Page 90 of Javier

“Frantic, you?” I stared up at this man who was acting so very unlike himself. “What chance were you going to miss?”

“Please.” He spoke into my ear. “Listen to the lyrics.”

The infectious rhythm of Ed Sheeran’sShiversgained volume and momentum. Once again, I fastened my eyes on his face, unable to hide my surprise.

My lips twitched. “Ed Sheeran?”

“Yep.” A rueful half-grin pulled at one side of his mouth. “The guy can say shit I can’t. Just listen. Please?”

He cupped the back of my head and cradled it in his big hand until my cheek laid on his shoulder. Singing the words in my ear, he began to move, a slow, sensual swaying that charged the air between us. My heart beat wildly when he sang in my ear, telling an intimate story about taking an arrow to the heart as if it had come from my bow, and of me being so hot that he shivered whenever he was close to me.

He wasn’t the only one shivering. My skin tingled beneath his touch. The heat of his hand on my bare back did delicious things to my body. His touch smoldered, marked me. We were close now, skin to skin in most places. My neck pebbled with the rush of his breaths and his passion washed over me until the crowd disappeared and we were alone inside the song.

He pressed against me. My form molded to his. His sensual moves persuaded my body to match him sway for sway. He whirled me around like an expert only to welcome me back into his embrace.

This guy could dance.

In his arms, even I looked like a pro.

I’d never felt this good, this wonderful and fluid in motion. He had excellent rhythm and grace galore. Dancing was one of his superpowers, adding to his sex appeal. What was it that my wicked sister Affie liked to say about men?

If they can dance, they can fuck.The better the dancer, the better the fucker.

The needy space between my legs squeezed so hard that the dance floor spun beneath my feet. Desire soaked through my panties and moistened my inner thighs. My body knew what it wanted. Who I wanted.

In Javier’s arms, I was a flame raging around his fire, merging with his blaze, hungry to consume and be consumed. My body responded to his movements with a daring, sexual zest that proved that Prissy Missy and Mousy Missy weren’t in play. It was as if they’d both gone on a hike tonight.

The new me ate up his attention, thriving as never before. As the song went into a faster tempo and a catchy verse, he took me into his arms, spun me once, locked eyes with me, and sang a line that left me breathless, the one that said he wanted to be my guy.

My guy for tonight?

This had to be the most surreal moment of my life.

Am I dreaming?

He tightened his hold on me and showed me with his body that he meant every word he sang to me. The bulge at his groin was large and hot against my belly. Grinding against him, I was caught in the depths of his eyes and the promises that shimmered there.

The song ended. I wanted to keep dancing with him until the sun came up. With great effort, we peeled off each other, a rupture that transformed the world around us into a dissonant blur. The deafening throbs of a techno hit drove the crowd intoa frenzy, but we just stood there, facing each other, our eyes and bodies engaged in an intimate conversation.

“You heard the words?” he asked, his stare both hopeful and cautious.

“I heard the words.” It was all I could manage to say.

“I wanna be the one,” he breathed.

The one to teach, coach, and help me explore. The one willing to give my lust a go and have a sexual adventure with me. My heart ascended in my chest like a helium balloon.

“Angel?” His chest rose with a deep inhale. “Will you please choose me?”

Not Pierre. Not Gerard. Javier, the man I’d wanted all along.

Sometimes a choice was not a choice. “Yes.”

Closing the empty space between us, he took my mouth and kissed me, a reunion of lips and tongues that robbed me of air, thought, and will. Then he reached for my hand, led me out of the crowd, and marched away from the pool party.

“Javi?” I stopped in my tracks, and looking down on my toes, sighed. “I led them on.”

“You led who on?” He cupped my chin and met my gaze before he glanced at the Frenchmen. “Those jerks?” Javier’s surprised eyebrows shot up on his forehead. “They knew the game they played. Lady luck changes her mind a million times a night.”

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