We joined them for the rest of the song. Seeing Lucy so happy made me want to try harder, so I danced with a smile.
“Remind me to tell you when you’re sober what horrible dancers you are,” I called out as the song ended. I squealed when Gretchen pinched me. Andrew’s dad appeared at Lucy’s side and held out his hand to her as the next song started.
Jon turned to me. “Dance?”
I agreed and let him draw me into his arms.
“Well, you’re a shitty date,” Gretchen muttered at her brother, and we laughed as she sulked on her way off the dancefloor.
“So, little Liv, what’s new with you?” Jon asked. “Gretch says you’re cranky.”
I smiled a little and looked down between us. “Maybe.”
“So what’s up?”
“I’m just overloaded at work, and my boss is always breathing down my neck—it’s enough to make anyone testy.”
Jonathan regarded me thoughtfully while we danced. “You’d tell me if something was wrong, wouldn’t you?”
I looked up at him from under my lashes. “Yes.”
“You know you’re like a sister to me. An extremely hot sister, but a sister all the same. If I were here in Chicago, I’d volunteer as your bodyguard.”
At that, I laughed loudly. “Oh, Jonathan. I love you.”
“Oh—hey, Bill,” Jon said suddenly, his eyes jumping over my shoulder. “Guess you want to cut in with your lady?”
“No, no, it’s fine,” Bill said, turning to me. “I just came to tell you that I’m running up to the house to have a cigar with Andrew and the guys.”
“Okay,” I said and smiled. “I’ll save you a dance.”
“Sounds good.” He leaned over Jon’s arm and pecked me on the cheek.
Jon whirled me around dramatically and dipped me so my hair almost touched the floor. “Hi,” he said from above, grinning.
“Jonathan Harper, damn it. Let me up,” I teased. “Everyone can see down my dress.”
“Oh, then I’m on the wrong side.”
When he lifted me back up, my gaze locked with David’s, not two feet away. David’s smooth voice slathered over me. “May I cut in?” he asked.
“Get lost, dude,” Jonathan said. “She’s married.”
My skin prickled at the thought of those big arms around me. David shifted his focus to Gretchen’s brother, and they stared at each other.
When David’s jaw set, I remembered his jealous streak over Brian during the Meet and Greet party and quickly cut in. “It’s okay,” I assured Jonathan. “David’s a—a friend.”
Jonathan stepped back and bowed. “As you wish,” he said. “I’ll be over there if you need me.”
The first notes of panty-dropping, sex-infused “Wicked Game” came through the speakers. My legs quivered as David wrapped an arm around my waist and took my hand in his. I secretly thanked Lucy for picking a backless dress that allowed us the intimacy of skin-on-skin contact. A cologne-and-whiskey infusion washed over me, and I closed my eyes remembering the heady combination. I could taste the whiskey on my tongue now, the soft cashmere of David’s sweater warming me that night.
“I can’t stop thinking about you,” he said.
“Don’t,” I said.
He slipped the tip of one finger inside my loose dress and skimmed it lightly along my back.
“Look at me,” he urged as he had once before. I could only feel that fingertip, possessing me with its feather touch. He pulled me closer, and I opened my eyes slowly for him. His blazed for me, and he was unmistakably hard against my silken thigh. My teeth bit into my bottom lip. He groaned softly in response and slid his finger down the length of the dress, repositioning his hand lower. “You never finished your sentence.”
