Page 77 of Enigma: The Final Chapter
Excitement beams out of me that I’ve finally secured a dance partner. When I jump up from my seat, I nearly lose my footing. He stabilizes me before downing his shot of whiskey and following me onto the dance floor.
The heat in the club reaches boiling point as the clock inches closer to midnight. My dance companion, Ayden, and I have been dancing to the latest club hits the past forty-five minutes. His dance moves have never gone beyond an inappropriate level, but he has ground his impressive crotch against my backside on numerous occasions—not by choice. There are too many people in one space to maintain an appropriate distance.
As the countdown to the new year merges closer, so do Ayden and I. Our dance moves become more seductive when the alcohol in my blood turns potent.
With only five minutes remaining in the year, Ayden wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me into his firm body. His hips swing seductively in time to the fast beat of the music as his fingertips graze the curve on my backside.
When there's only one minute remaining until midnight, the countdown on the large digital clock hanging over the dance floor commences. My excited, drunken cheers halt at forty-eight seconds when my arm is suddenly seized, and I’m dragged off the dance floor. My heart silently prays it’s Isaac, but with the lack of a jolting zing inflicting my arm, my body knows it isn’t him.
“What the hell are you doing, Izzy?” Hugo asks as his eyes dart between mine.
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m dancing.”
When I attempt to pad away from him the best I can in my drunken state, he grabs my wrist, stopping my hasty steps. “Dancing? You're not dancing. You're provoking Isaac, trying to force his hand.”
I shake my head, causing a rush of queasiness to hit my stomach. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. He left, Hugo! He walked without so much of a backward glance. He left me. So I’m free to do whatever I please.”
I squirm out of his tight grip before stumbling back to Ayden, my eyes flicking up to the countdown clock on the way. There are only thirty seconds left of this despicable year, and I fully plan on kissing it good riddance with the obligatory midnight kiss.
“Bullshit, Izzy.” Hugo steps between Ayden and me. “You, yourself, had to see if the claims were true, but you don’t expect Isaac to react the same? You're using that guy.” He hooks his thumb to Ayden, who is watching our exchange. “All because you want to antagonize Isaac. All because you want to force him to react.”
I arrogantly shake my head, denying his accusations.
“If it isn’t that, then why go to all this effort? What’s the purpose? A free drink? A grope on the dance floor? A stupid midnight kiss?”
“Yes!” I yell as anger maims my heart. “Because that’s probably what he’s doing with her right now. He's probably kissing her right now.”Or god knows what else.
“That’s what you want? A kiss? All this heartache for a pathetic kiss on New Year’s Eve?”
I grit my teeth and angrily glare at Hugo. He can’t comprehend the hurt I'm feeling or know how hollow I feel since there’s a massive hole where my heart once belonged.
I angrily shake my head before pivoting on my heels and heading back to Ayden. Just as the clock commences its ten-second countdown, Hugo once again yanks me back his way. Before I can fathom a response, let alone articulate it, my mouth is engulfed by a pair of deliciously plump lips. The final five second countdown of the year chants through my ears as Hugo’s warm tongue licks the seam of my lips before it delves inside my mouth, sampling and tasting every inch.
When the clock strikes midnight, his fingers weave through my hair, and he tilts my head back, taking complete control of my mouth. I'm astonished when my body reacts to his kiss by kissing him with just as much vigor.
He kisses the hell out of me, not holding anything back, then it takes several long seconds for my inebriated mind to comprehend what’s going on.
Oh god!
I yank back before dragging my hand over my mouth, trying to rub away the kiss, pretending what just happeneddidn’thappen. Hugo remains quiet, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as the reality of the situation dawns on him too.
“Isaac will kill you.”
Air puffs out of his nose as he curtly nods. “Yeah, well, at least I know what I'm getting myself into. That dumb fuck had no clue you were in the process of signing his death certificate.” He motions his head to Ayden, who is watching our exchange with his mouth gaped open.
When Hugo throws me over his broad shoulder, my hand slaps over my mouth as all the liquid I consumed tonight threatens to resurface. I’m so drunk, I’m not the slightest bit fazed by the amused faces of the patrons when Hugo strides past them with me flopped over his shoulder like a ragdoll.
“Cate,” I mumble through my hand covering my mouth. “I brought Cate with me.”
“Already taken care of,” he replies as he continues with his fluid strides.
The coolness of the night sky helps quell my swirling my stomach when we emerge outside, but Hugo’s smack to my backsides commences an entirely new worry.
“You better not vomit in mybaby, Izzy. If you do, that smack won’t be the only punishment you’ll get,” he warns as he places me in the passenger seat of his car and fastens the seatbelt around my torso.
Chapter 31
Isabelle
