Page 73 of Frozen Hearts
“Why me? Is this because I ran into you? Do you not believe that it was an accident—all three times?”
“This isn’t about that,” he states with a conviction I’m inclined to believe.
But if not that, then why?
“Once again,” he drawls, expression growing sharp. “I’m here for a dance, not an interrogation.”
Alright, asshole, I get the hint.
Keeping my mouth shut, I close my eyes to block him out and instead focus on the music as I begin to move.
I do such an effective job that I forget his presence entirely. Until I feel a sharp pinch to my hip.
“Eyes on me,” he growls when I flick them open to glare at him.
“Hands to yourself,” I bite back.
The asshole smirks, but removes his hand as he rests back in his seat. His eyes remain on mine as I continue dancing. I don’t know why I’m even following his orders. Only now that I’m latched on, I can’t seem to look away.
I give him my best defiant glare, making it crystal clear that he’s not getting to me. Even if he sort of is. This type of situation makes me uncomfortable, made worse by the fact that he is drop-dead gorgeous and has that mysterious bad-boy vibe, and I can’t pinpoint why he came back or even tracked me down in the first place.
“Come on, Babydoll. I know you’ve got better moves than that. You’re supposed to be making me want to rip that corset off and come all over those tits of yours.”
I gasp at his crude words, seriously glad that the thick fabric of my corset hides the hardening of my nipples as I picture him doing exactly that. I shouldn’t be feeling like this… this potent cocktail of trepidation and irresistible attraction that pulls me in like a magnet.
The dark allure of Lux only serves to intensify the moment, adding an air of secrecy. An aura of possibility. An intoxicating liberation that heats my blood as though I’m dancing on the edge of a precipice.
I’m not Riley. This isn’t the real world. In this club, we’re drawn into a hidden world where real-life rules are disregarded and a passion burns fiercely like a flame on a frozen winter’s night.
Still holding his gaze, I steel my spine, and placing my hands on his knees, I slowly glide them up his thighs. Even through the stiff fabric of his jeans, I feel him tense. Bent over, I lean in until the swell of my breasts are right in front of his face, our breaths mingling.
“Like this?” I purr, wondering when I was body snatched because, honestly, I’ve never heard that husky rasp before.
“Better.” His own voice has taken on a rough quality that scrapes along my skin, encouraging me on.
Slowly rising, my chest brushes against his, and I relish his rough swallow and the way his Adam’s apple bobs. He stares transfixed at my blushing flesh before slowly lifting his gaze to mine, his ice-blue irises darkening into deep pools of blue. Static charges in the air between us, the moment growing heavy. Too heavy. The intensity is too much, and before I can do something stupid like close the distance and press my lips to his, I spin in my heels.
Sucking in a breath, I fan my flaming skin as I shake my ass in his face.Remember this is a job,I mentally chastise as I focus on my body and not the tall, solid, muscular one behind me.
Moving to the beat of the soft, sultry music, I plant my hands on his thighs and lean back until the length of my torso brushes along his.
As though he can’t help himself, his hands move to my hips. I stare down at where his long, nimble fingers, ridged with callouses and scored with scars, press into my skin. Instead of the daunting fear I always imagined when being touched while performing at Lux, my skin burns as though branded, and I half expect to see the outline of his hand when he removes it.
Sliding my ass over his crotch, a cocky smirk graces my lips, and I ignore the shot of liquid lust that zaps through me. “Mmm, I’d say I’m doing a pretty good job meeting your expectations.” Emphasizing my point, I press more firmly against his straining erection. “Just so you’re aware. There are tissues in the bathroom… you know, in case you come in your pants.”
His chest vibrates with a silent growl, his fingers digging sharply into my skin. “It would take a lot more than the graze of your ass against my dick to get me off, James.”
I suck in a gasp at hearing my surname; it’s akin to the shattering of a mirror. The illusion is broken.
It snaps me out of whatever headspace I was in, and I stiffen before pulling away.What the hell was I thinking? This is not me.
His hand tightens on my hip, stopping me from putting distance between us, and his breath in my ear elicits a shiver. Holding me in place with one hand, the fingers of his other skate along my upper thigh.
He moves closer to the junction between my legs, and I snap them together in a moment of self-preservation. At the last second, he wedges his leg between mine, creating enough of a gap to slide his hand through.
“Tut tut. Think you can hide from me that easily? I see everything you don’t want me to, James.” His hand slides steadily lower. “You think you’re getting to me, but IknowI’ve gotten to you. So are you going to tell me, or do I have to find out for myself?”
“Find out what?” I ask on an unsteady breath.
