Page 22 of Sweet Heat at Bayside
Violet dance-strutted across the floor in her silver-heeled biker boots.
“Mira, want to dance?” Serena shouted over the music as Drake joined them at the table and set the drinks down.
“Yes!” Mira kissed Matt and headed toward the dance floor.
Serena turned to follow her, and Drake caught her by the hand, staring longingly into her eyes. In the next second that longing morphed to something darker, sending her stomach into a wild swirl. She didn’t think as she grabbed the drink he’d gotten for her and guzzled it down.
His eyes burned hotter,hungrier, as if her nervousness was turning him on as much as his interest was flustering her. She grabbed another drink from the table without a care for whose it was and downed it just as fast, taking comfort in the warmth of the alcohol as it slid down her throat. Drake’s eyes flared with a maddening, and equally exciting, appreciation. Never had she been so nervous around a man, so unsure of what she wanted. Or rather, what sheshoulddo. She knewexactlywhat she wanted—the six-foot-two man with eyes the color of night and lips as unrelenting as a bullying wave, who had stolen her heart when she was just a girl.
She turned and made a mad dash to the dance floor.
She weaved through the crowd, hips and shoulders swaying to the beat, feeling looser by the second as the alcohol numbed the worry out of her. Violet and Emery were slithering up and down each other’s bodies in some sort of dirty dance, while Desiree and Mira leaned in close, talking as they moved in purely PG fashion. Driven by the lust pulsing inside her and the tension-easing effects of alcohol, Serena joined Harper in an evocative dance. She gazed up at the colored lights, calmed by the music, feeling it throb and flutter inside her. This was what she needed, to lose herself in something other than Drake, to feel in control again.
“Finally!” Harper yelled over the music.
Serena answered with a bump of her hips.
“Why didn’t you tell me that you and Drake were a couple?”
Violet and Emery cracked up.
“What? We’re not!” Serena shot a look at Mira.
“Don’t look at me,” Mira shouted. “I see what Harper sees!”
Harper’s brows lifted in confusion. “Then I’ve really lost my hotness radar, because the way you two look at each other tells a different story.”
“It’s just a weird night.” Serena raised her arms over her head and closed her eyes for a moment to try to lose herself in the beat again, but all she saw was Drake’s sinful gaze. She opened her eyes as Chloe burst through the crowd and threw her arms around her.
“Sorry I’m late!” Chloe hugged her, then embraced the others. “Wow. You guys all look amazing!”
Violet smirked. “Don’t we always?”
“I know I do,” Emery said.
Chloe pointed to Serena and said, “Are you dressing to get one last quickie in before Boston?”
“Something like that.” Serena had forgotten what she had on. She did look like she was trying to get lucky. Was that why Drake had finally made a move?
“I thought she’d dressed for Drake!” Harper said as they began dancing.
Violet danced over to Serena and said, “So did he,” into her ear.
Serena glared at her.
“She’s been dressing for Drake since she realized she had boobs!” Chloe teased. “Why would tonight be any different?”
“Shut up and dance with us!” Serena said, hoping to change the topic.
They danced in a group to so many songs, Serena didn’t know when the colored lights had dimmed, and she didn’t care. She was a little high and was feeling good. When Harper tapped her on the shoulder and motioned toward Drake sitting at the table watching her like she was putting on a private show just for him, she turned up the heat.
Holding his gaze, Serena thrust out her breasts, rolling her shoulders back, first one, then the other, swaying her hips to the same rhythm. She raised her arms, moving them over her head as she turned seductively. When she’d turned full circle, his face was a mask of wicked intent. His interest made her feel bold and sexy. She sidled up to Emery in a sexy grinding dance. Emery fell right into step, and together they drove Dean and Drake out of their minds.
Suddenly Emery grabbed Serena’s hand, jerking her out of her sensual taunt.
Emery’s eyes widened as she stared at Serena’s new bracelet. “What isthisamazing thing? Where’d you get it?”
“It’s a going-away present from Drake.” Serena’s pulse spiked again, and she stole a glance at Drake, who was still practically drooling over her.
