“Both.”
“Ah. You swing both ways, huh?”
Bailey choked on her surprise as she turned to stare up at him. “No. That’s not…”
His eyebrows rose. “Trust me. I don’t judge.”
“No. I don’t. I mean … I don’t have anything against people who … you know. But I don’t. I like…” She groaned and dropped her head. “This is goin’ badly.”
A large finger tapped under her chin lightly, urging her to look up. When she didn’t, Holt helped her along, curling his finger sideways and nudging until she was staring up at him.
He was smiling, and damn it if the man didn’t have an amazing smile. Most notably, his perfect lips. She briefly wondered what they would feel like pressed against her own.
His eyes locked with hers, shifting slightly as though he was attempting to peer deep into her soul. She didn’t want to acknowledge that there was some sort of unfamiliar connection forming. An arc of electricity that shimmered and sparkled as it moved between them. Like those electrostatic plasma balls. The kind you touch and the colored lights follow your fingertip. She imagined those colorful lights stretched between, glowing brighter the longer they remained like that.
Of course, she’d thought the same thing about Rafe not too long ago. Up until he made it very clear that what she felt was one-sided. It was safe to say she wasn’t a good judge of chemistry.
Taking a deep breath, she looked away from Holt. “I’m sorry. I’m just havin’ an off night. You were kind enough to invite me.”
Holt’s voice dropped an octave or two. “Would it help to know kindness hadn’t played a part?”
Her skin tingled from the seduction in his words. Something about this man had appealed to her from the moment she saw him, and she couldn’t shake it. In fact, with every second she spent with him, she found her attraction to him intensifying. Since she didn’t know much about him, it was merely physical, but it was quickly consuming her.
“We should probably move closer to the stage,” she whispered, trying to break the spell he had on her.
It took effort, but she managed a smile and broke eye contact.
Before she could walk away, Holt touched her cheek. The barest sweep of his fingertip across her skin, urging her to look at him again. This time when she did, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. The sweet melding of his lips to hers stole her breath and made her vividly aware of those sparks again. Something compelled her to lean into him, to press her palm to his chest, to feel the rock-hard muscle that shifted as he stepped closer, deepening the kiss as he licked his way into her mouth. She slid her hand to his neck, the soft hair at his nape tickling her fingertips. The gap between them disappeared, the hard press of his body warming her through her clothes.
She got lost in him. That was the only way to describe it. She felt his kiss deep in her core.
In those few precious moments, she was bared to him. As vulnerable as she’d ever been. Never had she put much stock in love at first sight, but she was beginning to think there might be something to it. That connection. It felt deeper now. As though he’d succeeded in baring her soul and finding the deepest, darkest parts of her.
Bailey knew she should step back. Knew they were in public and everyone could see them. For some reason, she didn’t care. She was so tired of doing the right thing, the honorable, respectful thing. Being the good girl had gotten her nothing but disappointment. She wanted to be free for a little while, to let loose and let the foreign sensations within her carry her away. She’d done the right thing with Rafe, waiting for something that would complete her, and look where that had gotten her. Maybe if she’d done something back in the beginning, she wouldn’t have gotten her heart broken.
Thankfully, at least one of them had some sense left because Holt pulled his mouth from hers, but he didn’t move away. With his hands on her face, he met her gaze, and she saw the same flames burning in his eyes that she felt in her bloodstream.
“I take that to mean Rafe’s the one who has you up in arms.”
He couldn’t have doused the moment any faster if he’d poured a bucket of ice water over her head.
Bailey tried to pull away, but he grabbed her hand.
“Don’t you run, little rabbit.”
Frowning, she glared at him.
“I didn’t mean it like that.” Holt shook his head and closed his eyes. “And I damn sure didn’t mean to ruin that incredible moment.”
“Well, you did,” she said firmly.
“By bringing up Rafe.”
“Could you please quit sayin’ his name,” she bit out.
“Tell me one thing first.”
She swallowed hard. “What?”
