by Alicia Rae
Thankful I was closest to the aisle, I jumped to my feet. “So, who’s ready to dance?”
“Me!” all four girls shouted at once.
The guys shuffled out from the booth to let the girls out.
Gail reached me first where she looped her arm through mine and yanked me toward the dance floor. “Come show me your moves, lady,” she challenged.
“Girls Just Want to Have Fun” started playing through the speakers. The song said it all, and my hips started swaying to the beat.
Gail twirled me under her arm, and then I spun her around, too, as we both laughed. Abbey, Lily, and Audrey joined us to form a circle. The five of us danced together as we all bellowed out the lyrics.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Colton and the guys grinning as they watched us from a short distance away. “Time of Our Lives” came on next. I changed my tempo to mirror the sexiness of the song, letting my hips move with the beat.
Familiar hands came to my sides as a warm firm body pressed against my backside, moving in tune with me.
Mmm…my cowboy has rhythm.
Colton lowered his lips along my throat, just below my ear. “This dress is killing me,” he drawled, “slowly and painfully.”
The huskiness of his voice sent a shiver of anticipation racing down my spine. I twined my fingers with his and shimmied my ass into his hardness, earning a growl from him.
I teased, “Then, it’s serving its purpose.”
“I hope you enjoyed wearing it tonight because when we get home”—he trailed his lips up to the base of my jaw and skimmed it—“I’m going to shred it from your delicate body.”
I grinned at effecting him so as I spun around in his hold, shaking my head. “You can’t ruin it. This is Abbey’s dress.”
He didn’t seem fazed. “Then, I’ll buy her a new one.”
I flattened my palms on his chest, absorbing its firmness, as he set the pace of our rhythm.
“How about I strip out of it for you instead?” I offered.
His eyes darkened with patent desire, and he grinned impishly. “I like the sound of that better.”
We fell into a comfortable silence as he brought his hands to the small of my back. He made our every step skilled and flawless as I followed his lead, and we stayed in perfect sync with one another.
When “All of Me” by John Legend came on, my head descended, and I laid my cheek against his chest. Listening to the lyrics, I closed my eyes and reveled in this moment with him. The clean scent of his skin bathed me as his arms held me tight as though I belonged there.
Nothing had ever felt so good. He was my home, my forever home.
For the first time since the fire, I felt like he was letting down his guard and just being himself.
Everything was as it should be.
Over the next half an hour or so, more songs played before Colton and I finally took a breather. He guided me over to the edge of the wooden dance floor and leaned into me.
The rest of our group followed, and Jason was the first to say, “Are you guys about ready to head out?”
Colton tilted his head at me.
I nodded between him and Jason. “Yes, sounds good to me.”
“Okay, we’ll meet you back at the table,” Jason said before guiding Abbey back over to the booth.
Colton set his hand on the small of my back. “Restroom?” he asked.
I could barely hear him over the nearby speaker.
The bar was right in front of me. Desperate for water, I put my mouth near his ear and said, “No, thanks. I’m going to get a drink.”
Colton scanned the room and assessed it before glancing down at me. “Okay, I’ll meet you back at the table. Don’t talk to anyone.” He pointed right to where our friends had all begun gathering their belongings from the table. “The guys are right there if you need them. Don’t go far.”
I resisted the compulsion to roll my eyes at him. This was our hometown, for heaven’s sake. “I’ll be fine. See you in a few.” I kissed his cheek before walking toward the bar.
“Excuse me,” I said, weaving through the crowd. “Sorry,” I added as someone’s shoulder bumped into me.
I released a breath of air when I arrived at my destination and waited for the bartender. He looked to be in his mid-thirties. His short buzz cut was styled with hair gel, making it stick up and shine under the colored disco lights.
He gave me a friendly smile. “What can I get you?”
“A glass of water, please,” I replied.
The guy eyed me up and down, smirking, as though he were silently categorizing me as a lightweight. “Sure thing,” he answered, pivoting around to reach for a glass.
