DANCE FOR ME (DANCE FOR ME SERIES Book 2)

by Stone, Holly

  My bedsit was tiny; a single bed pressed up against the wall underneath the window, a small wardrobe and tallboy in the corner and a single kitchen cupboard with a sink and microwave on top. Oh, and my giant picture of the sea. I had a few family photos up too; me and Ailee on a night out when we were in our twenties, all teeth, shiny foreheads, and our expressions still unmarred by life; my mum and dad’s wedding photo; a cousin’s daughter who had been the bridesmaid at our wedding. There weren’t any of Paul and me though. They made me too sad so I’d packed them in a box and stored them in the wardrobe.

  Dan took it all in in two seconds, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, looking for a chair I assumed but not finding one. It seemed weird for him to sit on my bed but that was the only place for him to go. That was where all this was heading, but it didn’t make it feel any less uncomfortable. I worried for a moment whether it was going to end up a terrible mistake for both of us. Only hours earlier, he had been too raw to see me dance and this was a few giant steps on from that. Deciding I needed to take the bull by the horns I took off my coat, hanging it behind the door, toed off my boots and walked towards him with as much confidence as I could muster. Inside I was vibrating with uncertainty, but if I had learnt nothing else from my current employment it was that you can do almost anything if you just decide to and hold your head up high.

  I stood before him, dressed as me, not as Sandy, but I felt sexier and more vibrant in my jeans and sweatshirt, more conscious of my flesh and blood body than I had been in all the months of dancing at the club. He watched me as I undressed myself without ceremony, trepidation in his eyes at first, melting into desire as I got down to my simple white cotton bra and panties.

  “I’m glad you’re not wearing the red,” Dan said, stepping towards me and reaching out to hold my waist, following the path of his hand with his gaze.

  “Why?” I whispered, trembling from the simple touch of his palm, and the look in his gunmetal eyes as they found mine.

  “That was fantasy stuff…this is real.”

  I went up on my toes to kiss him, holding onto the cold fabric of his coat lapels, heart beating double time. Everything slowed when we touched, as though we were moving together through water. The first kiss was just a press of soft dry lips and hot breath, our fingers tentative as he held me so gently it tickled. I waited for it to feel wrong but it didn’t. I waited for him to pull away and say it was too soon, but he was the one that moved the kiss out of 1920s movie territory and into something more.

  When he teased my lips with his, taking each in turn and sucking gently it was as if we were both taking our first sip of water in days. My nerve endings exploded, and everything in me suddenly wanted.

  We kissed and kissed, soft and deep, while I pushed his coat off his shoulders and started to unbutton his blue shirt. His tongue entered my mouth gently but firmly, stroking against mine, making my fingers tremble and slowing my progress. I groaned softly and pulled back to look at what I was doing, wanting to see as well as feel the skin of his chest as it was revealed. His collar bones looked fragile but he was solid with muscle beneath, with a fine dusting of hair that I wanted to nuzzle against. Dan waited patiently as I revealed him, watching my hands and stroking gently over my hair in a tender caress. When I reached the last button I bent to press a kiss to where his heart nestled behind a cage of bone and sorrow. Like a child who had fallen, I wanted to kiss away his hurt.

  “Andrea,” he whispered, grasping my shoulders and walking us slowly towards the bed, eyes never leaving mine. When my legs touched the quilt my mother had made for me before she died, he said, “Lie down.”

  I did as he asked, opening the bed so we could huddle together out of the cold air. He undid the belt on his jeans, and pushed them down, removing them from his feet along with his boots and socks. The weight of him against the edge of the mattress was so unfamiliar I felt startled. The smell of him was so different from Paul – citrus rather than spice – but I was relieved about that. It stretched what we were doing away from the past.

  Dan slipped in next to me a bit awkwardly, lying on his side, his body too big to find the narrowness of my bed comfortable. One of his thighs nudged against my legs, heavy and solid, and I welcomed it against me, pulling him down so I could feel his mouth some more. His kiss was harder now, dirtier almost as though a switch had been flicked when he removed his trousers, or maybe when he felt the contour of my pussy through my knickers. He pressed his thigh up, grinding against me, each stroke of his tongue matched with more pressure below. He had one hand cupping the back of my neck using it to angle my mouth to his in a way that made him seem so in control and I reeled because I hadn’t expected that from the man who had asked to hold my hand so tenderly just minutes before. His other hand pushed at my bra, pulling the fabric of the cup aside and exposing my breast so hastily it plucked against my nipple, making it harden ready for his mouth.

