Colt helps me off the sink, and I take my time smoothing down the hem of my dress, twisting to look at my backside in the mirror to make sure I don’t have paper stuck to my ass.
Colt’s eyes catch mine in the mirror, and he winks at me, the act causing a smile to split my face.
“There she is,” he whispers at the sight as he wraps his arms around me from behind. He leans over to rest his chin on my shoulder, eyes still watching mine in the mirror. “That’s my girl.”
My stomach flutters at the nickname, and I reach for his arms to wrap them tighter around me. We’re quiet for a moment, and I can hear the music start up again from across the hall. The melody is soft, the guitarists’ voice crooning as he strums. The music floats down the hall, slipping under the lip of the door, and my body reacts. I start to sway back and forth, following the beat of the song. Colt leans his chin on my shoulder, watching me in the mirror as we slowly dance to the music.
“We should take a trip,” he says abruptly. I stop the gentle sway I had been doing, and crinkle my brows at his reflection.
“A trip? Where?”
He shrugs. “Anywhere. I don’t care. We could just go somewhere overnight. Or a long weekend. Maybe you can sleep with your supervisor and he’ll let you off for an entire week.”
He winks again, and I reach an arm around to playfully pinch his side. He grasps my wrist, spinning me to face him.
His forehead lowers to mine, a hand coming to rest on my hip while the other reaches for my hand. He tangles our fingers together and brings them to his mouth for a kiss before holding them out. We sway again, the music from the bar across the hall barely audible over the swish of my dress and the taps of our shoes against the tile, but we work together so well, we honestly wouldn’t even need the music.
“I just need to be somewhere, anywhere, with you. Somewhere where I can walk down the street and hold your hand, where we can share a dinner together that isn’t at my apartment. I want to be able to claim you as mine in front of whoever is watching without worrying. I want to be able to dance with you, Annie, and not have it be in the fucking bathroom.”
He tilts his head to the door behind him. “Maybe we could find a rundown town outside the city, with a country dive bar and spend hours just listening to music. You can wear some cowboy boots and booty shorts. I’ll wear a cowboy hat.”
I chuckle at the thought of my serious, scowling city boy Colt in a cowboy hat. “I think you’re forgetting it’s almost December. Daisy Duke shorts in winter aren’t the best idea.”
“Maybe they have country bars in Aruba.”
I lay my head against his chest, listening to the soft thud of his heartbeat as we sway. “I’ll go wherever you want, baby.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Annaliese
Colt’slipsbrushagainstthe sensitive skin behind my ear, his hands curling around my waist as we shuffle down the darkened hallway to his bedroom.
“Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?”
I smile into the black space, reaching a hand up and around to grip the back of his neck. “Once or twice, maybe.” But I’ll never get sick of it.
His hands move from my waist to my back, fingertips trailing the zipper that falls down along my spine. The bodice of my dress loosens as he drags the fastener down, the cool air of his condo hitting my bare skin.
I let the fabric fall off my shoulders to land in the crook of my elbow before shimmying it down my hips. The dress hits the wooden floor as soon as we meet the threshold of his bedroom, leaving me in just my thong, thigh-highs, and heels.
“Fuck me,” Colt groans. And when I spin to catch his reaction, he’s paused at the doorway with his eyes drawn to my lower body, bottom lip hanging open in surprise.
“You like?” I tease, slowly spinning around so he can have a second look. The grunt he releases when he notices the little bowtie on the back of my underwear has me clenching my legs together.
I stalk toward him, reaching for him, wanting to rip off his suit jacket and tie. But when I raise my hands to start, he stills them.
“Not so fast, sweetheart,” he rasps, his palm curling around the back of my head to pull me into him. “You want to play, baby? I’m ready to play.”
He nods to the bed, gesturing for me to move. “Sit.”
I do as he asks, leaning back on my palms to watch as he undresses himself.
He carefully removes his jacket, folding it in half before laying it across an armchair. He curls his pointer finger in the knot of his tie, moving it side to side before it comes loose. I expect him to lay it on top of his jacket, but instead he tosses it to me, the silk landing on my lap in surprise. “We’re not done with that.”
Heat blooms in my core, and I reach for the tie, running the silk through my fingers as he removes his button-up and pants. He moves to stand in front of me in just his tight black briefs, and his palm reaches out, fingers clasping around my jaw to tilt my face up to his.
“Do you trust me?”