A woman bartender cut in front of him, holding two Miller Lite bottles in her hand. I took in the neat pink highlights in her blonde hair, wishing I were brave enough to add color to my hair just once.
She set down the drinks to my right. “That’ll be fourteen bucks, Eddie.”
“Aw, come on. No freebies for the sheriff?”
I recognized Eddie Reynolds’s teasing voice right away. He was the local sheriff in town, who happened to be an old friend of my father. I recalled that Eddie was handling the unresolved water-spigot incident at Colton’s place.
The bartender tilted her head, looking sassy at Eddie. “Nope, not unless you’re in uniform”—her stenciled brown eyebrows raised—“and there’s no drinking in uniform.”
“Huh.” He chuckled. I could see her words churning in his mind, and he shook his head. “I’m not catching the loophole in this predicament.”
“That’s because there isn’t one.” She smiled sweetly at him.
“Well, shucks.” Eddie laughed.
The male bartender returned with my water. “Here you go,” he said to me as he reached across the bar to hand me my glass.
I grabbed it. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” the guy stated casually.
Eddie greeted me, “Hey there, little lady. What brings you out tonight?”
He lifted his right hand to fetch his wallet, and I noticed it was covered in an elastic bandage. As though he’d forgotten about his injury, he switched and used his left hand instead.
“Hi, Eddie,” I smiled, watching him. “I’m just enjoying the night with some friends. And you?”
“Just doing the same and enjoying a night off-duty.” Eddie handed the bartender the exact amount of cash, and he returned his attention to me. “Well, have a great time.” He tilted his head at me, his eyes serious. “And I hope you all drive home safely.”
“You, too, and of course we will,” I reassured him. Then, I pointed to the wrapping on his hand. “What happened to your arm?”
He cradled his right arm and scrunched his brows, as if remembering the pain from his injury. “I fractured it while chasing after a suspect who resisted arrest last week.”
“Oh my gosh. Are you okay?” I couldn’t keep the shock from my expression.
“It’s still healing, but it’s feeling better day by day. It happened from a burglary at the gas station here in town.” He looked at me thoughtfully. “You didn’t hear about it on the news?”
I shifted on my feet, feeling sheepish, as I admitted, “Uh, no. I don’t seem to have too much spare time these days for television.”
“You should. It’s always important to keep up with the local events in your town,” he admonished lightly.
“I will work on that.” I smiled at him.
“Well, have fun, kid, but not too much.” He winked at me before walking off.
“You, too,” I called after him before finally taking a sip of my water. It seemed as though my eventful long day was catching up to me, especially knowing another day of work around the farm was going to repeat itself tomorrow.
As I prepared to head back to the booth, I saw Colton advancing toward me through all the people.
He came to a stop at my side and set his hand on the small of my back. “Hey, you ready? What took
you so long?”
I motioned to Eddie over my shoulder while briefly glancing back. He was speaking with a tall, lean gentleman with red hair.
“I was just talking with Sheriff Reynolds. Did you know he fractured his wrist while chasing a suspect from a burglary this week?”
“No,” Colton answered as his eyes followed to where I was gesturing.
As though feeling eyes on him, Eddie lifted his head and caught us scoping out his injured hand. Then, he angled his body to the side, obstructing our view, as he resumed talking to the man next to him.
“Huh,” Colton drawled in a strange voice. “His bandaging looks a bit peculiar for a fracture.”
“What are you getting at?”
“I mean, I’m no doctor, but you’d think he’d be in a brace or a cast or a sling for a fracture, not ten pounds of Ace wrap covering his arm to his fingers.”
I didn’t like his tone or his attitude toward Eddie, given he’d been a family friend for as long as I could remember. I jumped in to defend him and said, “He didn’t really go into details about his injury, Colton. He didn’t have to. He’s a good man and a close friend of my father’s.”
