Not giving it a chance to confuse me further, I pushed off him. The song was one of my favorites, and I didn’t give a shit who was watching. I began to dance, getting lost in this instead. Kraven leaned against the truck, folding his arms over his chest, watching me make a fool out of myself.
The alcohol acted as the liquid courage, and I swayed my body to the beat of the music. I danced alone all the time, putting on my headphones and getting raptured by the melody that took the pain away.
Shutting my eyes like I did when I was alone, I lifted my hair off my neck, continuing to move my hips in a slow, steady rhythm. It was cold, but I was hot.
Burning from the inside out.
I danced as if I were by myself.
As if it were the last dance when it really was the first.
With a gust of wind, I felt a strong hand grab my stomach, tugging me back against his hard chest. Kraven rocked us slowly together in sync with the music's rhythm. This was the first time I’d danced with anyone, and I couldn’t help but think about who it was that I was experiencing this with. The liquor made it easy to follow his movements.
He was steady.
Tough.
Soothing.
He began humming the tune in my ear, stirring tingles to course up and down my skin. Little by little, he began to strum his fingers on the sides of my stomach and the front of my legs like he was playing his piano. I recognized the thrum of his fingers, feeling his warmth against my back, heating my flesh from the cold.
“You smell really fucking good. You know that?” He gripped my chin, tilting my head up, causing me to look at himthrough my thick, long lashes. His eyes were dilated, and Caribbean blue stared back at me. In seconds, his expression turned heady, and I couldn’t look away from him.
As much as I wanted to.
As much as I should have.
I was locked in his stare.
Lost in his gaze.
Consumed by his touch.
It was madness.
Pure insanity.
Absolute destruction.
But he was still the first to try to stomp out the fire between us, snapping, “Careful, I’m not my brother.”
I sucked in a breath.
Confused.
Hurt.
Angry.
With him.
Julius.
Myself.
It was a wave of emotions.
A commotion of thoughts.
