“Dance? To that?” I was usually up for anything, but wasn’t sure I’d be able to follow the complex series of movements.
Sage laughed. “It’s easy once you learn the steps. Want to give it a try?”
“Sure, why not?” It’s not like I had anything better to do, and everyone looked like they were having fun. I let him lead me onto the dance floor and spent the next half hour laughing while I tried not to make a complete fool out of myself. Seemed like once I’d almost caught on to the steps, a new song would come on, and I’d have to learn a whole new series of moves.
The DJ, who appeared to be one of the guys from the Mustang Mountain Riders, put on a slow song. Sage smiled at me and stepped closer. He opened his mouth like he was about to ask me to dance, but before he could, someone tapped my shoulder.
I turned around, expecting to find Caitlin telling me I’d been outbid. My heart fluttered as Aiden stared down at me, his jaw tight. He had on a pair of dark blue jeans and a gray button-down flannel shirt that set off the blue in his eyes.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” he mumbled, his voice low.
“Are you asking me to dance?” I gave him a sweet smile and held out my hand.
He glanced toward an empty table. “Can’t we sit down and?—”
I started to turn back toward Sage. After the cold shoulder Aiden had given me earlier this morning, I didn’t owe him anything. Even though my hormones raged at me to see what he wanted, it wouldn’t hurt him to wait a little while.
“Fine. We’ll dance.” He wrapped his fingers around my wrist and pulled me into his arms. Then he glanced at Sage. “You’ll have to sit this one out.”
The kickback to my nervous system caught me off guard. Attraction crackled between us, almost like static electricity.
“You didn’t have to be so rude,” I said, even though there wasn’t anywhere else I would have rather been in that moment. My cheek rested on his chest, and I inhaled the scent ofhorses, fabric softener, and soap. The combination was more intoxicating than the expensive cologne my last date in New York had worn. I didn’t know what it was about Aiden that made my body hum with awareness, but I couldn’t deny the chemistry between us.
“He’ll live.”
We barely knew each other, but that was exactly the kind of response I expected. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
He didn’t answer right away. When I pulled back and looked up at him, his arm tightened around my waist.
“I’m sorry I was an asshole earlier.”
“And yesterday?” I prompted.
He dipped his chin in silent agreement.
“And the day before that?”
One side of his mouth tipped up. “And all the days before that, too.”
“You couldn’t tell me that after my dance with Sage?” I arched my brows though inside, I was doing a full-on victory dance. He was apologizing. And smiling. We’d just had a major breakthrough.
“Can I be honest with you?” His voice sounded strained, like it physically pained him to ask.
The question caught me off guard. “Of course.”
“The thing is… I didn’t want you to dance with that guy.”
Cue internal freak out, though I forced myself to sound nonchalant. “Why’s that?”
His pulse quickened. I could tell by the way his heart beat double time under my palm. “I don’t have a right to expect anything from you, especially not after the way I’ve treated you, but…”
“But what, Aiden?” Every cell in my body waited, frozen in anticipation. I needed to hear him say the words, to admit thatwhat I’d been feeling since the first day I set eyes on him wasn’t just a one-sided infatuation.
“Dammit. I don’t deserve you, but seeing you with him, it broke something deep inside me. Made me realize the only man I ever want to see you dancing with is me.” His words hung between us, and in that moment, everything changed.
Even as the next song began and couples pulled apart to start another line dance, Aiden and I stood frozen in place. Everything… everyone… faded into the background. I reached up, sliding my fingers into the hair at the base of his neck, pulling him closer. His lips brushed mine, but I needed more. I stood on my tiptoes, pressed my body against the hard planes of his chest, and parted my lips.
We could have stood there for hours or it might have just been a few seconds. I lost all concept of time when his tongue slid inside my mouth.
