Chapter Three

Kelly

Dancing has a way of letting you shed your inhibitions, even if it is for just a split second in time.

Acting like silly teenagers with Sara on the dance floor somehow let me forget everything else. I will be forever grateful to Sara for this one perfectly free moment.

“This has to be the best meat market in the world,” Sara said, staring behind me with far more approval than I had seen from her yet.

I turned my head to follow her gaze, my long, straight, dirty blonde hair fanning about behind me and whipping someone else in the back.

I turned, apologizing immediately before I had fully brought him into view. The man was about my height, with warm brown eyes that seemed friendly.

“Don’t worry about it. Where’s your boyfriend?” His eyes checked out the space all around me, paying special attention to any man who could be the fabled boyfriend.

His eyes rested on Sara, and then he smiled. I could almost see the wicked thoughts going on behind his eyes.

“My friend and I are here alone.” I cringed when I realized how childlike I sounded.

“Really?” he answered with a licentious smile.

His eyes shot behind me and went wide before he stepped away from me like someone had violently struck him. His hands came up in a pushing motion I didn’t understand.

I stared at him in dumb shock, not sure what I had done to inspire such a reaction. I swallowed thickly, wondering when I would pass the borders of socially inept into normality.

“Girl, that hottie is staring at you somethin’ furious,” Sara said as she turned my body to where she wanted me to look, once again forgetting the plebeians around her, as the man had never existed.

When I glanced briefly at the man beside me, he was staring in the same direction as Sara. I could’ve sworn that I had seen a flash of real fear in his eyes before he turned back to his friends. He didn’t look at me again.

Emerging from the horde was three of the most absolutely gorgeous men I had ever seen. Given tonight and the place, that said something.

The one in front was the tallest by far, well over six feet in height. I had to crane my neck to take all of him in, even from a distance. The two who flanked him were as rough and dangerous-looking as he seemed to be.

My heart began to pound, and my throat went dry. His bluish-green eyes zoomed directly into my face, never seeing Sara at all.

Even without looking, the crowd parted for them. Their importance was etched on every flicker of sinew and muscle, perfectly displayed and mouth-wateringly erotic.

They stopped just short of us, watching us as we did them like we were from a different species. But when I thought about it, we were.

I turned back to Sara, unused to such direct attention.

“He is so smiling at you.” Sara elbowed me lightly in the ribs.

“He is also staring at me.” My voice hitched, a fresh panic attack teasing the edges of my mind. I closed my eyes, breathing in through my mouth discreetly and out through my nose until I was light-headed enough to feel drunk.

“That’s what I need!” I giggled, feeling a little giddy, though I wasn’t sure why.

“There are many things that you need, but which one are you talking about this time?” Sara stared back at the slightly shorter, black-haired one, who smiled at her with interest.

Through the fall of my hair, I watched them stand in the middle of the dance floor, talking about us. All too often, the highly tall blonde one glanced back at me.

Eventually, the panic subsided when they came no closer, allowing me to speak again in everyday speech. “Beer. Beer makes everything better, or so you say.”

“So does blood, but I don’t see you going for any of that,” Sara snapped playfully.

One short laugh from her told me they were coming closer. I didn’t need to look. I almost felt him there.

With each step they took, Sara’s interest skyrocketed.

I was staring at the scuffed black floor when a pair of matte black shoes appeared in my vision. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat that had suddenly returned, but it stayed lodged as a permanent fixture.

I knew before the words left Sara’s mouth that she was going to force me to do something. Sara leaned into me, smiling at the man before us, and whispered in my ear, “Look up at him and smile.” Usually, when a friend says this to another, they have a choice. I didn’t. Sara had me on a leash, but it was more metaphysical than the woman I had seen earlier.

Though I didn’t want to, when the words fell from her full lips, I looked up. They sure didn’t make them like this where I came from. My eyes slid up the man’s well-toned, hard body, drifting over every plane and dip. His thighs were cupped in finely worked leather pants, tight enough that they hid nothing. A black shirt stretched over a broad chest, showcasing thick biceps adorned with black tribal or Celtic tattoos.

I moved to his face, noting the red-studded eyebrow ring. His liquid turquoise eyes were lined with thick, jealousy-inspiring lashes. He had the sexiest, fullest lips I had ever seen, and they were smiling at me. Not the gorgeous women around me, not Sara, but me. What the hell? When did I enter the Twilight Zone?

Don’t say anything stupid. I tried out a shy smile. “Hi.”

Okay, good, that wasn’t stupid. It was simple, concise, and not embarrassing—point for me.

So that made it, what, one point for an entire night? Better than nothing.

He leaned down, pausing, I thought, to sniff my hair, but I couldn’t tell. When he spoke, I thought I would surely faint.

“Hey, love, would you care to dance with me?” he asked in a Southern drawl. How his words were drawn out had to be the single sexiest thing I had ever heard.

I went to say yes, but nothing came out. My tongue felt like it had swelled, with my throat closing around it.