, trying to find the bride and groom. They left the dance floor during that last song, where I was lost in a trance with River pressed up against me.

“Looking for someone, Skip?” River’s voice pulls me out of my pursuit.

“Yeah. I don’t see the newlyweds.” I turn my head in search of our friends who were just dancing near us.

“They’re headed out the door as we speak,” River says as he points his chin toward the door to the left.

Right then, I see both of them bolting out the double doors and laughing. Sneaky little shits.

“Where’s Karissa?” I ask next. “I haven’t seen you dancing together much tonight.”

“Oh, you didn’t see?” I give him a questioning look, and he continues, “She found something interesting in your friend Darius, and they took off together about twenty minutes ago.”

I gape at him, astonished we both got ditched. “You’re serious?”

He chuckles, no anger behind his expression. “Like a heart attack. I saw them walking off. Let’s just say he wasn’t giving her information on spreadsheets.” He waggles his eyebrows, and I’m surprised he’s not more bothered by this turn of events.

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