Jade was more than ready to break some rules. She smiled up at him. “I’ll give you a pass, this time.”
“That’s kind of you.” He gave her a meaningful smile.
Heat filled her as their bodies moved in synchrony to the music and each other. The beat was fast at first but that didn’t diminish how romantic and all-encompassing dancing with him was. The song ended and a sultry, slow beat came on.
Joshua held her tightly as they danced fluidly. Jade rested her head in the crook of his neck and savored each incredible sensation. She inhaled his musky cologne and loved the strength in his body and his hands as they held her. He’d told her at the first of the week that he hadn’t felt a connection like this in a long time. Had she ever felt a connection like this?
The song ended and the answer reverberated in her head. Jesse. Oh my. She was forgetting all about Jesse. She’d planned to be with Jesse by Sunday afternoon. Was she a flaky woman to have pushed the connection and joy of Jesse from her mind or was Joshua the one she was meant to be with?
Luckily, or unluckily, the next song was a crazy fast beat. Jade danced like a wild woman. Joshua laughed with her, and at her, then he grabbed her and did some spin moves and threw her around his body and over his head. She was laughing and screaming out at times in surprise, hoping her dress wasn’t clear over her head like it felt. A crowd gathered around them, cheering them on. Joshua was a crazy fun dancer.
They danced for a while longer then got drinks from one of the cafes and found some comfortable chairs to sit in.
Jade reluctantly admitted, “I’d better get to bed.”
“Big plans tomorrow?” he asked.
She smiled. “I don’t know. What are our plans tomorrow?”
He grinned as if she handed him a gift. She was going to enjoy this time. Soon Joshua’s investigators would find the thief. On Sunday she’d see how it went with Jesse. And then maybe she could make a more rational decision. She looked over Joshua’s grinning face and realized there was nothing rational about her thoughts or behavior around him.
“We can take it easy, do the Flow Rider again, swim, drink pina coladas.”
“Sounds fun,” she agreed. “How about the rock climbing wall?”
He gazed sharply at her. “You’re ready to learn to climb to the ivory tower?”
She laughed, she hoped easily. Her heart was thumping madly at the thought of climbing to him. They hadn’t talked about anything serious for a while and though she hated the accusations still hanging over her head she didn’t want to interrupt this time with him discussing something they couldn’t fix until the perpetrator was found. Yet she still felt like he should instinctively trust her. Oh, how she wished he could, or would.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, my friend,” she said. “Practicing is all.”
“I’ll take it.” He took her hand and raised it to his lips. The warmth of his lips on her knuckles sent a current through her. She was falling far too fast for him. “Will you go to the gym in the morning?”
“Yeah. You?”
He nodded. “I’ve been going at five a.m. so I haven’t seen you there, but you said you liked the—”
“The gym doesn’t open until six,” she interrupted him. Was he lying to her? That was weird.
His face colored and she got more suspicious. “They, um, open it early for me.”
“Oh my goodness. You are so spoiled.” She pushed at his shoulder, relieved that he wasn’t lying.
“Would you like to come at five with me and have it to ourselves, or I could come later with you?”
“It’s only nine-thirty, so I could still get enough sleep if you take me to my room now. I think a gym to ourselves at five would be lovely.”
He smiled. “Lovely.” Standing, he extended his hand and she placed hers in it. A thrill rushed through her. Would she ever get used to how incredible it felt to touch him? It had felt incredible to touch Jesse too. She realized that she hadn’t hardly talked to her sister beyond some quick texts since the FaceTime in the cave on Monday. Priest had become her confidant at night and Joshua had consumed every other minute and she’d loved it. Maybe Teal would have some good advice for her.
They walked slowly to the staircase and up to the ninth floor. Jade paused outside her door and turned to him, luckily the hallway was quiet. Her heart was already beating fast. It could be from the climb up the stairs, it could be how badly she wanted to kiss him, and it could be … wowzers that look in his blue eyes was killing her.
“You realize you’re lethal with those things?” she asked, almost panting for air.
Joshua casually put his hand on the door behind her and leaned in. “What things?”
“I was going to say your eyes but I think I changed my mind. The entire …” She swirled her hand in front of him. “Everything. It’s lethal.”
He grinned. She had to kiss that dimple. She just had to. She heard herself ask, “If I kiss just your dimple will it mean I lose the bet?”