Colton slightly narrowed his eyes at me, looking irritated. “He’s still a shit cop.”
“Colton, don’t say that!” I gasped.
His jaw twitched as he pressed his hand into my back and effectively guided me through the crowd. “It’s the truth, Paige. He hasn’t had a single lead on the water-spigot incident or the barn fire.”
“True, but he’s an officer of the law, and he took an oath to uphold it. You should respect that.”
We neared our table.
“I will—if he does his job,” Colton quipped.
“Please don’t make assumptions then. He needs time to complete his investigation.”
“Fine,” Colton agreed impassively as we reached our booth.
I pushed aside our conversation and put on a fake smile as I faced our friends, knowing Colton and I would definitely be finishing this conversation later when we were alone.
Colton and I grabbed our belongings, and it was only minutes before we headed out to our vehicles. Audrey and Blake drove home with Colton and me while the rest of the group rode in Kyle’s Suburban.
Once we entered the living room, everyone quickly said good night. Each of our friends took off their shoes on the rug and gravitated toward their rooms.
As I lifted my left foot to slip off my heel, Colton’s hands came around my center. He leaned into me and breathed, “Leave ’em on.”
Just like that, all my anger at him from earlier evaporated into thin air. My pulse spiked to an unnatural rate, and anticipation pooled in my belly.
By the time he and I headed toward his room and crossed the threshold, my desire was quickly replaced with nerves as I recalled the striptease I’d promised Colton earlier today. I’d never undressed for Colton before—at least not in that fashion.
The door shut at our backs with a soft noise, making my heart crash into the wall of my ribs.
A striptease! Really, Paige?
Maybe I should let Colton shred the dress after all. Abbey would understand.
Colton stepped into me and used his index finger to brush my hair over my shoulder, exposing the bare portion of my back. “I can almost feel your heart hammering as if it were my own,” he drawled in a low tone.
I didn’t doubt him. We always shared a unique connection.
Bending forward, he skimmed his lips from the crevice of my ear all the way to my collarbone.
I closed my eyes at his worshipful touch, melting as I forced myself to remember this was just Colton and me, no one else. He’d made love to me hundreds of times. There was no need to shy away from him.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, Paige, that it hurts.” He licked a slow, sluggish trail back up to my ear where he flicked the bottom of my lobe and drew it between his delectable lips.
My head tipped, resting along his chest. I turned my head away from him to give him better access.
“I keep thinking the pain your beauty imposes on my heart will eventually ease, and I’ll be able to admire you without the ache,” he said. He continued to nibble on my flesh, and his breath tickled my skin. “But it doesn’t. It only increases day by day along with my love for you.”
“You do the same to me,” I told him on a rushed whisper.
His hands went to my sides and roamed from my stomach to my breasts where he kneaded them firmly over and over again, making them feel heavy and full. The sensation sent shocks of molten pleasure to my groin.
Color danced behind my closed eyelids, and I was free-falling further into his trance. His touch was hypnotic and erased my anxieties.
“When you peel yourself out of this dress for me, I want you to imagine what it will feel like when I finally have my hands on you again…when my cock is filling you, stretching you”—his breathing grew rough and ragged—“and the whimpers you’ll make when your body trembles for me.”
My eyes opened. He still expects me to make it through a striptease? Shit.
I was on the verge of coming just from the sound of his husky voice. I was also equally empowered by his irrefutable desire for me. It wasn’t often that Colton relinquished control in the bedroom, so I was going to make him feel precisely what he always did to me, showing him how I needed him and fell head over heels for him on a daily basis.
I shocked myself by saying, “Go sit on the end of the bed.”
I gave him a few seconds to follow my instructions. When he didn’t, I stepped out of his hold and pivoted on my heels to face him.
The loving raw passion in his eyes warmed the deepest part of my soul. I could visibly see and feel his love for me. To know he thought I was sexy empowered my confidence.
He took a slight step toward me, and the corner of his mouth twitched, as if the thought of not touching me was unbearable. I could see this was going to kill him.
