Someone slides over to stand behind me; he begins moving his body in tandem with mine. I turn, glance over my shoulder at dark brown eyes—not blue, not eyes fringed with eyelashes so dark they make his blue irises pop in comparison, not cheekbones so high that they could cut into my skin, not a hooked nose or a jaw that’s normally set in disapproving lines. And he's blond.
Still, he’s cute, I suppose, in a boy-next-door kind of way. And he’s tall…not as tall as Axel, but tall enough to be attractive. Younger though, closer to my own age. The music ratchets up in tempo and he begins to shake his body in earnest.
He shoots me a wicked grin and I can’t stop the laugh that spills from my lips. I increase my own tempo and we move in synchronicity, our actions mirroring each other’s steps. When I move left, he slides right and vice-versa. I laugh again as I let the sheer joy of the dancing overwhelm me. He grips my wrist, turns me around, then pushes me back before pulling me to him. A surprised laugh spills from my lips. The man can dance, all right. He twirls me around then draws me to him, close enough for our bodies to touch.
That’s when someone steps in behind him. I tilt my head back, and further back, to meet blazing blue eyes. Angry eyes that bore into me. His features wear a grim expression, his lips set in lines of disapproval. Something blooms to life inside me.Axel.He’s here.
I open my mouth, but before I can say anything, he’s grabbed my partner by his shoulder and yanked him back so he stumbles away from me. Then, Axel turns him around and buries his fist in his face. That’s when all hell breaks loose. Blondie falls over and onto another couple, who back away. He turns with his fists raised. Axel lands an uppercut and the man reels back. He shakes his head, then lunges toward Axel, who steps aside. The man smashes into another couple, who spring apart. Another man throws a punch at Axel, who ducks, kicks the legs out from under him, when the first man throws himself at Axel again. Seemingly out of nowhere, Massimo steps in and knocks the guy out cold. A third, and a fourth guy join the fray as Adrian and Seb wade in to help him.
That’s when Axel tosses a guy aside and marches over to me.
"What are you—" I gasp as he grabs my hand. The crowd parts before him as he drags me in his wake. When we reach the end of the dance floor I refuse to move. I slow him down enough that he turns to me.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I yell at him.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" He roars back. "You let that man touch you. You let him put his hands on you. You were grinding your hips while he held your waist."
"It’s called dancing," I point out.
His features contort. He drops my hand then brushes past me and onto the dance floor. I blink, then jump forward to stand in front of him. "Where are you going?" I pant.
"To kill him."
"You can’t just go around killing people."
"Is that right?" He growls, "Asshole touched you. I am going to rip him apart from limb to limb for that."
He begins to plow past me and I throw myself at him, "Oh, for heaven’s sake, seriously, enough with that caveman approach."
His jaw tics. "I am going to grind his body into the ground, then throw you down and fuck you in his blood."
"Oh," I gasp. A ripple of heat runs down my spine. My nipples harden. That was bloodthirsty and macabre, and hell, if that didn’t turn me on even more.
"Let him go," I clutch at his hand, "he doesn’t mean anything, I promise. I was dancing, that’s all."
He lowers his head and peers into my face, "From now on, you dance with no one else but me."
He’s so close now, I can see the lines that radiate out from the corners of his gorgeous eyes. The heat of his body flows around me, envelops me. That clean-man scent of his, spiked with his edgy essence, teases my nostrils. I swallow, "It’s a little difficult to do that when you are not around, you know?" At least, he is standing so close that I don’t need to yell to be heard.
"Well, I am back now." He grips my arm, and this time, I don’t protest as he hauls me off the dance floor.
We walk past the bar and I spot Elsa, "I need to tell Elsa that I am leaving." I have to yell again to be heard over the music.
"We’ll text her from the car," he retorts.
"I need to grab my coat and purse from the cloakroom."
"I’ll get it delivered home."
"Home? What do you mean home?"
"I mean," he yanks me out of the door and looks up and down the road, "our home."
"Isn’t your home in London? That’s where we were when you told me you wanted a divorce, remember?"
A car drives up and comes to a stop in front of me. Christian gets out of the driver’s seat and tosses the keys at Axel.
"Thanks," Axel jerks his chin.