Selena lifted a brow. “She took your old, smelly football jerseys?”
He laughed. “My well-laundered football jerseys, actually. Along with the five game balls I earned while I was there. Maybe she felt like it was her due for hanging with me all those years.”
“Do you ever ask yourself why it didn’t work out?” she asked curiously, wondering what kind of woman could walk away from a man like Jayden.
“Sure.” He shrugged. “For years, I told myself it was because Sheri had gotten bored with the grind of being with a cop. You know, the long shifts, the phone calls in the middle of the night, the worries. I think I told myself that line so many times that I actually started believing it was true.”
“But you don’t think that now?”
He shook his head. “I came to the realization a little while ago that Sheri and I didn’t work out because the spark that was supposed to be there wasn’t. We were together because it was comfortable, but it wasn’t special.”
She felt a little tingle in her tummy. “When did you figure that out?”
His eyes met hers, his gaze almost hypnotic. “About two days ago. When I met you.”
Her pulse skipped a beat. He hadn’t known the spark was missing in his previous relationship until he felt the spark with her.
“How about you?” he asked casually. “Was there someone special for you that didn’t work out?”
Selena ran her thumb along the stem of her glass. “No. I didn’t date in high school, because my brother and Ernesto scared all the boys away. After Geraldo died and I went off to college, I was too busy with school to think about guys. I’ve gone out since then but can’t say I’ve ever met anyone special.”
“Haven’t found that spark yet, huh?” he murmured.
She locked gazes with him. “If you had asked me that two days ago, I would have said no.”
He didn’t say anything, but it felt like hundreds of words passed between them as a smile curved his sensuous mouth.
“Do you want to dance?” he asked suddenly.
She returned his smile. She knew she kept asking herself this, but could he possibly get any better? The looks, the body, the personality, the perfect, open honesty. And now it turned out that he liked to dance? It was official now—Jayden Brooks was absolutely perfect.
“I thought you’d never ask.”
Chapter 11
Brooks pulled Selena closer, then right before she collided with his chest, he stepped to the side and let her spin past under his arm. Her hand was tiny in comparison with his, but she held on to him easily as he guided her in a tight circle. Then he urged her back toward him, slipping them both into the salsa so fast and smooth, it felt like they’d been dancing together for years. Selena laughed, and Brooks was convinced it was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard.
The Whitney Houston dance beat they’d been moving to slowed, and the first few notes of a much slower song started filling the club.
“You want to take a break?” he asked over the music.
“Don’t even think about it,” she said as she tugged him close.
Despite their difference in height, her curvy body fit so perfectly with his, it was like they were two puzzle pieces. He couldn’t help but wonder if they’d fit together this well in the bedroom, too. Something told him they would. In fact, he had visions of spinning her around in all kinds of positions right there on the dance floor just to see how many different ways he could fit the two of them together.
Selena buried her face against his chest as they danced, one hand near his shoulder, her other arm wrapped fiercely around him. He urged her even tighter to his body. The move pressed that delicious tummy of hers right into his hard-on, and he knew there was no way in hell Selena could miss it. He’d been aroused from the moment he’d smelled her walking into the club, but pressed up against her like this made the big guy stand up and take notice.
Selena slid her arm down his back, pressing her body against him, swaying to the music in a way that had his cock rock hard in seconds. Damn, she knew how to work it. He wondered if she could feel him throbbing, even through all the layers of clothes that separated them. If she could, she didn’t give it away.
Instead, she breathed him in, a soft little moan slipping out with nearly every exhale. It had to be the sexiest sound he’d ever heard.
They were still swaying to the music when he realized he wasn’t the only one getting rapidly turned on. If the scent of arousal coming from her and the way those little moans had turned to little growls was any indication, Selena was excited as hell.
Tipping her head back, she cupped his jaw and tugged him down for a kiss. He had to admit he got caught a little off guard when he felt her fangs brush against his tongue, not to mention the possessive growl she let out as her hand locked behind his neck and refused to let him move. Brooks knew this was dangerous, that Selena could be on the verge of a shift right here on the dance floor, but try as he might, he couldn’t pull himself away. She tasted too damn good.
He deepened the kiss, letting her know he wanted this as much as she did. But when he felt her fangs extend further and that growl started to rumble deep in her throat, he knew he had to get things under control before it went too far.
That was hard to do with her mouth firmly locked on his. Putting his hands on her hips and breaking that kiss so he could gently put some distance between them was one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do. His inner alpha howled in frustration as he did it, wanting to take her right there on the dance floor, to hell with all the people watching.
