CHAPTER TWO
The dance
The wine had nearly disappeared in the bottle between them.
Ella whirled the remainder of it in her glass, gazing at Jayden like he was the main attraction. Her tongue rolled over her lip, slow and deliberate, and Jayden was powerless to look away. He did not want to.
"I want to dance," she stood up with a swirl of hip that made her skirt slide further up her thighs.
Jayden also stood up, already experiencing the blood running to his groin. "Lead on."
She nodded as if she knew exactly that he was staring. Like she'd rehearsed that walk especially for him—back twisted, legs crossing with each step, hair swishing in waves down her back.
The dance floor was crowded, hot, bodies grinding with lights and shadows shifting over them. But as soon as Ella arrived at the middle, it seemed the entire room opened up for her.
She spread her arms above her head, hips swaying to music, eyes closed. Her body spoke for itself—smooth, sensual, lethal. Jayden remained there, taking a couple of seconds of observing her dance, just soaking up the beat of her. The sway. The rolling of her waist like the embodiment of sex.
And then she looked in his direction, silently daring him to keep up.
He moved behind her, hands resting low on her hips. She pushed back into him instantly, fitting her curves against his hardening front. Her ass rolled over him with slow pressure, grinding in time with the beat. His fingers tightened without thinking.
"Damn," he muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" she asked, voice sweet and deadly.
"You're driving me insane."
She turned, pressing her body against his, belly to chest. Their faces were so close he could taste her breath—something fruity and laced with wine.
"I'm not even trying yet."
He laughed, but it was breathless. His hands found her lower back, thumbs brushing under the hem of her top. Her skin was hot. Smooth. Inviting. He wanted more. So much more.
"I don't know whether you're teasing me," he panted, "or whether you're just the thing I want tonight."
"Maybe both?" she teased.
They ground against each other, slowly, as though in a bed and not a nightclub. His thigh wedged between hers, and she rocked back into him, her body stroking along him with exquisite, burning friction. Her chest rubbed against him—no bra, he thought. Just skin beneath that tight shirt.
He nearly lost it.
"Say something, Jayden," she told him, tossing her face up, lips perilously close.
"Anything."
"If I asked you to bring me home right now. would you?"
He blinked.
"Without questions?" she continued.
He looked at her. The blaze in her eyes. The shape of her mouth. She was stone cold serious.
"Yes," he said. "Yes absolutely."
She smiled, and crept still closer. "But if I asked you not to touch me yet? Would you still want me?"
He hesitated. That made her smile even more.
"I like men who want control," she breathed, lips against his jaw, "but I love men who can wait."
"Fuck," he whispered.
She leaned in once more, her mouth on his earlobe, her warm breath against his skin. "I want you to want me so badly, it hurts."
"You've already won," he snarled.
Her lips hung, hardly not apart. So easy to kiss her. So easy to lose himself completely. His fingers brushed against the side of her body, stopping at the top of the curve of her ass. She didn't step away. She leaned against him, embracing his neck. Her breasts pressed into his chest, and he felt the pounding of her heart—wild, like his.
Their lips touched—barely. A ghost of contact. Just enough to set fire to both of them.
And then—
She pulled back.
Again.
Jayden exhaled sharply. "You're evil."
Ella laughed. "I'm temptation."
"You're cruel."
"I'm worth it."
The music dropped to a slower tempo. Her hands slid under his shirt, fingers grazing his abs. His skin jumped under her touch.
She leaned in and whispered, "Let's go somewhere darker."
He stiffened, his pulse thrumming. "Where?"
"Anywhere but here."
Jayden didn't need more convincing.
He took her hand, weaving through the crowd. She followed, still close, still teasing him with the swing of her hips. He pushed open a side door—marked "staff only." The hallway behind it was dim, narrow, and empty.
As soon as the door shut behind them, he backed her against the wall, hands rested on either side of her head.
"You're playing a dangerous game, Ella."
She gazed up at him, rosy cheeks, puffy lips. "I like danger."
Jayden's mouth leaned toward hers, fingers in her hair. Foreheads touched. Breaths clashed. Still. no kiss.
"I want to taste you," he breathed.
Her eyes grew darker. "Then taste me."
"Because I know if I begin, I won't be able to stop."
She smiled. "That's not a threat. That's a promise."
Jayden shut his eyes. He could practically envision ripping off that top. Getting down on his knees. Listening for her to breathe his name in the darkness.
But he didn't.
Instead, he stepped back, jaw clenched, chest heaving. "I'm not going to rush this."
Ella's smile turned wicked. "Then I really picked the right guy."
She walked past him, brushing her hand over his chest, down his stomach. When she reached the door, she paused.
"I'll be waiting by the bar," she said. "Don't take too long."
Then she disappeared again—leaving Jayden alone, hard as stone, and ready to risk everything for one more taste of her.