Page 85 of Poet & Protector

He hurried off, leaving me to pace around my brand new hideaway. It was darker here than in the main area of the club, but the lights operating from above swept over me like twilight waves that only enhanced the secret cloistered atmosphere.

As I waited, I second-guessed my choice to go along with Ansel’s plot, but my doubts could never overpower the overwhelming desire to capture some kind of private interlude with Nev.

Voices reached my ears. Ansel. Nev. Sabine. Why was Sabine with them?

I could hear Nev’s skepticism as Ansel led him through the scaffolding, and it made me smile.

Then Ansel appeared with Nev on his heels.

It was hard to catch Nev by surprise; the shock of his expression was priceless.

I walked over to him and took his hand. He laced his fingers with mine, tongue-tied.

“Hey.” I smiled at him, then said to Ansel, “Thanks. So much.”

“Of course.” Ansel bounced on the balls of his feet before he walked away. He turned to give me a quick thumbs up then he disappeared.

With my free hand I reached up and touched his cheek. “Dance with me.”

Nev was still getting over his shock. I laughed as I wrapped his arms around my waist and linked my hands at the nape of his neck.

He gave his head a quick shake, then asked, “How did you find this place?”

“I can’t take credit for this little rendezvous,” I answered. “This is all Ansel.”

Nev laughed. “Of course it is. I swear his mind never stops working. He’s always up to something, isn’t he?”

“Yep,” I replied. “You’re so losing that bet.”

“We’ll see,” he grumbled. “I’m starting to think you had inside information.”

“Of course I did.” I curled my fingertips through the ends of his hair. “It’s not my fault if you failed to grasp something so obvious.”

“Shut up.” He leaned closer to nip my ear. “I thought you wanted to dance with me.”

I did better than that. Fitting my body against his, I laid a path of light kisses along the side of his neck as I began to guide us in rhythm with the low droning music. Nev tilted his head to give me better access. I took advantage and tugged the collar of his shirt wider so I could lick my way across his collar bone.

Nev’s breath hissed out. “I didn’t notice you dancing this way earlier.”

“It’s my creative interpretation of this particular piece of music,” I answered before I kissed the hollow of his throat. “What do you think?”

“I think you’re dangerous.” He spun me around, keeping one arm tight around my waist and his other hand flattened against my chest.

Nev took charge, directing my body to move in concert with his. Whenever the music changed, speeding up, or suddenly slowing, he seemed to anticipate it, controlling our dance so there were no missteps or stumbles, only a perfect syncing of lithe twists and undulations.

I leaned into him harder, reaching back with one hand to hook a finger through his belt loop and tug his pelvis against me.

“Now you’re being cruel,” Nev growled as I rolled my hips.

“I know,” I said, enjoying the way the intended result of my efforts was pressing hard against my ass.

“Should I be cruel, too?”

Nev bent his head. His sharp canines grazed the side of my neck as his hand moved from where it had gripped my waist to slide beneath the hem of my shirt and stroke the heated skin of my abdomen. Then he was tracing the waistband of my jeans, toying with my belt buckle.

My head dropped back against his shoulder when his hand moved lower, searching. Finding. “Nev.”

I was a good dancer, but he was a musician. I was a fool to challenge him in his own arena. His innate sense of rhythm, of the perfect caress to match a downbeat or a rising swell in the song was going to make me lose my mind. Neither of us could afford to lose our minds here.