Not even bothering to appear nonchalant, Gracie turned her head to see who she meant. When her gaze came back to hers, she said, “Ew, you’re right. He is creepy.”
Catherine shifted, putting her back to him. Gracie obviously sensed her unease and sidled up next to her. She strained to be heard over the loud beat. “If he bothers us, Wade and Dean will take care of it.”
Catherine didn’t know if she liked the idea of Dean “taking care of it.” “Dean and I came here together, but we aren’t together together. He’s not required to fend off unwanted men on my behalf.”
Gracie said something, but it got lost as the song picked up tempo. Catherine looked again, hoping the stranger was gone. Of course that would’ve been too easy. He watched her as if she were a midnight snack. It made her skin crawl. He must have moved closer, she realized, because now he was no longer on the other side of the dance floor. In her distraction he’d moved around until he was barely twenty feet away. A cold feeling moved through her veins at the intense look in his eyes.
He wasn’t a bad-looking man. Catherine supposed women would find him handsome, with his curly blond hair and scruffy facial hair. He wore a pair of low-riding blue jeans and worn, black work boots. Several gyrating bodies were all that stood between them, but Catherine was glad for at least that much of a barrier.
Gracie leaned close. “Just forget about him. We’re here to have fun.”
Catherine knew that Gracie was right. She didn’t want anything to damper her first night out with her sister, but the heebie-jeebies weren’t letting up. “I’m trying, but it feels as if he’s touching me. I don’t know what it is about him.” A voice in the back of her mind reminded her that she didn’t feel the same ick vibe when Dean looked at her. His gaze sent her heart fluttering and her nerves dancing. This stranger made her want to take a shower. There was no crime in looking at a woman, Catherine reminded herself. He hadn’t made any advances.
“Would you rather head back to the table?”
“No,” she said, firming up her resolve to have a good time, despite the creep. “We’re here to have fun. Screw him.”
Gracie smiled and went back to dancing. When another upbeat song started up, Catherine forgot her worries. The light-haired stranger no longer mattered. Dean’s distrust toward her even took a backseat. Everything faded as the music surrounded her and carried her away.
Catherine heard Gracie yell something about the tune being one of her favorites. She smiled and realized the romantic tune was one she loved as well. One more thing they had in common. The song was soft, with a woman’s lilting voice that made Catherine picture herself in the arms of a lover. She closed her eyes and imagined Dean. It startled her. Thinking of him that way made her remember the delicious kiss from earlier in the day. The music, the soft lights, all of it coaxed out her uninhibited side. She let herself float along with it as the rhythm took hold. In her mind, Catherine saw the planes and angles of Dean’s stern face, his soft, talented lips and the intense brown eyes that seemed ever trained on her. God, how she wanted his lips pressed to hers in that moment. If she were honest with herself, Catherine would admit that she wanted his entire body pressed to her. Since she couldn’t have that, then at least the music would help her fantasize a little. Her imagination would simply have to be enough for tonight.
As she swayed and moved, her eyes drifted closed. Catherine wondered how good his hands would feel, and soon her own hands were traveling down her body, barely grazing but enough to spark off an erotic thought or two. She touched her own neck, imagining his lips caressing her there. She wondered if he would take his time, kissing and nibbling on her before moving farther south.
Catherine’s fingers hooked beneath the hem of her skirt and lifted slightly, unaware that she was giving a tantalizing glimpse of her upper thigh. She felt the satin of her own skin beneath her fingertips. She quivered. Would his hands be calloused? A working man’s hands? As the song began to wind down, she wondered if she’d ever find out what Dean’s touch was like.
Dean didn’t need this right now. On top of her looking good enough to eat, Catherine danced like a goddess. Damn, he should’ve known the minute he’d kissed her that he’d have a hard time keeping his distance. He nearly salivated at the loving way her short black dress cupped her ass cheeks. Dean had to clench his fists in front of him on the table to keep from leaping out onto the dance floor and taking her into his arms. As he glanced around the room he noticed several other men watching her with lust in their eyes, and that alone had him wanting to drag her off. He’d take her somewhere private, somewhere he could get more than just his hands on her soft curves.
Wade nudged him, and Dean forced his gaze off Catherine long enough to see what he wanted. “Yeah?”
“So what’s this about Catherine coming to your place?”
Dean frowned, knowing an interrogation was coming. “It was no big deal.”
Wade quirked a brow and gave him one of those big brother “I can see right through you” looks.
“She wanted to clear the air,” Dean said, keeping it simple. The kiss they’d shared was no one’s damn business. “To see if she and I could form a truce or something.”
“And did you?”
He thought of how good she’d tasted and had to bite back a curse. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Oh, you’re here.” Wade sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “But I’m still trying to figure out if it’s because you came for the terrific company or simply to keep tabs on Catherine. Judging by the way you’ve been watching her dance, I’d say it’s somewhere in between. Am I right?”
“Look, you all want me to like her, to accept her as a part of this family, I get that. You’ve made your position very clear, Wade. But—”
“She is a part of this family,” Wade said, his voice rising over the blast of the bass and the roar of the crowd. “She’s Gracie’s sister and that makes her a really big part.”
Dean shoved a hand through his hair and leaned closer. “She’s still a virtual stranger. You and I both know that exchanging a few phone calls and e-mails doesn’t mean you know a person inside and out.”
“Yes, I’m aware, and that’s what this visit is for. So they can get to know each other.”
Dean was tired of banging his head against that particular wall. When he turned and looked at Catherine, his anger dissipated. She looked like a wood nymph. Her long red hair flowed down her back as she danced around the floor, completely oblivious to the riot of emotion inside him. Dean took another swig of his beer and placed it on the table, then sat back and watched the show. She swayed to the beat of the music, as if completely lost in it. She moved with passion. He wondered what was going through her mind. Was she imagining a lover’s touch? When her hands went on a journey over her body, Dean’s dick thickened beneath his trousers.
A movement to her right caught his attention, and he saw a man striding across the dance floor. He was headed right for Catherine. That quickly, his conversation with Wade was forgotten. All Dean could think about was keeping the other man from touching her. He heard someone call his name, but he ignored it. As he crossed the room, maneuvering his way through the gyrating bodies, Dean came up directly behind her and placed his hands on her hips. She went rigid.
He leaned close. “Come home with me.”
Catherine tipped her head back to look at him. “That’s it? You think I’ll simply surrender and fall into your arms?”