You're just horny, maybe you need to screw Paxton.
We don't speak for the rest of the song. We move around the dance floor, or rather, Harry glides us around.
Damn, the man can move.
I sink into his touch and his cheek rests on top of my head as my face presses against his chest. We sway to the slow, sensual sounds of the band as the lighting dims and sparkles cascade across the dance floor.
The song now playing sounds like an Elvis track, but I am too lost in Harry's touch and his spice-scented cologne to really take notice.
His hand drifts up my back, stroking my exposed skin. Every stroke of his fingertips ignites a fire in my belly. I let out a slow breath and an unfamiliar feeling washes over me. I can't put my finger on it. My eyes flutter shut as I let myself get lost in the music and his touch.
The song ends abruptly, and the band’s singer announces that it’s nearly time to cut the cake. I let go of Harry's hand as if he were burning my skin and step back. Tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, I avoid his gaze. He clears his throat and I glance up, not liking the expression on his face. His brows are furrowed as if he's trying to work out what that was happening between us just then, the same way I am.
Anxiously smoothing out my dress with my hands, I say, “Well, thanks for the dance. Punishment is over.” I stride past him, heading for the bar at the side of the room, needing something to numb this feeling that's bubbling inside me. I don't have time, nor do I want to think about what that moment meant.
Chapter Two
Harry
What the fuck just happened?
How did we go from having a sparring match to me holding her in my arms, stroking her buttery soft skin and smelling her coconut shampoo?
I sniffed her hair. I need to get a grip.
I turn quickly, watching as she quick steps it to the bar. No doubt wanting to drown out the memory of what just happened between us because I’m about three steps behind her, needing to do the same, pretending that I’m not watching her perfectly round ass that is hugged by the pink silk fabric of her gown.
She reaches the bar and asks the bartender for two shots of vodka.
Fuck, she’s going for the hard stuff.
I come up behind her, pressing my front to her back.
“Make that four please.” I gesture the number with my fingers.
She spins her head so fast I'm surprised she hasn't snapped her neck.
“Who said you could join me?”
“It's a free bar, babe. I can drink what I like, where I like,” I argue, giving her a grin I know irritates the hell out of her.
Rolling her eyes, she turns to face the bartender as he places four shot glasses on the bar top and pours Belvedere vodka into each glass.
I move so I'm standing next to Ali, at only 5ft 6 with heels on at a guess, she barely reaches my shoulders. We take a glass each and I clink mine with hers.
“Cheers to us getting along for more than five minutes. That's got to be a new record for us,” I say, giving her a wink.
We throw the shots back, and I wince as the liquid hits my tongue. Vodka wouldn't be my poison of choice, but if she's drinking it, I’ll go with it. We take the next one, clinking our glasses together again, and take it down in one.
She drinks it as if it were water, not wincing. Placing her shot glass down she turns to look up at me and gives me the most genuine, sexy smile she’s ever given me. Alice Hart may be one of the most beautiful women I have ever met. From the moment I met her all those months ago, I was enamored by her. Her big icy blue eyes and long blonde hair stood out from across the room and when I saw that she was friends with Ria, I wanted to know everything about her.
I know I’m a joker, always being the class clown. My ability to crack a joke has got me through some of the worst times in my life and usually, that charm has afforded me the ability to get just about any woman I set my sights on… except her.
Ali has been the toughest nut to crack. I hoped she would warm to my charm, but she hasn't... yet. She challenges me in a way no other woman has, and I'd be lying if I said that the wayshe fights back doesn’t turn me on. However, she can be damn right bitchy at times, and I have never known a woman I’ve wanted to both fuck and tape her mouth shut for some peace and quiet.
Hmmm, maybe I could combine the two.
“So, are we going to talk about that little moment we just had back there, Ali Cat?”