Page 21 of Tempting

KENZIE

Nixon takes my hand in his and moves us onto the dance floor. A slow Van Morrison song replaces the more upbeat tune that just ended, and he pulls me in close to his chest. His hand covers mine over his heart, and if I didn’t know better, I’d swear my own heart skips a beat in return. Only this isn’t an arrhythmia as much as an overactive imagination.

One of the things I’ve come to realize I was lacking in DC was human touch.

It sounds silly with what I do for a living. You’d assume I touch people every day, so how could I be lacking it? But that kind of touch isn’t intimate. It’s just not the same. Not the way I’ve experienced it since coming home.

I missed this.

This... Dancing closely with a man. Hugging my friends. Holding my niece in my arms. It’s jumping on Nixon’s back and the way my brother kisses the top of my head. All the little things everyone else does so easily every day... everyone but me, and I’m only just beginning to remember what I was missing.

Or it could be me just overthinking. Again.

Nixon wraps an arm around my back, and his big palm presses gently between my shoulders. I stiffen at first, caught slightly off guard. “Sorry about him.”

“What do you have to be sorry about? Your brother should be overprotective. It’s our job as brothers. Be grateful you only have one. Everly and Grace have three.”

“I guess,” I agree, slightly mortified not only by my brother’s actions but also by my spiraling thoughts as I lean into Nixon’s warmth.

“Why do I make you nervous, Mac?”

I can’t blame him for the question. I’m doing a lousy job of hiding it. “It’s not you, Nix. I’m just not used to... this.” I blow out a breath, trying to figure out how to explain it to him without sounding like a fool. “To guys like you.”

“Guys like me?” He does that thing again where he bends his knees so we’re eye to eye, and I really wish I knew why the hell I find that so incredibly sexy. “Should I be insulted?”

Luckily, he seems amused, not annoyed.

“No, Nix. I promise it’s not an insult. Not at all. Guys like you,” I stammer, trying to put my feelings into words. Words that will preferably not completely humiliate me. But I fear it’s too late. “Flirty guys. Touchy guys. Cool, confident, cocky guys... I’m not used to it.”

He holds my eyes with his for a long beat before straightening back to his full, impressive height without backing away.

If anything, he pulls me closer.

Holds me tighter.

“Wait a minute...” The grin he gives me should be illegal, it’s so potent. “The guys in DC aren’t touchy? Poor fucks don’t know what they’re missing. There’s nothing like a woman’s soft skin.” His fingers trail up my neck, sending a chill down my spine, and Nixon’s eyes crinkle before they narrow on me. “There were guys, right? Probably chasing after you the way they did in high school.”

I look away instead of answering, debating how much I want to tell him and wondering what the hell he thought he saw in high school. Because my recollection and his seem very different.

“What?” he asks as his hand cups the back of my neck and lifts my face to his.

“No, Nix. They weren’t chasing me. Not in high school and certainly not during my residency. We were all too busy for that. Quick hookups were all most of us had time for.”

A muscle twitches in Nixon’s jaw, and I add it to my growing list of all the things I find surprisingly sexy about the twins’ brother. “I know we’re friends, but I’m not sure I want to be the kind of friend who hears about your hookups, Mackenzie.” His voice rumbles deep and gravelly, and ho-ly wet panties. That sound reverberates like it has a direct line to all eight thousand nerve endings in my clit.

All. Eight. Thousand.

“You’re safe then,” I admit as a hot flush creeps up my cheeks. “No hookups.”

The song changes again. A more sultry beat plays, and it’s like we’re two magnets drawn to each other. Each inching the tiniest bit closer. Almost involuntarily.

Nixon’s hold on my throat can’t possibly not look possessive.

It certainly feels that way, and I don’t hate it.

“Did you have a boyfriend my sisters didn’t mention?” His tone is casual as he slides the hand resting on my hip over until it rests just below my waist but not quite on my ass.

Damn. I haven’t had a man touch my ass in so long, I think I lost count of the years.

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