“So?” he says defensively.
“He’s with our son.” Something about that statement makes my stomach dip. Our sweet Ellis.
“He’s a heavy sleeper, like his mother.” His handsome face starts to relax.
I shake my head as I approach him. “What?” He grins, running his hands over my waist and down to my behind, giving it a firm squeeze. “I pay Vinny well.”
“Oh yeah, of course,” I say sarcastically. “Makes it totally acceptable and okay to?—”
“Nina,” he whispers.
I smile. “What?”
“Shut the fuck up.” He slides his lips over mine, taking his time to find a rhythm before he deepens the kiss. His arms band around my body; keeping me locked tightly to him. I struggle to think of any other place I’d rather be at this moment.
After what feels like hours he pulls away, lips swollen and glossy. “I don’t have any music. But if you’ll have me as I am?”
I take his outstretched hand, a grin stretching my face. “Ever the gentleman, Mr Lowell.”
He lifts a brow. “Hmm, I don’t know. Would a gentleman want to fuck every inch of you until you can no longer take any more of him?”
I do a little two-step, trying to keep my face straight. “I mean, I never wanted to be a lady anyway.” I jump up into his arms, locking my feet behind his back. He spins me, and I drop my head back, letting my body go lax for him as we both laugh freely.
“When was the last time you danced?” he asks, pulling me upright with a hand to my back.
My legs slide to the ground and we start to sway. “It was in the penthouse. You were in the shower, and I was supposed to be warming up our dinner.”
He watches me intently; his hand drawing circles on my shoulder. “What song did you play?”
I feel stupid for remembering, but he doesn’t judge me for it. “The Goo Goo Dolls, ‘Iris’.”
His lips brush my temple, then he spins me.
I step back into him, lifting my leg and leaning into him. He moulds to me, following my lead.
I get lost in our movements, our bodies swaying to the sound of our own heartbeats. For the first time in over a year, I dance, and not in the conscious way I move around a dance floor with my girls. I dance how I always used to dance. Freely.
“You were the most beautiful woman in the room tonight.”
I laugh as he dips me back, kissing my jaw. “I’m serious. Vinny said it too. You looked phenomenal in that dress. And when you came to me with Ellis.” His eyes are glazed and far off, as if he’s right back in the moment. “I don’t know how I ever went a day without seeing you.”
My throat is thick with emotion; My love for this man is boundless.
“I’m so sorry, Mason. For what I put you through. I didn’t trust you when it mattered and I don’t know how to fix that.”
“Shh.” He brushes his finger over my lip. “We’ll figure it out.”
We continue to float around the dance floor, his hands lingering on my body for longer than necessary at every opportunity he gets.
I don’t know how long we have been dancing for when we finally slow, rocking back and forth with my head on his chest. “I’m glad you came tonight,” I whisper.
He doesn’t say a thing. His response delivered with a soft kiss to my head.
I frown, then think out loud. “I’m so proud of you, Mason Lowell.”
After a moment, he runs his hands up my arms, pulling away from me and looking down at me pensively. Everyemotion inside him is bared to me in the reflection of his eyes.
“Theywould be so proud of you.”
