Page 17 of Eyes Like a Hurricane

Someone comes up behind me and puts their hand on my arm. His hand is clammy and doesn’t feel as big as I remember Lachlan’s. I hesitantly turn to see who hopes to dance with me. I look up to a man with black hair and gray eyes looking down at me. He is about the same size as Kieran and around his mid-thirties. He is classically handsome with a strong build, but his touch does nothing for me.

His voice is a deep, honey baritone, but it doesn’t fill my stomach with butterflies the way Lachlan’s voice does.

“Can I have this dance?” he asks.

Before I can answer, a hand glides onto my left hip, and I’m gently brought flush against a warm body. Lips press against my temple, and a familiar rumble says, “Hi, Edwin. I’ve been waiting twenty-four hours to have this dance. I think I saw Zoe looking for a dance partner on my way over.” With a nod, Edwin nonchalantly searches for the woman in question.

“Care to dance?” he murmurs against the shell of my ear. All I can do is nod as goosebumps break out down my arms. Hiswarm hand burns an imprint into the place where it rests on my hip.

Our bodies begin to sway as one to the beat. I reach up, wrapping my hand around his neck. Before I allow my fingers to dance through the hair at the nape of his neck, I force myself to drop and turn. He glides me right into a rock step. We follow it with a triple-step to the left, then a triple-step to the right. I’m shocked by how well a guy his size floats across the floor, gliding me effortlessly into each move.

The other dancers have faded away as he passes me under his arm, causing us to switch sides. He grabs my hand and leads me into a double spin that he follows with a third spin for both of us. On the next move, he does a half spin, bringing my back to his chest. I can feel his hard length pressed against my lower back, sending a shiver down my spine.

The steady beat of his heart pounds against his ribcage, gently pulsing between my shoulder blades. Our heartbeats become intoned and feel as though they are beating as one. We continue to dance until the song is a few notes from the ending. On the last note Sylvie plays, he throws me into a dip.

With the tips of my hair grazing the dance floor, I look up at him through heavy-lidded eyes. His face is mere inches from mine. He glances at my mouth, and I hold my breath as I slowly rise. The hand between my shoulder blades effortlessly pulls me toward him. When I can feel his breath mingling with mine, I reach up and gently pull his head toward me. Our lips connect in a gentle brush. Just a whisper of connection, but the magnitude of electrical charge pulsing between us is unfathomable. I don’t know how long we stay connected in a tender kiss, but I instantly wish we were somewhere more private.

We startle apart at the sudden sound of feedback coming from the microphone on stage. Everyone seems to have beenintently watching the band, giving us the moment of privacy which I had hoped for since yesterday morning.

Lachlan brings me fully upright but continues holding me against his chest like I’m the most precious person in his entire world. After a momentary delay, my brain connects to my body, and I reach up, wrapping both arms around his neck. I can feel his heart pounding against my cheek as I rest my head on his chest. I realize my eyes closed involuntarily, so I slowly open them and see my brother grinning at me as he and Leo head back toward our table.

I grab Lachlan’s hand, and when I look back over my shoulder to see if he is following, I notice a pool table off to the back right of the stage. It currently sits empty, waiting for me.

Chapter 18

Lachlan

When we arrive at the table, everyone is chatting and having a good time. The band continues to play, but our group seems to be done dancing for now. I’m glad it’s dim inside here, for after dancing with Aislinn, I need to calm down a little bit. Since there aren't any cold showers in sight, I grab my bottle of water and take a long drink. I try to visualize the process of installing new fencing as my method for cooling down.

I glance across the table and see Aislinn grab her water bottle and start rubbing it across the back of her neck and pulse points. The cold condensation transfers to her skin, and the water droplets slowly make liquid trails down her neck. I try to avert my gaze as a couple beads of water make their way toward her cleavage. I don’t want to be caught staring at her chest.

I move my eyes back up to her face and see her smirking at me. She knows exactly what she is doing. Her gaze locks on something across the room, and a part of me is afraid to turn to see who has caught her interest. My jaw instinctively clenches at the thought of another guy looking at her. Curiosity gets the better of me, though, and I decide a quick peek wouldn’t hurt.

When I follow the direction of her gaze, there is no one there, just the empty pool table. No one seems to be playing rightnow. I glance back at her, and she taps her finger against her chin.

With a sly look in her eyes, she asks, “Do you play?”

I respond, “Oh yeah, Callum and I love shooting pool. How about you?”

Next to me, Kieran snorts, “Does she play? The girl has her own three hundred dollar pool stick back at her house. I unloaded it from the trunk of her Jeep personally, and she hounded me to be careful the entire way into the house.” Then he leans in and whispers, “Careful, man, she will try to hustle you if you let her.”

An image forms in my mind, and I decide I’m not sure being hustled by Aislinn would be the worst thing in the world.

“Wanna play me?” I ask.

She looks toward Paisley, then through her lashes, responds, “Sure, handsome, but how about we place a little wager on this match.”

I rub my hands together, and Callum pats my back, “I don’t know, man, she looks pretty serious.”

I tilt my head as if pondering the decision, then with a growl, ask, “What’s your bet, sweetheart?”

She gives me a demure smile as she gently folds her arms across her chest, and I see the beads of condensation decide to travel a little further south. I refuse to be an ass, so I look her straight in the eye.

She surprises me by saying, “If I win, you take me on a hike to Glacier National Park this summer. I haven’t been in years, and I think you would be the perfect guide.”

Ah, so we aren’t betting something strictly tangible. I ponder this for a moment. What intangible thing could I venturethat gets us to spend a significant chunk of time together without making me look like a creep?

I glance across the table to see that the scowl on Trent’s face remains fixed and Noah is looking at me expectantly. Callum nudges me with his shoulder, and I clear my throat. “If I win, you will help me locate and acquire two alpacas to purchase for the ranch,” I state.

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