Page 28 of Take the Lead
God, she loved that.
With each song, they moved closer. Their bodies touched and rubbed, all hot sweat-slicked skin, her red dress vibrant in the changing lighting, his white T-shirt turning red, then purple, then blue, and back to red.
She arched and rolled, aware of every inch of her skin, and his. She wanted to climb him like a tree and wrap her legs around his waist. He’d cup her ass with those massive hands—something he was very careful to avoid doing, although tonight they wandered just a bit more than they ever had during practice.
Stone was so respectful of her. He knew he was big and burly, and since their first meeting, he’d done everything in his power not to frighten her again. Sweet, sweet man.
She just wanted his hands all over her.
The music changed again. They were barely dancing salsa now. Their bodies were too close, as if he were also reluctant to put space between them. His chest heaved, and god, she just wanted to dig her fingers into those impressive pecs, and no, she wouldn’tstop there. The man had abs for days, leading down to those sexy, sharp indents at his hips…
Sticking around for his spray tan earlier in the week had been a terrible idea. She knew everything under his clothes—well, almost everything—and it had fueled her daydreams all week.
But they weren’t at work now. There were no cameras, no nosy producers. Gina indulged herself and sank her fingertips into his shoulder, trailing them down to feel the muscles outlining his upper arm. He flexed, and she closed her eyes.
He was just holding her now, not moving. One of his arms wrapped around her waist, pressing her against him. Somewhere along the way, she’d reached up and thrown an arm around his neck, the height difference forcing her to arch her back. Her breasts pressed against his chest and her leg—what the hell?—one of her feet was on the floor where it belonged, but her other leg was bent and hitched up on his hip, held in place by his hand gripping the bare skin of her thigh.
Gina opened her eyes. Stone’s face was close, his nose touching her cheek, his open mouth just to the side of hers. Her body trembled in his arms, urging her to close the remaining distance. Her chin tilted a fraction of an inch, bringing their lips that much closer. His lower lip brushed the corner of her mouth. She breathed him in deep and let out the breath on a moan.
The song ended. In the moment of silence, Stone’s eyes met hers. They stared at each other, breathing hard. He was so close, close enough to kiss.
Except Gina didn’t fuck around with her dance partners.
“I have to go home.” The words fell out of her in a rush, her voice low and breathy.
He nodded and released her immediately. She untangled herself, her body already going into shock from the loss—cold sweat, rubbery legs, trembling nerves.
How much had she had to drink? Too much. Way too much.
She stumbled off the dance floor and found Natasha at the bar.
Tash took one look at Gina’s face and grabbed their purses.Without even saying goodbye, they hustled out of the club and into the lot for Gina’s car. Natasha fished the keys out of Gina’s clutch and slid into the driver’s seat. Gina sank into the passenger side and blinked slowly.
“You’re okay with that?” Gina gestured at the wheel.
Natasha sent her a bland look. “As soon as you took that first shot, I knew our designated driver roles had switched. Kevin was drinking my shots.” She gave an evil grin as she started the car. “He’s going to have a wicked hangover tomorrow.”
“Good.” Gina shut her eyes. “He deserves it for winning the trophy so many times.”
Natasha chuckled and pulled out of the spot. “You’re probably going to have a wicked hangover tomorrow, too. You want to tell me what that was all about?”
Gina leaned her overheated forehead against the cool window. Her ears still pulsed from the music, despite the quiet car. Stone’s scent clung to her.
“No.”
She didn’t have an answer anyway.
After Gina got home, the first thing she did was change out of the sexy red dress she’d borrowed from Natasha. She was never letting Tash dress her again. While she changed, Natasha yelled at her from the kitchen.
“By the way, I’m mad at you.”
Gina’s heart sank. “Uh-oh. Why?”
“Come back out and I’ll tell you. I’m making guac.”
Sure enough, when Gina entered the kitchen, Tash was smashing avocados in a silver mixing bowl.
“Why are you making guacamole?” Gina glanced at the clock. “At one in the morning?”
