Page 51 of Free to Dream
I’m suddenly dancing the way I’ve seen other people dancing in clubs. Caleb’s leg is between mine, my hips pressed against his body, his arm banded low around my hips as our bodies move in sync to the sexy Southern beat.
My heart’s thudding against my chest. Not from panic, but the full-body contact I have from chest to thigh. His sensuality is searing me through my clothes and into my skin, branding me. Here, in the middle of a crowd of people I don’t know, Caleb makes me feel safe, uninhibited, protected, wild.
Free.
His head dips toward mine and I let out a small sound. He slowly shakes his head and mouths, “No.”
My arms feel drugged when I try to lift them to circle his neck, but I only manage to reach his forearms.
I recognize this feeling as desire, having heard my sisters talk about it and reading as many romance novels as I do, but I never knew its potency. Its smooth touch is wrapping around me, freeing me from the chains of the prison I’ve held myself in for so long.
The scene around Caleb and I is out of focus, and the only clarity is the space which Caleb and I occupy. I feel warm from the Jameson's, warm from Caleb’s body pressed against mine, warm from where he drops his head and grazes his teeth and lips against the side of my neck.
I imagine what I’m feeling is being reflected in his dark gaze. His nostrils flare slightly as he moves his body farther down mine so we’re face-to-face. “Some moves,” I manage to say.
A slow, sexy curve to his lips is my only response.
A slow song replaces Luke Bryan and we keep holding each other. “Do you have plans for later?” he asks.
“Later?” Confused, I lean back.
“Later, as in later Saturday. It’s after midnight, Pixie.”
“We have the Juniors coming in the afternoon; Sophomores in the early evening.” I run through my planner out loud.
“I forgot what it looks like,” he muses.
“What what looks like?” I parrot, confused. This man muddles my cohesive thought process.
“How incredibly hot you are when you go into professional mode. It was next to impossible for me to act with any decorum that first day in your office.”
“You seemed to handle it well enough,” I grumble. Despite how much of a debacle that ended up being for me and the problems it caused within the family, it led me to where I am.
With my resolution to not look back, I can’t regret what happened. I can only be grateful it led me to right now.
My thoughts drift for a second to Keene. Right or wrong, black and white. Where would I be right now if those were the only choices I took along the path of my life?
“What are you thinking of, Pixie?” Caleb breaks into my thoughts.
“Keene,” I reply honestly.
Caleb’s face tightens.
“Not like that,” I say, exasperated. I whack him in the chest.
“Explain, please.”
“I was just thinking if the decisions I made were as black and white as his, we wouldn’t be here right now. And what I would have missed out on.”
“In some ways, that makes me more furious at him for the way he was behaving, but I understand what you’re saying.”
I nod and grab his hand, pulling it back around my waist. His face softens, and his smile is for me alone.
“So, back to my question. What are you doing later?”
“Is this a lead into asking me out, Caleb?”
“It is.”
