Chapter 7
Ace’s hand rested on Stephanie’s lower back and his thumb made lazy circles against her bare skin as they swayed together in a secluded nook of the dance floor. He was still confused about what he was feeling, how from one second to the next he’d known something so profound. Maybe that’s how it happened to everyone, or maybe he was just losing it. He couldn’t be sure, but he was sure that he didn’t want whatever was happening to stop and he wouldn’t change it for all the money in the world.
They’d been on the dance floor for Chase and Ginny’s entire set. The duo had started with some up-tempo songs but had slowed things down about halfway through. He owed them big time.
As much as he’d enjoyed watching Stephanie let loose and have fun during the faster music, especially when she rolled her hips seductively against him, nothing compared to holding her in his arms as they slow danced to love songs that were being sung live by two Grammy-winning musicians. It was surreal. It was perfect.
He wasn’t familiar with any of their original material, since he’d never been a big country or pop fan. He was more of rock guy. But after tonight he would definitely be downloading their albums. He was officially a fan. He knew every time he listened to the songs he’d remember this night.
“How long have you lived in Harper’s Crossing?” he asked.
Unlike the beginning of the night, the music was at a volume that they could speak and hear each other. They’d been making small talk and he’d learned a little bit about her. Unfortunately, not as much as he’d like. She was really good at giving one-word answers, elaboration was apparently not her style. But hell, he’d take what he could get.
“All my life.” Her tone was flat. “I was born here.”
Unlike other people he’d met that were born and raised here, she sounded less than enthusiastic. Every resident that he’d gotten to know waxed poetic about the charming small town. Since that wasn’t her reaction, he wanted to dig deeper.
“Have you ever thought about living somewhere else?”
She let out a small huff of air. “Yeah. All the time.”
“What’s stopping you?”
“Life.” She nuzzled her head closer to his neck, like she was trying to hide.
Her simple but seemingly complicated response had all of his protective instincts on full alert. His hand spread across her lower back and he pulled her even closer to him. Every cell in his body wanted to shield her and never let anything hurt her.
Leaning down his lips brushed the top of her head as he inhaled the sweet scent of strawberry and mint. He’d never thought of a scent as being sexy, but this one was. Although he had a feeling it had more to do with the person he associated with the aroma than the actual smell itself.
Shifting her position so that she was looking up at Ace, Stephanie bit her lower lip before saying, “Can I ask you something?”
They’d basically been having a Q&A for the last hour so the fact that she was asking permission before her next inquiry made him think it was significant. He wanted significant. “Yeah.”
Her voice was small and quiet, almost a whisper. “Do you know why so many people, or um women, are staring at us?”
All of Ace’s attention had been so laser-focused on Stephanie that for all intents and purposes he’d forgotten anyone else was in the room. Snapping out of his haze, he lifted his head and glanced around. Sure enough there were quite a few pairs of eyes directed at them and none of them looked happy. The daggers being shot at them were mainly coming from women that had asked him to dance earlier in the evening.
He didn’t really think Stephanie wanted to hear about him getting hit on all night long, so he went with a different, equally plausible explanation. “It’s the dress.”
Lines creased her forehead as she lifted her brows. “The dress?”
“Uh huh.” He nodded. “That dress could cause a riot. Actually no, you in that dress could cause a riot.”
A wide smile filled her face as she playfully swatted his shoulder while a pink flush rushed up the creamy skin on her cheeks. “Stop it. I’m serious.”
“So am I,” he said sincerely. “You’re dangerous in that thing. Thankfully, I’m trained in personal security so you couldn’t be in better hands.” To emphasize his point he flexed his fingers, letting the tips dig into her hip and back. The intimate contact sent shots of arousal exploding through him like fireworks on the Fourth of July.
Her lips parted on a short gasp and he suspected that she felt something too. Her chestnut eyes peered up at him beneath a fan of thick, dark lashes and the light blush turned a deeper shade. The way she was looking at him made him feel like Conan the Barbarian, Jack from Titanic and Superman all in one. No other woman had ever made him feel like a savage-romantic-hero with a simple glance. No other woman had made him feel anything close to what she did. He wanted to throw her over his shoulder caveman-style, take her to the closest private location, strip her out of the dress that was driving him insane and then kiss her softly from head to toe, memorizing every inch of her body.
“When you look at me like that it makes me want things I shouldn’t.” His warning came out as a growl.
Her eyes widened and her voice held a shaky quality as she asked. “Like what?”
Since he couldn’t exactly tell her what he wanted in detail, he summed up. “Like you.”
Her lips fell open as she breathed, “Oh.”
Raw desire surged through him at her seductive innocence. She was so different than anyone else he’d ever met. A dichotomy. One second she was an old soul, strong and independent and the next she exuded a refreshing naivety that was filled with vulnerability.