“Are you having a good time?” he asked once everyone left.
She nodded, traced her finger down the edge of the sweating glass of water. She didn’t want to look at him, was afraid of what she might find there. “I am.”
“You’re a liar, you know.” His voice was soft, hot and melting all over her, and she glanced up, caught him studying her, his head tilted toward her.
“What do you mean?” Had he realized her secret? Did he know how much she’d lusted for him lately? Embarrassing if he ever found out.
“You can dance.” His fingers drifted, over her shoulder, down her upper arm and goose bumps followed in their wake. “Very well, I might add.”
Only because he had led her so well but she didn’t want to admit that, decided to bask in his compliment instead. It was almost too much, though, having him touch her, sitting so close. The hard press of his thigh burned into hers, his arm around her, his body leaning toward hers. He was wrapped all around her, and he didn’t even need to be since they had the booth all to themselves.
The waitress suddenly arrived, setting their drinks in front of them with a quick clink of glass, and Michaela grabbed at hers, drinking from it greedily. She needed the bite of the liquor to bring her back to reality, the effects of it to mellow her overactive imagination. She was clearly losing her touch on the real world, and she wanted to get back out on that dance floor as soon as she finished her drink.
She needed to lose herself in the music, in the dancing, maybe find someone else to dance with, maybe Scarlett. Not Austin, no way, he would hold her close again and give her another nudge of his glorious erection, fuel her fantasies and make her think she had a chance.
A chance to suck him deep, a chance to fuck him, have him buried in her body. What would it feel like, Austin entering her for the first time? Did he like to go down on women? Her favorite thing in the world was a man who knew how to use his tongue. She’d had a few good lovers but none of them had taken her beyond the vanilla realm.
She wanted to be pushed over that edge. Taken out of her comfort zone and into un-chartered territory, doing kinky things she’d only read about or imagined.
Oh, how she’d imagined. Preston wasn’t the first boyfriend to be put off by her antics, and all she’d done with him was mention the word porn. She’d freaked out her high school sweetheart too when she suggested they tie each other up. It had happened after they’d been together a couple of years, in their early twenties and going to college.
He’d allowed her to strap him to the bed with scarves and had nearly lost it when she touched him in what he thought were inappropriate places. She’d stroked him just behind his balls, had read somewhere it was an extra sensitive spot on men and could cause an intense orgasm.
She’d only been doing him a favor. He thought she’d tried to finger his ass. Their relationship had never been the same.
“You look awfully wholesome but deep inside, you’re just a deviant,” he’d said to her that awful night when they got in a raging fight and ultimately broke up.
That had hurt. More than she cared to admit.
“Hey.” A single finger drifted across her jaw to land beneath her chin, tipping her face up so she met Austin’s curious gaze. “I think I lost you there for a minute. Are you all right?”
“I-I’m fine.” She nodded, casting him a tremulous smile. She needed to get away from him and fast. This couldn’t be good, the yearning he fired within her. “I want to go back out and dance.”
“Really?” His thumb grazed her chin, swiping upward so that he edged the very bottom of her lower lip. “I thought you wanted to cool down.”
Fat chance that would ever happen, having him so close. She wouldn’t mind getting hotter if it involved him. And her. Naked. Wrapped around each other, lips attached, hands everywhere.
“You’re too close, and I’m still hot.” She pulled away from him and he tried to keep her in place, his hand tightening on her shoulder, but she slipped from his grip. Standing, she pushed the hair away from her face and stared down at him. She admired the way he sat sprawled in the booth, his long arms stretched wide across the back of the padded seat, his legs spread in that typical way men sat.
He may be gay but there was no denying he was incredibly masculine. No queeny, feminine gestures from this guy with the exception of the eyeliner, and even when he wore that, he looked very much the sexy male.
“Where are you going?”
“Dancing.” She shrugged and grabbed her drink, taking one last sip before she set it on the table. They needed some distance. Distance from him and his sexy looks and his sexy voice and that way too sexy body.
“I’ll go with you.” He started to exit the booth but she shook her head, then made a mad dash toward the floor.
“Meet me out there later.” She wanted to get lost in the crowd and slip out. She’d grab her purse and bail, get a taxi to the theatre so she could pick up her car and head home.
She was out of her element, she realized as she took a roundabout way to get to the dance floor, pushing through the clusters of people that lingered and watched the dancers. She walked along the edge of the floor, hoping Austin would go straight into the crowd so she could lose him.
Oh, she was being rotten but she couldn’t help herself. It was down to self-preservation now.
“There you are.” Long fingers curled around her upper arm and turned her around. Austin appeared troubled, confused, and he pushed her so her back was against the wall. “What are you doing?”
“I, uh, I need to go.” She looked away from him, stared unseeingly at the front entrance of the club, but he gripped her chin with two fingers, forcing her to look back at him.
“Why are you running away from me? What did I do?”