“Enjoy this, baby”—his eyes were keen and hot with lust—“because, soon, you’ll be beneath me.”
Tonight was as much for him as it was for me, and I was going to enjoy every moment of it. I pointed at the mattress. “Bed. Now.”
Without another word, he spun on his feet and sauntered over to the mattress. My eyes lowered to his ass, watching him attentively, as I admired how his jeans shifted with every stride, hugging his ass so impeccably that he shouldn’t be allowed to leave the house in them.
He slowly sat on the bed, facing me. His eyes burned into mine as he curled a finger at me. “Come here.”
I grinned inwardly. He was already trying to regain control. I defiantly shook my head at him, wondering if he’d survive this.
I delayed a torturous minute before lifting my arms and reaching my hands over my shoulders to lower the zipper as far as I could reach. Then, I reached around to my back to clasp the metal piece, and I lazily dragged it downward to the small of my back.
The only sounds in the room were each clinking noise from the zipper and our labored breaths. We held one another’s gaze until his eyes danced to my dress, as if silently scorching it with his eyes.
The top of the material pitched forward off my shoulders, baring my black lace bra. I grasped either side of the dress, and then I pulled it past my belly and gathered it at my waist. With a slight sway of my hips from left to right, I pushed the garment until it pooled at my ankles. My heels clicked along the hardwood floor as I stepped out of the dress.
Stepping over until I was a few feet in front of him, I stood before him in my black lace bra and matching panties and my red pumps. I studied Colton as his eyes devoured me with such intense passion that my heart grew in size. I loved this man more than anything.
Colton’s hands clenched into fists at his sides. “Fucking hell, Paige.”
I didn’t know how much longer he’d make it, so I gathered my hands behind me to unclasp my bra. Lowering the lace, I drew it from my body and tossed it at his feet.
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His lips parted as he inhaled sharply while taking in my naked breasts.
I glided my fingertips down my stomach and underneath the seam of my panties where I paused, wanting to tease him and prolong this moment.
His gaze darkened considerably. “Those, I will have no fucking problem shredding, baby.”
I took another small step toward him. Less than a yard separated us. “No, you won’t. They are one of my favorite pairs.”
He shook his head from side to side as a primal growl tore from his throat. “Not for long.”
Before I could respond, he reached forward and snuck his hand beneath the lace. I gasped as he hauled me between his legs. Glancing up at me, he placed a kiss at the base of my rib cage.
My hands came to his hair, and I peered down at him, smiling affectionately. “Hey, I wasn’t finished yet.”
Colton leaned into me, and his nose brushed against my breast, circling it once. “I couldn’t make it another second without touching you.” Then, he parted his mouth and drew my nipple inside. Upon release, his lips made a popping noise, and he skimmed a path across the valley of my breasts to the other one. “Now, I want you to take your panties off and let them fall to the floor.”
His voice did things to me, affecting me so, and I found myself dragging my last article of clothing down my thighs. Colton reached between my legs and found my nub. It was aching and throbbing for him.
His finger pressed into my sex, rubbing my tender wall, before withdrawing to spread my arousal through my folds and circle my swollen clit.
I could barely think straight with the wild thump of my pulse. Who was I kidding? I couldn’t think at all.
A warm essence spread through my core, begging to be taken, so I wildly clawed at his clothes. I removed his shirt and flung it onto the floor. Once his jeans and briefs were gone, he cupped my ass and hoisted me onto his thighs with my own on either side of his.
Just as I thought he was going to bury himself deep within me, he fell backward onto the bed and pulled me with him so that my sex straddled his hungry eyes. He possessively gripped my hips.
Unable to keep from watching him, I peered down at him in time to see his tongue sweep over my center and between my folds. He lapped at me as though I were a sweet piece of candy, swirling around my nub, until I was writhing above him. The effect was strikingly hot, heavenly, and erotic.
