Page 7 of Single Dad's Second Chance

Someone, not something, captured my friend’s gaze. I fell right into the same trap.

A taller woman entered, flanked by two more dancers behind her. They moved in sync, but a clear deference was shown to thetaller one. She was in charge—of the number, of the show, of stealing my attention.

Instantly, with the first glimpse of her strutting further onto the stage, she captivated me. I was sucked in, spiraling into an addictive lure to watch her carry her body through the music. Her hips swayed seductively, slow, then fast. Her arms and legs were extensions of the music, interpreted through faster beats and changing tempos. All the while, her chin stayed up defiantly, as if she dared us all to watch.

This wasn’t a woman, but a seductress. A goddess. A vision I couldn’t tear my gaze from for a millisecond.

I didn’t “live it up” often. Going out and catching all the latest wasn’t my style. I was a businessman, bound to my job and ensuring that I impressed my father, but I was human too. I’d partied a bit when I was younger. I’d gone to clubs and shows many times.

I’d seen my fair share of women.

But not her. Not this one.

“Goddamn…” I shared it on an exhale, stunned stupid at the sight of this dancer as she moved off to the side, nearer to where Owen and I sat, while more dancers entered the number after her.

This much closer, I was treated to a more intimate view of this exquisite dancer. Roving my gaze over her, I took in every inch of her supple, smooth flesh, so glossy and glowing under the lights. Muscles moved, proving her athleticism and strength. Her figure taunted me, those curves barely contained in her costume. Her breasts trapped behind the beaded corset, her ass partly revealed from the high cut of her bodice. All of it. All of her. She drew me in until I was trapped and unable to look away.

“Goddamn,” Owen agreed with me belatedly.

I nodded, numb and mute. Taking my stare off her would be a crime, and I couldn’t make my eyes move. Like a moth to theflame, a fly to the honey. I was reduced to a primitive creature, magnetized to this woman.

None of the others mattered. They fell into the background, mere buzz and white noise behindher. The music filtered into my mind like a haze, seeping in and lulling me to hear the beat and see her display it with her body.

“That’swhy this place is a hidden gem,” Owen said, chuckling over the awe in his own voice. “I mean, damn, that woman is fine.”

Again, I nodded without a word, unable to speak yet and unwilling to leave the foggy spell of this woman seeming to dance for me.

Her eyes locked on mine. Despite the crowded seats, all the people watching the show, she seemed to single me out. Me. She was gazing atmeamong all the others out here.

The lights cut between us. The blinding brightness of the multicolored streaks irritated my vision, interfering with my ability to see her clearer. To make a connection. To really peer into her eyes and let her accept that I was devoted to witnessingherdance, no one else’s.

But I didn’t have a chance. She turned, obeying the beat and rhythm of her dance. Given a view of her shoulder, then her back as she spun and moved further back into the crew of dancers, that tether between us was broken.

“Her.” I was obsessed, instantly needy to find this woman. “I want her.”

Faintly, I was aware of Owen nodding next to me. He dodged and leaned with me, tracking that one woman’s dance. “The dancer on the end too. She’s good.”

I had eyes for no one but that one. The taller one in the magenta and green costume with the defiant lift of her chin.

The star.

She could bemystar, at Fifty. Hell, she was the sort of woman to entice a man into wanting her to be theirs, period.

“The taller one. I want her.”

Owen laughed again. “You and every other man in this place.”

“I’ve never seen anyone move like that,” I commented, hating that she was masked. “I’ve got to find her after the show. Maybe we can approach her backstage after the show.”

“To ask her to work at Fifty?”

I frowned, glancing at him when the masked dancer I couldn’t get out of my mind eased further to the other end of the stage, out of my line of sight. “Yeah.” I’d offer her something more competitive than what she made here. I had to.

He smirked. “You sound so smitten.”

I rolled my eyes. “I want her to come work at Fifty.”

“That’s it?” he challenged.

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