  “Andrea...” He nuzzled my name against the softness of me, sucking hard enough to make me feel it in my cunt. Then he bit so hard I arched my back from the bed.

  “Oh,” I gasped, not used to what I was discovering was a heady mix of pleasure and pain.

  Dan’s eyes cut quickly to my face, worry marring his brow. “Did I hurt you?” he asked, stroking gently where his teeth had made my nipple the brightest shade of pink. I shook my head, wanting him to do it again, needing all the ways in which he was new. When he pinched my nipple I moaned loud and long, rubbing my pussy against his thigh, wanting more friction, urging him to give it to me. “Fuck Andrea.” He was raised up above me, chest rising and falling. “I…just tell me if it’s too much okay. I can’t help myself.”

  “It’s okay,” I whispered, running my fingers over the soft hair of his forearms and the smooth skin of his curved bicep. Dan was lighter on his chest as if he had worked outside in a t shirt all summer and his skin had never faded. He had a scar on his shoulder that I traced as he caressed me gently, lulling me back into a false sense of security before he nipped me again. There was so much I didn’t know about him but I was learning.

  I couldn’t believe how turned on I was, how in the moment, relishing everything that this strong, wounded man could make me feel. Dan was so hard, his cock digging into my stomach with an urgent pressure.

  “Let me see you,” I urged, pushing at the waistband of his boxers, and he reached down to slip them over his hips and down his legs. Dan grasped my hand and pushed it against his erection, grunting when I wrapped my fingers around him and squeezed. He was bigger than I had anticipated, thicker too and pulsing with desire. I hadn’t fucked for so long that I wondered how it was going to feel to accept him into my body, if it would hurt. The thought made me so feel so hot and swollen between my legs that I moaned.

  “That feels so good,” Dan shuddered, moving his hips to fuck the ring my fingers had made, his eyes closed as he soaked up the pleasure. My knickers felt wet and the pressure from his thigh wasn’t enough anymore. With my free hand I pushed my panties off one side of my hips and Dan, noticing what I was doing, pulled back to help me finish the job. I had to draw up my legs to fully remove them, giving him a quick look at what he had only seen through red lace hours before. His eyes were fierce as I lowered my legs either side of him, bent at the knee, letting him see how wet I was for him. He pulled his own cock in long firm strokes, using the fingers of his other hand to stroke through the soft blonde hair of my pussy. “You’re so light here,” he said, “And so soft.” His index finger traced the seam of my lips where I had waxed myself smooth. Dan sighed when he reached my opening, pushing his finger inside slightly in a way that had me writhing. “You want this?” he asked, but it didn’t sound like a tease, more as though he had suddenly woken up to what we were doing and the potential ramifications. No one had touched me like this since Paul, and I would be lying if I said my heart wasn’t clouded with a little sadness, but it wasn’t enough to make me stop. I needed Dan and what he was making me feel; wanto
n, reckless, beautiful and desirable.

  Alive.

  “I want this,” I whispered, sitting up to kissing him and stroke his face. “Do you want this?”

  “So much,” he sighed.

  “Well that’s good then.” I reached for his cock again and shifted so I was in a better position to take him in my mouth. His thighs trembled as I sucked him, his taste salt-sweet and blissfully unfamiliar. Dan’s fingers traced my ears and ran through my hair in tender appreciation. I could feel him pulsing in my mouth and he drew away, obviously getting too close for comfort.

  “I need to get a condom,” he said, reaching off the bed and fumbling with his jeans. I lay back watching him get ready for me, burning inside for what I knew was coming. When he had sheathed himself, he looked down at me and shook his head as if he couldn’t believe what was happening between us. In the eerie light cast from the street lamp outside everything seemed dream-like. “Are you ready,” he asked, pushing a thick finger inside me to find out.

  “Yes,” I panted, and I was.

