Page 35 of For Crosby

Crosby burst out laughing. “Any chump, huh?” He glanced to me. “So, you in?”

My shoulders dropped. What. The. Hell? “Will you leave me alone after?”

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“Will you be able to leave me alone after?”

A laugh shot out of me. The guy was delusional. “Oh, I assure you. That will not be a problem.”

He stepped back so I could get off my stool. “Prove it.”

“Watch me.” I hopped down and made my way to the crowded dance floor. By the time I reached it, one of my favorite songs played. My hips swayed and my arms moved above my head as I felt the beat deep inside me pounding away.

Crosby stepped up behind me. His hands landed on my hips. They were strong and steadying and moving right along with the sway of my body. I relaxed, allowing myself to keep pace with the music despite his close proximity. The bass in the song resounded inside my body, thumping in tandem with my heart.

I hated that it felt normal to be dancing with him. That I wasn’t resisting. That I was being weak and disregarding how he treated me. How he acted. All I knew was I had this strong guy holding onto me and he knew how to dance. He knew how to move his body.

The hard plains of his chest pressed against my back, and I relaxed even more, my head dropping against his shoulder. That’s when I felt the hard length of his erection pressing against my ass.

Shit, shit, shiiiiit.

I tried to resist. Tried to stop myself from succumbing to the alcohol coursing through my veins. But my efforts were futile. I pushed back into it. The tingles zinging between my thighs came fast. It was exciting and frustrating all at the same time. The guy I hated could not be the one to awaken my body.

His fingers, still spread on my hips, slipped around to my stomach. I wanted to fight it. Wanted to step away from him. But the hum of my body wouldn’t allow it. He lowered his head, burying his nose into my neck. “You smell amazing.”

Though my thighs quivered, I tried to remain indifferent. “It’s called sweat.”

He laughed. “Well, then I’d like nothing more than to taste your sweat.”

The thought of his lips on my neck sent a delicious shiver rocking through me. “Do lines like that normally work for you?”

“Who said it’s a line?”

His hands slipped under the hem of my shirt and coasted across my bare stomach. “God, you feel so good.”

“You’re a horny guy. Of course I do.”

He shook his head, his nose running along my jawline. “I may be horny, but you still feel right in my arms. I’m wondering how you’d feel beneath me.”

I jerked away from his grasp, spinning to face him. “That.” I jammed my finger into his chest. “That right there is why this was a bad idea.” The traitorous hum of my body persisted as the lights flashed across his confused face. “It’s like you’re capable of being normal for like two minutes then you turn into an asshole. I don’t get it. And I’m over it.” I turned away from him and pushed through the crowd to get back to the table.

Finlay’s eyes told me she’d seen my abrupt departure. She jumped down from her stool and grabbed Caden’s hand. “Let’s go.”

I picked up my beer and downed it.

“Wait,” Crosby said from behind me.

Caden stepped up in Crosby’s face, pressing his hand into his chest. “We’re leaving. You’re not.”

“Dude,” Crosby said.

Forester returned to the table and draped his arm around my shoulder, spinning me away from Crosby. “I leave you alone for a few minutes and all hell breaks loose. You okay?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Just another guy being a jerk.”

“I take great offense to that,” Forester teased as we walked outside the bar, leaving the music and people behind us.

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