by Paige Tyler
Her pulse skipped a beat. He hadn’t known the spark was missing in his previous relationship until he felt the spark with her.
“How about you?” he asked casually. “Was there someone special for you that didn’t work out?”
Selena ran her thumb along the stem of her glass. “No. I didn’t date in high school, because my brother and Ernesto scared all the boys away. After Geraldo died and I went off to college, I was too busy with school to think about guys. I’ve gone out since then but can’t say I’ve ever met anyone special.”
“Haven’t found that spark yet, huh?” he murmured.
She locked gazes with him. “If you had asked me that two days ago, I would have said no.”
He didn’t say anything, but it felt like hundreds of words passed between them as a smile curved his sensuous mouth.
“Do you want to dance?” he asked suddenly.
She returned his smile. She knew she kept asking herself this, but could he possibly get any better? The looks, the body, the personality, the perfect, open honesty. And now it turned out that he liked to dance? It was official now—Jayden Brooks was absolutely perfect.
“I thought you’d never ask.”
Chapter 11
Brooks pulled Selena closer, then right before she collided with his chest, he stepped to the side and let her spin past under his arm. Her hand was tiny in comparison with his, but she held on to him easily as he guided her in a tight circle. Then he urged her back toward him, slipping them both into the salsa so fast and smooth, it felt like they’d been dancing together for years. Selena laughed, and Brooks was convinced it was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard.
The Whitney Houston dance beat they’d been moving to slowed, and the first few notes of a much slower song started filling the club.
“You want to take a break?” he asked over the music.
“Don’t even think about it,” she said as she tugged him close.
Despite their difference in height, her curvy body fit so perfectly with his, it was like they were two puzzle pieces. He couldn’t help but wonder if they’d fit together this well in the bedroom, too. Something told him they would. In fact, he had visions of spinning her around in all kinds of positions right there on the dance floor just to see how many different ways he could fit the two of them together.
Selena buried her face against his chest as they danced, one hand near his shoulder, her other arm wrapped fiercely around him. He urged her even tighter to his body. The move pressed that delicious tummy of hers right into his hard-on, and he knew there was no way in hell Selena could miss it. He’d been aroused from the moment he’d smelled her walking into the club, but pressed up against her like this made the big guy stand up and take notice.
Selena slid her arm down his back, pressing her body against him, swaying to the music in a way that had his cock rock hard in seconds. Damn, she knew how to work it. He wondered if she could feel him throbbing, even through all the layers of clothes that separated them. If she could, she didn’t give it away.
Instead, she breathed him in, a soft little moan slipping out with nearly every exhale. It had to be the sexiest sound he’d ever heard.
They were still swaying to the music when he realized he wasn’t the only one getting rapidly turned on. If the scent of arousal coming from her and the way those little moans had turned to little growls was any indication, Selena was excited as hell.
Tipping her head back, she cupped his jaw and tugged him down for a kiss. He had to admit he got caught a little off guard when he felt her fangs brush against his tongue, not to mention the possessive growl she let out as her hand locked behind his neck and refused to let him move. Brooks knew this was dangerous, that Selena could be on the verge of a shift right here on the dance floor, but try as he might, he couldn’t pull himself away. She tasted too damn good.
He deepened the kiss, letting her know he wanted this as much as she did. But when he felt her fangs extend further and that growl started to rumble deep in her throat, he knew he had to get things under control before it went too far.
That was hard to do with her mouth firmly locked on his. Putting his hands on her hips and breaking that kiss so he could gently put some distance between them was one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do. His inner alpha howled in frustration as he did it, wanting to take her right there on the dance floor, to hell with all the people watching.
Selena looked almost dazed as she gazed up at him in confusion. He caught a quick glimmer of wild color in her eyes but figured it had to be the club’s many strobe lights, since it sure as hell hadn’t been green. He glanced at her hands and was relieved to see her claws weren’t out. Even as he watched, the little bit of fang that was protruding over her lower lip disappeared before she even realized they were there.
Thank God.
Her eyes cleared but were just as quickly filled with confusion. “What’s wrong?”
“Absolutely nothing,” he said, pulling her in close again and dropping his forehead down to rest on hers. “I thought we might need to take a break and cool off a bit before you make me completely lose control and I end up doing something that’s likely going to show up on YouTube.”
Selena looked around, as if only then realizing they were in the middle of a crowded dance floor. A sultry smile curved her lips. “You have a problem staying in control when I kiss you?”
He grinned in return, knowing she could still feel his hard-on pressing against her urgently. “I think that’s obvious.”
She wiggled against him as if letting him know she was fully aware of his condition. “Okay, good call. But to be honest, I’m not too sure you would have been the only one losing control.”
“At least you didn’t bite me again,” he pointed out.
She laughed. “Maybe later. Until then, maybe we should check in on Becca and Scott.”
Brooks took Selena’s hand and led her off the floor, praying no one noticed the raging hard-on in his jeans as they weaved their way through the crowd of people between them and their booth.
They found Becca and Scott talking and laughing like they’d been dating for months. Jayden was kind of surprised…until he saw all the empty glasses on Scott’s side of the table, along with three colorful metal cans that looked like something an energy drink would come in. Alcohol and caffeine. That was one way to loosen up.
