Chapter Four
DANE SIGHED AS he pulled up in front of Cowboys Red River dance hall. He would much rather have headed back to his apartment, or Lexi’s, or anyplace private enough to let them get horizontal. Hell, who was he kidding? He would have been satisfied with a broom closet big enough for the two of them to stand up in. Anywhere they could make out…and do other things.
He told himself to behave. Tonight wasn’t about getting Lexi into bed as fast as he could. It was about showing her the best night of her life. Call it delayed gratification, but he figured that if he played his cards right, he’d be getting to spend a lot more than one night with her.
But, damn, he was having one hell of a hard time keeping that thought locked in his head when all he really wanted to do at that moment was pull Lexi into his arms and kiss her until her dress melted off.
Dane threw the truck in park and took a deep breath, telling his hard-on to shut up and stop trying to drive.
He wasn’t sure what was going on with him tonight. He’d never had a problem keeping his cool around a woman. But there was something about Lexi that drove him insane. It could be the way she looked so in that sexy little black dress that showed off her legs, not to mention some seriously dangerous curves. Then again, maybe it was the tantalizing perfume she was wearing that make him want to bury his face in her long, dark hair and stay there the rest of the night.
Hell, it might have been the casual way she’d rested her hand on his thigh back at the restaurant. At first, he wasn’t sure she’d even realized what she was doing to him. But then he’d caught the gleam in her eye as she sat there squeezing his leg in pulsing rhythm with his heartbeat. That’s when he knew Lexi was perfectly aware of how much she was turning him on. She was teasing the hell out of him, and enjoying herself as she did it.
“I’ve been here before,” Lexi said when he opened the passenger door for her. “With the crew from my old station. They usually have great bands here.”
He locked the truck then took her hand. “Do you like to dance?”
She smiled. “Definitely! What about you?”
He grinned. “I’ve been known to two-step on occasion.”
“And is tonight one of those occasions?”
“It is.”
Her smile broadened. “Good. Then let’s go dance!”
Dane chuckled as she gave his hand a tug. He was starting to wonder if she approached everything she did with as much enthusiasm as she did dancing. Of course, that immediately made him think about doing a completely different physical activity with her. His cock hardened again. Damn, he’d finally gotten the thing to behave. How the hell was he going to dance now?
Lexi didn’t give him a chance to worry too much about it as she dragged him through the door so fast he barely had time to slow down and pay the cover charge. Once inside, Lexi made a beeline for the huge dance floor. The band on stage was playing a popular country song, and he and Lexi easily slipped into the flow of people and started two-stepping around the floor.
He quickly figured out Lexi was one hell of a good dancer. Before long, they were scooting, spinning, and shuffling around the floor like they’d been dancing together for years. The music was too loud to even consider talking, so Dane made do with gazing into her beautiful blue eyes.
The band played one great song after another, so he and Lexi stayed on the floor along with everyone else. Dane had no idea how long they danced, but at some point he looked up and realized the place was a lot more crowded, making it harder to get around the doughnut-shaped floor. Then the band switched gears, playing a much slower tune and calling all the couples out for a little slow dancing.
Lexi slipped into his arms as if she belonged there, which he was beginning to think she most certainly did. He slid his right hand behind her back, pulling her close, then casually rested his palm on the upper curve of her ass, letting his fingers trace little circles on the sensitive spot right at the base of her spine. She shivered the slightest bit before resting her cheek against his chest.
He groaned at how good Lexi felt nestled up against him, but he doubted she could hear over the music. There was no way she could miss the hard-on he sported in his jeans, though. Hell, the thing was pressing right up against her belly begging for attention. Lexi snuggled even closer, one of her hands digging into the muscles of his shoulder like she wasn’t ever going to let him move away. She didn’t have to worry about that. He wasn’t going anywhere.
When the song came to an end—way too fast, in his opinion—Lexi tipped her head back to look up at him. Seeing the hunger in her eyes, and knowing it almost certainly matched the look in his own, Dane did the only thing he could. He dipped his head and kissed her.
He swore he felt a spark jump between them when their lips touched. He was also pretty sure he heard Lexi moan against his mouth. Then again, that might have been him groaning. It was hard to tell.
He buried his free hand in her hair, cradling her head as he traced his tongue around her lips. She parted them, inviting him in, and he slipped his tongue into her mouth to two-step with hers. Damn, she tasted good! It was all he could do to control himself.
From the way Lexi was clutching the front of his shirt and kissing him back, he wasn’t the only one having problems keeping things PG-rated.
Dane didn’t realize the band had started playing again, or that the other people on the dance floor were moving around him and Lexi like a tide until someone bumped into him. Grabbing Lexi’s hand, he led her through the crowd and off the floor. After a kiss like that, dancing was the last thing he wanted to do.
He headed for one of the bars so they could grab a couple of drinks. Besides the fact that they had been dancing for a while and she was probably as thirsty as he was, he needed something else to focus on. If he didn’t calm down before they left, he was probably going to rush into something, and he didn’t want to do that. Not with someone this amazing.
When he ordered two bottles of water, the bartender looked at him like he had horns growing out of his head. He guessed water wasn’t a big seller around here.
Dane handed one to Lexi to see her regarding him with an expression half amused, half hungry…and altogether sexy. This woman was dangerous all right.
He drained half the bottle of water in one gulp. When he looked at Lexi again, she’d turned her attention to the mechanical bull pit set up along one of the walls near the pool tables.
“Have you ridden the bull here before?” he asked.
