Page 79 of Under an Endless Moon

I’d always danced with her. Since I could remember. It’d always been safe. Fun. A way for us to goof around. But in the last few years, it’d become something else entirely.

It’d become gluttonous, the feeling that swept through me when I was touching her like this, acting like it was as innocent as ever when the only thing I wanted to do was splay my hand over her soft, soft skin.

Explore and taste and devastate.

Raven knew exactly what was up, and she spun out of my hold and moved to her phone on the counter so she could change the music. She switched it to one of those old swing songs I used to teach her todance to years ago, all the way back to when we’d been living in that abandoned house.

The second the quick beat hit the air, she shimmied back in my direction. Pure fuckin’ sass. So goddamn sexy as she strutted in those heels.

I might have been the one leading her, but she was the one who compelled it all. The one who guided me as I spun her and dipped her, both of us giggling as we gave ourselves over to the freedom of the moment.

I spun her in one direction, then the other, before I tossed her out wide. Releasing my hand, she kept going, spinning and spinning across the kitchen floor before she turned to grin at me, standing about six feet away.

“Are you ready for it?” I asked.

“I was born ready for it,” she said with a curve of those distracting red lips.

She moved for me, gliding across the space. When she got within reach, I took her hand, pulling her toward me fast and flipping her over my arm. She squealed as she flew, then she was landing right back on those heels, forever steady on her feet.

It was me who was losing ground.

Me who couldn’t find his footing when I curled her into me, bringing her back to my chest as I swayed us side to side. The next step would have been spinning her back out.

But what did I do?

I banded a greedy arm all the way around her front and tucked her back tight against my chest.

My mouth went to her ear as lust smacked me in the face. “You were born for this, Raven. Fuckin’ perfect on those feet.”

“Born to dance with you.” It was a breathy murmur from her mouth.

I tried to play off our words with a laugh, though I doubted I was pulling off casual, since I pressed my nose to her neck, breathing in the soft flesh at the sensitive spot behind her ear.

Inhaling the overwhelming scent of moonflowers.

As sweet and fragrant as honeysuckle.

Before my urges got away from me, I forced myself to spin her back out, thanking fuck that something on the stove was starting to spit and sizzle. “Looks like we have a bit of an issue on the stove.”

A shaky giggle slipped out of Raven as she turned back to quickly stir the vegetables. “You’re distracting. Get out of here before you make me burn the place down.”

She waved the spoon at me.

I rumbled a chuckle, though it was half in pain. “You know you love it.”

“Of course I do.” Her voice was softer than it should have been.

I cleared my throat, the levity squashed when my thoughts moved to the reality of what was coming. What I was about to do.

“Going to take a shower really quick before we eat. Have a job I have to run tonight.” Could barely force the words off my tongue. “Gotta leave after dinner, and I probably won’t be back until sometime tomorrow night.”

Sticky shame engulfed me when I said it.

It toiled with the dread.

Confusion bound her brow when she looked at me. “For the club?”

I rubbed my palms together like it could wipe away the guilt. The very indignant part of myself screamed that I was doing it for her, too.

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