Scott slid the glasses and cans aside, making room for him and Selena, laughing as one of the cans fell over and splattered a few droplets of clear liquid on the table. “Sorry about that. But I told Becca that the only way she’d get me out there on the dance floor was to ply me with booze and energy drinks. I think she went a little overboard.”
Brooks chuckled. Lots of guys hated to dance. They’d been indoctrinated since birth to avoid doing anything that might make them look silly or uncool. It was only alcohol—and the chance to get up close and personal with a good-looking woman—that usually gave them the courage to do it at all. From the number of cans on the table, Scott clearly included energy drinks into the mix when it came to getting his nerve up.
Brooks reached out and set the can upright, his nose wrinkling at the harsh chemical odor of whatever was inside it. He didn’t recognize the container, but with the name of BUZZ splashed across it in garish, lightning-bolt letters, it was obvious what the stuff was all about. It didn’t smell like anything Brooks ever wanted to try, but Scott seemed to be cool with it.
“You two look so smooth out there,” Becca said, grinning at Selena. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’ve been dancing together for years.”
While Selena and Becca talked about how great the music was, Scott leaned in and asked Brooks where he’d learned to dance.
“I learned most of the formal stuff in college,” Brooks admitted. “I needed an elective, and ballroom dancing was an option. I picked up the rest here and there over the years.”
Scott nodded. “That’s cool. Where’d you go to school?�
��
Brooks was kind of surprised how easy it was, but before he knew it, he and Scott fell into an easy conversation about their college experiences. Brooks didn’t mention the stuff about law enforcement, but other than that, he talked and had a good time doing it. On the other side of the booth, Scott drank another energy drink. Chill and excited at the same time, his feet were tapping like crazy in time to the music coming from the dance floor.
A few minutes later, Scott gave Becca a smile. “Want to dance?”
Becca nodded eagerly, smiling back at him. She started sliding out of the booth with Scott, only to stop and motion Brooks and Selena to join them. “Come on! It’ll be fun!”
They hit the floor just as the worst dance song ever—at least in Brooks’s opinion—started playing—“YMCA.” Brooks felt like pointing out that the song wasn’t even from the ’80s, but he was pretty sure no one cared. He would have faked a hamstring injury, but it was obvious Selena loved the damn song. He threw a quick glance in Zane’s direction, hoping he wasn’t watching. Not only was his teammate watching, he was holding his frigging cell phone aloft, recording everything. Brooks gave him a covert finger. Zane smiled and waved back. This crap was gonna show up on the screen of the next SWAT training class for sure.
But when he saw how much fun Selena was having, he decided he didn’t care. Beside them, Becca and Scott were laughing and dancing like crazy. Hell, Scott was actually jumping around with a completely euphoric expression on his face.
The floor filled with people dancing and singing, everyone bumping into each other and not caring a bit. But as the end of the song approached, Brooks’s instincts screamed at him that something was wrong. At first, he was worried a hunter had slipped into the crowd, but after a moment, he realized that wasn’t it at all. It was Scott. He’d stopped dancing. Not only that, but he was as pale as a ghost. And whereas his heart had been beating like a drum a minute ago, now it was thumping so slowly, Brooks could barely pick it up.
Suddenly, Scott’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he started falling forward.
Becca screamed and tried to slow Scott’s fall, but Brooks jumped in to catch him, lowering the man to the floor. Around them, everyone stepped back, gasping and murmuring in shock.
Out of the corner of his eye, Brooks saw Zane pushing his way through the crowd even as Scott’s heart stopped.
“He’s going under,” Brooks said, starting CPR.
Zane dropped down to do the rescue breathing, coming up after his first two breaths with a stunned look on his face. “He’s overdosing on fentanyl. I can taste it.”
Shit. There were so many other frigging chemicals in the energy drink, he hadn’t even smelled the fentanyl.
“Selena, call an ambulance,” Brooks shouted.
He only prayed they weren’t too late.
* * *
Selena sat at a table near the back of the club, watching Brooks talk to a group of other cops and paramedics. All the customers had left long ago, bailing after the music had been shut down and the lights had come up. Nobody had been interested in partying after seeing a person almost die on the middle of a dance floor. Half a dozen of the club’s employees were quietly moving around, trying to clean up.
Brooks had suggested earlier she and Becca might want to call it a night since he had no idea how long he was going to be stuck there. But Selena had wanted to stay in case there was a chance he got done sooner than he thought, and Becca had been too freaked out to leave on her own.
“A paramedic just called the hospital for me,” Becca said with a sigh as she sank weakly into a chair beside Selena. “She said Scott was conscious and aware when the ambulance brought him in. That’s a good thing, right?”
Selena leaned over and wrapped an arm around her, giving her a hug. “Definitely. Jayden and that other guy got to him in time and kept his heart going. Scott’s going to be okay. But you know, if you headed to the hospital and told them what happened, I bet you could get a nurse to give you some more details.”
Becca nodded. “I know, and I’m going to go. But the paramedic suggested I wait at least an hour so the ER can get him stabilized.”
