Page 48 of Dark Night Golden Dawn
Dizziness struck Harlow hard and she stumbled, but Finn sensed the spiral she was descending and he took her arm, drawing her close against him as they walked towards the dance floor. His body was comfortingly hard, steel against every curve of her currently melting into him.
“I don’t have words for how you look tonight,” he murmured. “Will you dance?”
She felt his eyes on her and she nodded, allowing herself to be led onto the dance floor and when his arms went around her, she leaned into him gratefully, glad to allow the familiar steps she’d known her whole life to take over. He held her closer than was technically necessary, allowing his chest to brush hers periodically. Slowly, the fear began to dissipate, breaking apart in her chest and floating away on the music.
Finn’s grey-blue eyes met hers as she looked up, and there were oceans of unspoken words tossed about behind them. Years of longing seemed to echo the feelings she tried her best to deny. Her throat tightened, the way it always did when she allowed herself to think about what they’d lost so long ago, and she wondered, was it all just childish love? Or was there more there, something that could last longer than the flush of firsts they’d had as teenagers?
The longer they didn’t speak, the closer he drew her into him. Both their breathing sped up markedly, but not from the rigor of the dance. His fingers pressed into her back as she moved closer into his orbit, letting him pin her to him so closely she felt the rock-hard length of him against her as they stepped and turned. Every nerve in her was alive at his touch and when he leaned close to her ear, his breath elicited a rush of heat between her legs that caused her knees to buckle.
His words started out as a soft rumble. “I’m glad we had these dances drilled into us as littlings.” His hold on her tightened, as his fingers swept up her spine and into her hair, the rumble melting into a growl. “I don’t have an ounce of blood left to operate my brain.”
Harlow felt exactly where his blood had gone as he dragged her against him, her body soft and supple in his arms. She didn’t have the power to think, the feel of him was so mesmerizing. Her blood lit on fire as the music swelled and for a moment it felt as though they were completely alone.
But of course they weren’t alone, not at all, and this dance wasn’t for their pleasure. They had a job to do tonight. She reminded herself that this wasn’t about the two of them, but her family, her Order, the entire balance of the lower Orders. To keep herself from liquefying, she glanced around at the crowd, catching curious stares no matter which direction they turned. One song bled into another. “It’s working—they’re all buying it.”
“Buying what?” he asked, his voice thick and distant.
“That my dress has seduced you.”
She felt his laugh against her breasts and deep in her core, which was aflame with desire she could not quell.
“There’s nothing tobuy, Harls.”
To punctuate his point, his legs parted hers and the hard length of his erection pressed into the core of her, momentarily obscured by the fan of her skirts. An involuntary moan floated from her lips. His breath was sharp as he pulled her off the dance floor and into the shadowy forest edging the dance floor. She followed without question, knowing there were hundreds of eyes watching.
Though they were partially hidden by the ferns and boughs, she knew they were still in perfect view of the ballroom itself when he dragged her into his lap. She looked down to see he’d found a chair nestled in an alcove that was tailor-made for a tryst such as the one they appeared to be having.
“Is this all right?” he asked softly, winding a loose strand of her hair around his fingers.
“Yes,” she murmured.
His voice was strained, and now alone in this little alcove, he wouldn’t meet her eyes. “It’s not the dress. Though the dress is very good.”
She frowned, not knowing what he meant, but she didn’t press him. This was all for show, after all. She wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling the crowd in the ballroom watching them surreptitiously, ravenous to see whatever they’d do next. Finn’s body tensed under her, his breath as tight in his lungs as hers, his fingers skimming down her shoulders and over her arms.
“If I kiss you, would that be all right?” he murmured, his mouth moving ever nearer to her own.
She nodded and his palms grazed her hips and hair as he pulled her closer, nuzzling her neck. His warm breath on her bare skin sent currents of pleasure through her body.
“You smell fucking amazing,” he groaned. “How do you smell this good?”
She turned her face so their lips brushed against each other, lightly at first, as even the slightest bit of contact sent her heart racing. A growl vibrated in his chest as his fingers tightened on her hip and at the nape of her neck, pulling her hair gently, exposing her neck to him. A feeling of primal arousal flooded her senses. She was acutely aware of his fangs, as they glinted in the dim light of the alcove.
Harlow wondered what it would be like for him to sink them deep into her neck, for him to bite her as they moved against one another. Her vision dimmed at the thought and her thighs clenched tightly around the scorching heat emanating from the center of her. When his lips met hers, his kiss was rough and fast, as though he’d been denied something for too long that he was finally allowed to claim as his own.
Her arms tightened around his neck as her fingers tangled into his hair, deepening the kiss further. She forgot a ballroom of people watched their every move for a brief second. When the hand gripping her hip began to graze up her side, toward her breasts, she remembered. She pulled back slightly, though it pained her to do so. Throbbing pleasure pulsed between her legs and she ached with need as she parted her mouth from his.
Finn’s eyes were glossy with lust, his body taut with urgency. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “Got carried away.”
Harlow couldn’t speak, so she nodded. She had no idea how much of this was a show, his body simply responding to her soft warmth against him.
“If we left now, I think everyone would get the point, don’t you?” His eyes were pleading, but what the plea was, she couldn’t say. Did he want to stop, or go further?
“I agree,” she murmured.
“Can I take you to my place, or yours? We need to talk.”
“Yours,” she responded immediately.
