“As ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s do it.”
* * *
Ten minutes later, we’re in the VIP section of the club with champagne flutes in hand, and the girls are chattering with friends who arrived before us. The DJ is killing it, and the dance floor is packed.
A warm feeling washes over me, because I helped make this happen. Gabriel’s club is a hot spot again, and that’s a reason to celebrate.
I take a step toward Kelsey and the railing that looks down over the dance floor, but the hair on the back of my neck stands on end, and I pause.
He’s here.
Slowly, like I’m afraid I’ll spook a wild animal, I turn in the opposite direction.
The dim lighting leaves him mostly in shadows, but he’s never looked more devastating. Black slacks, black shirt open at the throat, a silver watch glinting at his wrist, and his dark blond hair slicked back against his head.
Oh. My. God.
My mouth actually waters at the sight of him.
From his posture, he looks like an arrogant god, come down from Mount Olympus to survey the humans out of pure boredom. At least, until I get to his eyes. The piercing blue rakes over my body, and his nostrils flare as his chest rises and falls. Each breath seems more labored than the last.
It’s the breathing that gives me confidence. I walk toward him, my hips swaying, closing the distance one measured step at a time. In the dim light of the club, I can barely make out the pulse at the base of his neck, but I’m pretty damn sure it ticks faster the closer I get.
Thank God.Because I couldn’t handle it if I were the only one falling apart inside right now.
He holds up a hand like he wants me to stop, and I freeze where I stand. His eyes rake up and down my body, as if he’s memorizing exactly how I look. I wait one beat, two, then three ... until he finally moves.
His hand slides into mine and he pulls me close, until I can feel the heat radiating off his body.
“Fuck. Me. You look incredible.” His voice is normal volume, but competing with the din of the club, it sounds like a whisper.
My nipples peak, and even the lining of the dress and the built-in bra cups won’t be able to prevent him from seeing how much he affects me.
“You look pretty amazing yourself,” I tell him, squeezing his fingers.
“I can’t see you like this. Not with people around us. I can’t be held responsible for what I’ll do to you if you turn around and I see the back of that dress.”
I don’t know if the devil’s riding on my shoulder, or if I’m just hedging my bets, but I pull away from him and slowly turn around in a move that would make Bad Scarlett proud. “You mean like this?”
“Fuck.” The word comes out raw and guttural, but I don’t have a moment to appreciate it.
Suddenly, his hand is back in mine and I’m being pulled away from the VIP section to an alcove in the corner, where he pins me against the wall with his front to my back and his lips at my ear.
“I have never faced temptation this strong and been able to walk away.” His breath tickles my skin, raising goose bumps all over my neck.
“Maybe that’s exactly what I was planning,” I tell him, turning my head so our lips are only an inch apart.
His palm wraps around my thigh, a few inches above the knee, and glides upward until it’s under the hem of my dress.
“I sure as hell hope so. Because if you want me to let you go, you’re going to have to say so right now.”
His fingers move so close to the burning heat of my center that I can barely form a conscious thought.
“Please ...” I whisper the word against his lips, and his fingertips ghost over the tiny scrap of lace I wore for modesty’s sake. But there’s absolutely nothing modest about what I’m feeling right now.
“Oh, fuck. Me. Jesus Christ, you’re so hot,” he growls in my ear. “You want me to touch you? Right here? Where anyone can see us?”
I totally forgot where we were. If someone came over to this alcove, there’d be no question that something private was happening. Old Scarlett, the Scarlett who existed before Gabriel Legend, would have freaked out, but with his hand hovering over my pussy while my body is going up in flames ... I don’t care at all.