That made sense.
“I get the feeling Jayden knows the other guy who jumped in to help him do CPR,” Becca said. “They worked together too well to be strangers.”
Selena had been thinking the same thing. Considering the fact that the other guy with the slight British accent was nearly as muscular and sexy as Jayden, she was pretty sure he was SWAT. The odds that two guys that hot—who both knew CPR—happened to be in the club at the same time was pretty slim.
“I think he’s one of Jayden’s coworkers,” she said, watching the British guy casually chatting up the other cops like they all knew each other.
“I wonder what they’re talking about,” Becca said.
“Well, while you were talking to the paramedic, they were asking the manager where he got those energy drinks,” Selena murmured. The guy behind the bar was still squirming at the looks the cops were giving him. “Narcotics officers tested the residue from the cans Scott had been drinking from, and it came back positive for fentanyl. But the manager claims he had no clue there were drugs in those cans, and he doesn’t know where they came from, either. Some salesman showed up about a week ago and offered them a dozen cases at a good price, promising people would like it. The guy was right, too. The manager told the cops people had been begging for it. He’d been hoping the salesman would come back with more.”
Becca stared at her open-mouthed. “I’m not sure what’s more shocking, that a club like this one would buy drinks from some salesman they didn’t know, or that you were eavesdropping on the cops.”
“I was just sitting here minding my own business, waiting for Jayden to finish up.” Selena did her best to look both hurt and innocent. “It’s not my fault they were talking so loud.”
Becca gave her a dubious look. “Right. And I’m sure it had nothing to do with you leaning in a little closer so you could hear.”
Actually, it hadn’t. Selena had been able to hear them fine from where she was sitting. She still could if she focused on what they were saying. But she didn’t bother to point that out to her friend.
“Okay, if your hearing is so great, what are they saying now?” Becca asked.
Selena frowned. Becca really did have bad hearing. “The guy to the left of Jayden—I think he’s from narcotics—is saying all the fentanyl on the street must be going into this energy drink. The older guy on the far right is named Ray. He’s from the gang unit and insists the salesman is actually a front man for a local gang.”
Beside her, Becca looked impressed. “You seriously just heard all that? You’re not making this up?”
Selena looked at the group of cops standing twenty feet from her and Becca, slowly coming to the realization that maybe it was a little weird she could make out what they were saying from so far away. From the concerned way Becca was regarding at her, it was obvious her friend had seen that thought flit across her mind.
“Are you okay?” Becca asked.
“Yeah. I’m fine,” Selena answered. Suddenly, she didn’t want to talk about her hearing anymore. “How about you? You’re the one whose date OD’d right in front of her.”
Becca shuddered as if reliving the memory of Scott collapsing to the floor. Selena reached out and tugged her friend into another hug, knowing it was a moment neither of them would ever forget.
“Seeing that happen to Scott was horrible,” Becca murmured against her shoulder. “But you want to know the worst part?”
Selena pulled back enough to see Becca’s face. “What?”
“Right before you and Jayden came back over to the table and we all went to dance, I’d been thinking the date hadn’t really been going very well and how I wasn’t sure if I’d want to see him again.”
Yeah, thinking about dumping your blind date only to have him practically die five minutes later was bad. Guilt trip times t
en.
“He was really nice,” Becca said, like she had to explain herself. “And cute. But I don’t think I’ve ever met a man so shy. He had to chug alcohol just to talk to me, and I swear he didn’t look me in the eye the whole night. I couldn’t even get him to stare at my boobs, and trust me, I was giving him every opportunity.”
“He got up to dance with you,” Selena pointed out.
“Only after downing a few of those spiked energy drinks,” Becca muttered. “If not for them, I doubt he would have ever worked up the courage.”
Selena sighed. “You probably don’t want to hear this, but there’s a good chance the reason he was so nervous was because he was attracted to you and figured that someone like you probably wouldn’t want to have anything to do with someone like him.”
Becca snorted. “I’m not sure if I should take that as a compliment or an indication of how shallow I am.”
Selena gave her friend’s hand a squeeze. “Look, I’m just saying there’s a good chance you’re the most attractive woman Scott had ever gone out with, so he was probably a little nervous.”
“There was no reason for him to be nervous,” Becca insisted. “It was just a first date.”
Selena lifted a brow. “I remember you were nervous on the way over here, and you had me flying backup with you. Just think what it was like for Scott, swimming all on his own.”
Becca winced. “So, you think I should give him another chance?”
Selena shrugged. “You’re the only one who can make that call. All I’m suggesting is that you don’t make your decision based on how shy Scott was on this first date or what happened on the dance floor.”
“He did try really hard,” Becca admitted. “And he was cute as hell when he did get around to dancing. Maybe another date would be fun. Besides, I’d feel like crap if I dumped him after one date, especially after everything that happened tonight.”
“So, is that a yes?” Selena asked.
Becca nodded.
Selena smiled. “Good, but maybe for the second date, you might want to try a place a little less intense than a night club. Maybe a coffee shop or a quiet restaurant. Scott might be a lot more relaxed in a different environment.”
