approached him.
‘Hey, wanna dance?’ she’d invited, standing before him in a silver mini-dress that clung in all the right places, hip cocked, bee-stung pout covered in war paint.
He’d declined, of course. Just looking at her had stirred up a dark lust inside him that, at seventeen, she had been way too young to handle.
‘But you danced with Jordana,’ she’d complained, fluttering ridiculously long eyelashes like a woman on the make. ‘And the girl with the blue dress.’
‘That’s right.’ His friend Gabriel had elbowed him. ‘You did.’
‘So? What about it?’ Lily had shifted her weight to her other hip, her dress riding up just that tiny bit more, head tilted in artful provocation.
He’d been about to refuse again, but Gabriel had interrupted and said
he’d
dance with her if Tristan wouldn’t, and for some reason that had got his back up.
He’d thrown his friend a baleful glare before focusing on Lily. ‘Let’s go.’
She’d smiled her now famous million dollar smile at Gabriel and Tristan had gritted his teeth and followed her onto the dance floor.
As if on cue the music had turned dreamy and he’d almost changed his mind. Then she’d turned that million dollar number his way, stepped into his arms, and he’d no longer had a mind to change.
‘It’s a great party, isn’t it?’ she’d murmured.
‘Yes,’ he’d agreed.
‘This is nice,’ she’d prompted.
‘Yes,’ he’d agreed.
‘Are you having a good time?’
Not any more; not with his self-control unravelling with each breathy little question.
He remembered he’d been so focused on not pulling her in close that he failed to notice when
she
had moved in on
him
. Then he’d felt the slide of her bare thigh between his jean-clad legs and the thrust of her pert breasts against the wall of his chest and self-control had become a foreign concept.
His hand had tightened on her hip to push her back, but she’d gripped his shoulder and looked at him with such unguarded innocence his heart had skipped a beat, and almost of its own accord his hand had slid around to the sweet indentation at the small of her back.
Her breath had hitched and when she’d stumbled he’d caught her against him. Her body had instantly moulded to his as if she was unable to hold herself upright. And he’d been unable to hide his physical reaction from her. His body had been gripped in a fever of desire: heart pounding, body aching and warning bells clanging so loudly in his head it was a wonder he’d been able to think at all.
He’d stupidly danced her into a secluded corner, with every intention of reprimanding her and telling her he didn’t
do
girls barely out of nappies, but she’d quivered in the circle of his arms, lips delicately parted, and he’d fused his mouth with hers before he’d even known what he was about.
The bolt of pure heat that had hit his groin at the contact had almost unmanned him.
Before he’d known it he’d had one hand tangled in her golden mane, the other curved over her bottom and his tongue deep in her mouth, his lips demanding a response she had been more than happy to give.
He’d completely lost all sense of where he was, and hours could have flown by before a hand had circumspectly tapped him on the shoulder.
Thomas, the family butler, had stood behind him, seeminglymesmerised by the imported mirror balls suspended above the dance floor.
Apparently his father required his presence most urgently.
For a second Lily’s dazed disappointment had only been outweighed by his own. Then he’d realised what he’d nearly done and been appalled at himself. She was his little sister’s friend, and the erotic images playing through his mind were highly inappropriate.
He remembered he’d abruptly released her and curtly told her not to bother him again, that he wasn’t interested in babies. And then she’d punished him by attaching herself to some Armani suit for the rest of the night like ivy on a brick
Skye Malone, Megan Joel Peterson