Page 15 of The Butterfly Effect
Me:You should come out
Three minutes passed before the little bubble with three bouncing dots popped up on the screen. My heart raced, followed immediately by a nervous flutter in my stomach.
William:Oh, should I?
Me:Yes, you need to lighten up a bit
William:And you’re going to help with that?
Me:Maybe. Come to Anthony’s, have a drink, and dance with me
William:No thanks
My heart felt like it stopped beating for a moment. The way he had looked at me at the office and the kiss earlier in the week pointed to his being interested in me. I swallowed my regret with the last shot of tequila on the table and turned to the small dance floor my friends had left me for. Without responding to him, I tucked my phone into my clutch and made my way to the floor to join them.
For what seemed like a lot longer than twenty minutes, I danced with my friends until the embarrassment from my text exchange with William had left my body in the small beads of sweat flowing down my back. The loose-fitting dress I wore hung to just above my knees, but it flowed enough that it didn’t cling and sweat didn’t show on the fabric. I liked the small breeze from the brush of fabric against my bare legs when I rocked my hips or twisted in a circle.
When a man approached me and asked me if I wanted to dance, I agreed. He was tall and muscular, but he didn’t have a lot of rhythm. Dancing with him mostly consisted of me with my hands on his chest, rocking my hips against his. He was enjoying it; I could tell by the way he traveled his hand down my lower back and pulled me close enough to him that I could feel a slight hardness in his jeans. The tequila fogged my judgement, but I still hesitated when he tried to press the rest of his body tightly against me.
I pulled away from the man’s grasp at the warmth of someone standing behind me. My dance partner stumbled backwards and widened his eyes, clearly intimidated. When a strong hand grabbed onto my shoulder, I recognized the faint scent of cinnamon, and the flutters in my stomach raced down to the space between my thighs.
“I’d say it’s time to call it a night,” William half growled in my ear. His breath was warm on my neck, and I shivered. I leaned back against him for only a split second before I stood up and turned to face him.
As a last-ditch effort to maintain my composure, I rested my hands on my hips and narrowed my eyes at him. He smirked, and I imagined his mouth pressing against mine and moving down my body. I shook my head. “I’m not going anywhere. What are you doing here?”
“You invited me.” His expression was cocky, and his raised eyebrow told me he knew my stomach was doing somersaults.
Andy and Katie were watching from a few feet away, probably ready to pounce, but hoping I wouldn’t need them to. “You said no.” I tried to sound confident, keeping my hands on my hips and shifting my weight to my other foot.
“I changed my mind. Now let’s go.” William’s voice was stern and deep, full of enough authority that I could’ve almost blindly followed his direction.
“You’re not the boss of me. I’d rather stay and dance.” As I talked, I moved just slightly with the music, rolling my hips so they brushed against his.
William rolled his eyes, the brown so dark they looked almost black in the lighting, and he leaned into me. “I quite literallyamthe boss of you.” He put his hands on my hips and pulled my body to his, holding me still. I shuddered, having to refrain from melting against him. “You either leave with me now willingly, or I throw you over my shoulder and carry you out.”
I gasped and quickly cleared my throat, hoping he didn’t hear it, but clearly he did. For a moment, I considered giving in and letting him escort me out of Anthony’s and hopefully right to his bedroom. He was here, so he clearly wanted it as badly as I did.
“I didn’t think you played games.” I planted a crooked smile on my face, and before he could respond, I gave him a quick wink and walked past him to join Katie and Andy. I was almost dizzy, surprised by my own assertiveness. Would he follow me? Part of me hoped he’d keep his promise and throw me over his shoulder.
Katie and Andy stared at me eagerly when I got to them. “Please tell me he’s not walking over here.” I held up my head when I spoke in hopes he wouldn’t sense my half panic.
“He’s not, but he’s definitely watching you,” Andy said subtly. She raised an eyebrow, but didn’t look at him for too long. I was glad she didn’t stare, although judging by her facial expression, he was watching me intently enough that he wouldn’t even notice if she did.
I was relieved he didn’t follow me, but disappointed he didn’t keep his word. “I guess I’m going to test him.” I shrugged and took a step past my friends.
My heels clicked on the wood floor as I stepped out to dance by myself, turning and dropping into a low squat. When I was half bent over, I turned and looked at William over my shoulder, smirking and wiggling my hips. Standing up, I turned and kept dancing, narrowing my eyes at him as a challenge. He glared at me, adjusting his posture, and I bet he had moved to hide the evidence he was enjoying the show.
At the same time a hand moved around to the front of my waist, William closed the distance between us. I never got a look at the man who wrapped his hand around me before William grabbed my arm and pulled me against him, shooting a glare over my head at the stranger. He didn’t release his grip from my arm, throwing me over his shoulder moving towards the exit. I swatted at his back in a feeble attempt to get him to put me down before waving at my friends, using my pinky and thumb to indicate I’d call them later.
We were quickly outside the building, and he dropped me to my feet. I tried not to stumble while William used his grip on my arm to lead me into a small alcove in the brick building. I whimpered and tugged on my arm, urging him to release his grip. “You’re hurting me.”
“I’m not hurting you.”
Still, he dropped my arm long enough to plant his hands against the brick on either side of me. My breathing quickened, coming in small, rapid bursts. “It’s probably going to bruise.” I didn’t recognize my voice, breathless and thick with my growing arousal.
William gave me a small smile and sighed when he spoke. “It won’t bruise.”
He stared at me for a moment before roughly pressing his mouth to mine, stopping me from being able to respond. He took control, pushing my lips apart before taking over my mouth with his tongue. I moaned as I pressed my body against him, my chest soft against his hard muscles. With the way he had me pinned to the cold brick, I didn’t have to lean far to reach him.
