She felt someone come up behind her as she moved. Perhaps it was stupid of her to come back to a crowded club after what had just happened last weekend. But she’d spent enough of her life being scared, and she was sick of it.
That’s the conclusion she’d come to about an hour ago as she’d sat on her bedroom floor and stared at her gold dress.
That she was done with fear. She wasn’t letting it rule her anymore. And yeah, maybe she was still quaking on the inside.
But she didn’t want to be a coward. She was done letting the past ruin her future. She deserved better than this.
Frog-face and his friends were nothing. Worse than nothing. They were scum. Sure, she didn’t like the fact that two of them were still out there, but she tried not to think about that. She wondered what happened to Fishy-breath, but maybe it was best to not know.
The person that had moved up behind her put their hands on her hips. She stiffened, watching as Gray’s face filled with rage.
Oh, crap.
The guy behind her was about to die.
Turning, she glared up at him. “Go away.”
He stumbled back, hands up, obviously drunk.
“Sorry, baby, you were just shaking that juicy trunk, thought you seemed lonely.”
Juicy trunk? Was he for real?
She spotted one of the big bouncers working his way through the crowd. And then she felt Gray behind her.
The drunk guy who’d been swaying with a wide smile on his face suddenly straightened. His smile dropped away, leaving a terrified expression in its place.
Whoa. Gray was kind of intimidating, but this guy had seemed too drunk to notice. And now he looked like he was about to pee himself.
He was backing away when the bouncer grabbed him, giving Gray a nod.
Had Gray told the bouncer to come over? Why would the bouncer listen to him? She turned to look up at Gray, but he wrapped an arm around her waist, keeping her pressed against him.
And ohhh, it felt nice.
Way too nice. Her legs were turning to noodles.
“Hello, girl.”
“Hello, Mr. Hot Butt.”
“Nope, we’re not doing that, brat,” he told her in a low voice that cut through the music. His lips touched her ear and her whole body lit up.
Holy. Crap.
How could she get turned on just from the feel of his lips against her ear? She hadn’t even realized she’d like that.
“That’s okay. That wasn’t my best work.”
He brushed his cheek against hers. His beard was surprisingly soft. She’d thought it would feel like bristles against her skin.
What was he doing? Did he want to dance?
He suddenly started to sway back and forth. Oh yeah. She was turning to total mush in his arms.
“Dance with me.”
It wasn’t exactly a question. Definitely more of an order. But she didn’t want to refuse him anyway.