“You wouldn’t want to embarrass me, would you?” he teased.
“But of course, darling.” She laughed in that throaty way that used to drive him crazy. “If you prefer, we can do this back in your suite.”
Clay’s eyes fastened on Ellie. “Not just yet.”
Ellie laughed uproariously at something Flex said while his hand moved lower, curving over her sexy derriere.
Damn him! Clay pulled Gabby closer. He massaged her slim hips, but his mind stayed on Ellie.
What was it about her that attracted him so strongly? She wasn’t nearly as beautiful as Gabby, yet she seemed more so. He watched her smile up at Flex, and his stomach turned over. She looked enchanting, so fresh and warm and sweet.
Earlier he’d caught the whiff of White Shoulders, the orange blossom perfume she always wore. It fit her somehow, nothing cloying or heavy, just pure and honest, the way Ellie was herself.
The dance ended and the tempo of the music increased. Clay started back toward the table, preferring music with a slower beat.
“Please, darling?” Gabby pleaded.
Clay glanced at Ellie and his mouth dropped open. She swayed to the music, her legs braced a little apart, her skirt riding up and her head thrown back. Flex danced across from her, grinning from ear to ear.
Clay stayed on the dance floor. Gabby danced wildly in front of him while Clay danced unconsciously, ignoring her and watching Ellie in disbelief.
She was good. He’d give her that. Every movement was fluid, practiced, and flawless. She seemed alive in a way he’d never seen her. He felt a surge of desire like nothing he’d ever known. Sweat broke out on his forehead. He was rock hard and throbbing.
Ellie swayed and circled, using her hips suggestively, running her hands through her thick mahogany hair. It cascaded over her shoulders, and heavy red-brown strands fell over one eye. She looked like a beautiful gypsy.
Clay swallowed hard. It was all he could do to breathe. In his mind she danced for him naked, swirling and turning, displaying her full breasts for him alone.
The music increased its tempo. Flex put his hands on Ellie’s waist and lifted her onto a table near the edge of the dance floor. Ellie seemed not to notice. She continued her gyrations in perfect rhythm, swaying to the music, her small feet never nearing the edge of the table. What in God’s name would she be like in bed?
The people on the dance floor stopped dancing and surrounded the table. The riders and even his dad started clapping. Flex just stood there, grinning like a fool.
“Looks as though the little church mouse isn’t such a mouse after all,” Gabby breathed in his ear.
The beat went faster. Ellie whirled and closed her eyes, slid her hands down her body, and began to unbutton the top of her two-piece dress.
Clay’s control snapped. “Go back to the table,” he told Gabby, then made his way to the front of the crowd where Flex stood clapping and grinning.
“You stop her, or I will.” His hands fisted as he tried to control his fury.
“Be my guest,” Flex said.
Ellie tossed the top of her dress into the crowd with a throaty laugh. Standing in her skirt and a lacy white chemise, she shook her shoulders in rhythm to the music. She seemed not to notice the others in the room.
When she moved sideways, bending down provocatively, and shaking her shoulders, Clay’s arms snaked out, and with one quick tug, he pulled her over his shoulder, her hair falling down his back like a silky curtain. Ellie didn’t fight him, just let him carry her across the dance floor and out onto the street where he propped her up against the wall of the building.
“What in the name of heaven do you think you’re doing?”
Ellie smiled up at him, unable to focus. “I love to dance, don’t you?”
Clay just growled. “You’re drunk, and you’re going back to the hotel.”
“Is the party over?”
“It’s over for you.” Turning to the doorman, he motioned for a taxi.
“I don’t feel so good.” Ellie swayed on her feet. Clay helped her around to the side of the building, but she didn’t throw up and eventually some of her color returned.
“I’m all right,” she told him with a crooked smile. “Thanks.”
