Page 6 of Dance All Night
Her eyes widened, her nostrils flared, and both of her friends sucked in their breaths with loud, excited gasps. One of them was Rhianne, and…was that her tit? What the heck was—?
Jess rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand. “Come on, you. We’ve gotta talk.” Then she dragged him away from her friends, who collapsed into giggles behind them.
Well, shit. So much for being charming.
* * *
Holding his hand,Jess pulled Nik away before he could say some other foolish thing in front of Naomi and Rhianne.Lord. She was never going to hear the end of it from them now.
Nik’s hand was big, his fingers strong but gentle as they gripped hers. How was it that she knew the shape of his mouth, but not his hand?
Jess had been to Rhianne’s house plenty of times, so she knew the layout. She led Nik into the hall just outside Rhianne’s office, but didn’t go inside. Locking them in a room together would lead to kissing, and she wanted to talk to him first.
Once she was reasonably sure they were alone and not likely to be overheard, she crossed her arms and tilted her head at him, sending him an “explain yourself” glare.
He just grinned at her, a silly, sweet grin that made her feel warm all over. Damn, this man was just too attractive.
And…what was he wearing?
His white sleeveless tank showed off arm muscles made for licking, but he’d also hooked a couple small red Christmas tree baubles onto it. The dangling ornaments—positioned right over his nips—had tiny bells attached that jingled when he moved.
It was utterly ridiculous. But somehow completely sexy. And, thank goodness, there were no Rudolph faces in sight.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi yourself. What was that all about?” She jerked her head to the side, indicating what he’d just said in front of her friends.
“Ah, that.” Cheeks red, he rubbed the back of his neck, making his bells tinkle. That adorable boy blush threatened to weaken her resolve.
“I saw you,” he continued. “And then all I could think about was thelasttime I saw you and what I said then. Do you remember—”
“Yeah, I remember.” How could she forget a kiss like that, and the moments leading up to it? She’d wanted to keep going, to rub herself all over him, but then he’d announced that he was leaving the next morning. The kiss had been fun, but that was all. No chance for anything more.
Just like all her other attempts at forming a meaningful romantic connection.
“So, that’s it?” she said. “You wanna know if I’m still single and down for fucking around before you leave again tomorrow?”
He held up both hands and shook his head with a vigorous motion. “No. Not at all. I mean, Idowant to know if you’re single, but not for that reason. And I’m not leaving tomorrow.”
Not tomorrow, but likely at some point. Since her arms were already crossed, she crossed them tighter. “What reason, then?”
Taking a deep breath, he spoke slowly, like he wasn’t completely sure about what he was doing. “I…really liked kissing you. And talking to you.”
She raised an eyebrow. His awkwardness was endearing as fuck, and it was hard to stay annoyed at him, but she needed to sort this out before it went any further.
Nik’s shoulders hunched a bit, like he was embarrassed, and the rest of his words came out in an earnest rush. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you, Jess. All year. I want to see if this thing that I feel… Well, I want to know if you feel it, too. And if so, then…let’s give this a try.”
He paused, waiting for her to speak, but his shy, stilted declaration of intent had stolen her breath and her voice.
This was, by far, the most romantic thing that had ever happened to her in all her twenty-three years. Who didn’t like having a handsome, sexy man tell you he liked you? But it was also unexpected and, she could admit, more than a little overwhelming.
“What’s ‘this’?” she finally asked.
He waved a hand between them. “Us.”
Us. As if they were already anus, athem, a unit. Nerves tangled with excitement inside her. But the nerves reminded her that this wasn’t someone who’d stick around. Hell, he’d already taken off once before. After planting a panty-melting kiss on her, he’d basically said, “Sorry, gotta pack,” and shipped off. And while she was down for another brief lip lock with him, she wasn’t about to get emotionally invested.
In her experience, people their age—and all the guys she’d dated in the entertainment industry since moving to Los Angeles when she was twenty—just wanted to play games in between gigs. How many times had she heard it before, after her heart was already involved?This is just for fun. You knew that, right?And then they were gone—to the next show, the next performance, the next woman. She was a magnet for fuckboys.
