Page 54 of That One Night
“Come on,” Sabrina shouted in her ear. “We need to get dirtier.” She grabbed Emery’s hands, facing her as she swung her hips low, encouraging Emery to do the same.
“Let me take you home tonight,” one of the men standing at the bar shouted up to Emery. She rolled her eyes at Sabrina.
“Sorry, gentlemen,” Sabrina called back to him. “Tonight is ladies’ night.” She leaned into whisper to Emery, “You look so beautiful. Look at them all watching you.”
And they were. A whole cluster of men were cheering them on. But this wasn’t about them, it was about her. About feeling free to do all the stupid stuff she should have done when she was younger.
She’d been so busy trying to be somebody that she wasn’t, that she forgot about finding out who she was.
Not that she would ever be the kind of person who willingly jumped on a bar to dance. But how would she have known that unless she tried? And until the end of the song, she would try.
She’d let the music fill her up as adrenaline flowed through her veins. She’d let her body move the way it wanted to, not because she wanted male attention, but because it felt good.
“Uh-oh,” Sabrina called out. “They look mad.” She didn’t sound worried at all as her cousins approached them. Pres and Marley had their eyes narrowed, staring at their younger girl cousin.
Hendrix, however, was looking straight at Emery.
And she liked the way he looked at her. Like there was nobody else in the room except the two of them. She locked her gaze with his, her breath escaping through her lips as she kept dancing.
For him. Only for him.
That’s how it felt.
He kept walking forward, people parting like waves in front of him as though they knew he’d barge through if they didn’t. And not once did his eyes waver from her. His jaw was tight, his body tall, his shoulders held so damn proud it made her body ache.
And once he was at the front of the crowd, standing only inches away from her, she felt like she was on fire.
Sabrina opened her mouth – presumably to remind him it was ladies’ night – but when she looked at the expression on his face she closed it again. Her eyes moved to Emery’s face, like she was trying to work out what was going on.
Good luck with that. Emery had no idea herself.
All she knew was that every time this man was close she felt like she was somewhere between flying and falling. Maybe it was the adrenaline, or the sudden effect all of those cocktails had on her thought process, but whatever it was, she was certain how she felt about him.
She wanted him. She wanted him to want her. To touch her. To kiss her until neither of them could breathe.
She was the teenager she’d never been. Hormones surging through her like they were an alien force.
And all through this revelation, he didn’t move a damn inch. Didn’t try to stop her, didn’t try to encourage her down.
Just stood guard in front of her. His eyes never wavering. Completely locked on her face the way her gaze was set on his. It felt like everybody else in the room had faded away, that the spotlight was just on the two of them.
She swayed her hips and his mouth parted, letting out the softest of breaths, like he couldn’t keep it in.
She couldn’t remember the last time she felt this in control. Like she was taking her life into her hands at last. There was nowhere else she’d rather be right now than here, dancing, looking at him.
Wishing for everything she couldn’t have.
The song came to an end and everybody cheered. Sabrina lapped it up, her hands waving in the air. “Who’s gonna catch me?” she shouted, launching herself into the air like a rock singer. A dozen guys ran forward like bridesmaids trying to catch the bouquet, jostling each other to be the one to have her in their arms.
With the attention firmly on Sabrina, Hendrix stepped forward and held his hands out to Emery. She let him reach for her, his palms warm and strong as he lifted her down from the bar. And when her feet touched the ground, he didn’t let go.
“Another one from your list,” he murmured. And it made her heart heat up. He remembered. Not only did he remember, he actually looked pleased she’d achieved it.
“Yeah,” she said, grinning at him, feeling a little dizzy and breathless. “How did I do?”
Sure, she was fishing for compliments. Blame the alcohol.
“You looked like an angel. A dirty angel.”