  “I’ll go slowly,” Dan said, positioning himself closer, dragging me by the hips until my legs were spread, knees high against his hips. He stayed seated, resting on his heels as he used his thumbs to open me wide, everything on display. My clit was exposed and throbbing, then I felt the first press of his thick cock and I had to close my eyes. He rocked forward, pressing in an inch and it was easy because I was so slick. The second push was harder and deeper, opening me wider and it stung. “Watch,” Dan said, and I opened my eyes, seeing his fixed on the place where our bodies were joining. I raised myself up on my elbows to get a better view as he thrust deeper. It looked so explicit, his huge, wrapped cock splitting my body open, lips flared midway down his length, clit straining for contact. He was so dark, skin olive, his trimmed pubic hair almost black and me so pink and fair.

  I moaned loudly with the fourth thrust as he held himself inside me so still. Dan’s eyes met mine – dark grey to ocean blue – and he blinked and smiled. He said my name as he leaned forward to kiss me, adjusting so he was lying on top of me and the weight of him was perfect. Now when he thrust he did it hard, grinding upwards and slightly to one side, dragging himself against my clit and nudging my g spot. I held him close; bringing one leg up and tucking my foot over his shoulder, giving him deeper access. I could feel pleasure beginning to build and I wanted the relief so badly. I closed my eyes, imagining my beach again, the ocean lapping at the sand in the same rocking motion as Dan’s hips, the peace and tranquillity of that place in my mind. As I relaxed, so did my body and the sensations rose as his thrusts got harder and more demanding.

  “You’re so fucking beautiful,” Dan breathed into my ear. “You feel so good.” One of his hands slipped under my ass, raising it against him. I was so wet I could feel it trickling onto his hand. “Oh fuck,” he said when he realised, as if my pleasure was just too much for him to bear. I bucked against him, now so close to coming I was out of control.

  “Harder,” I said, clawing at his back and he slammed into me, forcing the breath from my lungs. “I’m so…”

  I didn’t get the rest out before my orgasm hit in deep waves that made my toes curl and my body seize. Dan slowed his thrusts but didn’t stop as he rode out the pulses of my pussy. His cock seemed to throb in the same rhythm, his face a mask of concentration. His eyes were closed as he pressed his face into my neck and fucked me until he came.

  We didn’t pull apart for minutes afterwards, as if we were both rendered incapable. He was quiet save for the gusts of his breath against my skin, still save for his hips that continued to move against me as if he didn’t want to stop. I didn’t want to think about Paul but I did. I remembered the way he used to spoon me after sex and then fall asleep straight away and the little noise he would make as he slipped into his dreams. I missed him but he was gone.

  When I put my hand to Dan’s cheek his face was wet. He pulled my hand away and swiped at his own eyes in the same way he had done when I had danced for him.

  Dan stayed with me that night and we held each other as we faced the loss of our lives before and the possibilities of our futures. That night, the stars had aligned to bring us together. A year later, they brought us together again, for life. We said our vows with sand between our toes and the ocean lapping at our ankles, and when it was done I danced with the fading sun on my skin, reaching to the hidden stars with my veil floating out behind me and the man who had come to watch me dance by my side.

  Excerpt from DANCE FOR ME (3) – THE BEST MAN

  “Why aren’t you dancing?” Mark faced the chair next to me towards the dance floor and plonked himself down.

  “I don’t dance,” I said, shaking my head to underline the point.

  “Everybody dances.” He slipped down in his seat as if he was settling in for a while; long legs stretch out in front, hands resting on his thighs. “I mean look at that guy.” I followed the line of his gaze to where my cousin Alfred was gyrating, tummy bobbing in time to the cheesy tune that seemed to be a firm favourite with wedding DJ’s the world over, and laughed.

  “Exactly,” I said firmly. “Alfred is a perfect example of why not everyone should be seen moving their bodies to music.”

  Mark snorted and shook his head, turning to look at me. “Now, I agree that some people are better at dancing than others, but everyone should do it. It’s like a human rule or something.”

  “A human rule?”

  “Yeah, you know. Things that just are…like respecting personal space, not farting in an enclosed area, that kind of thing.”

  “Those sound like basic social skills Mark.”

  “Well,” he said shrugging, “maybe they were bad examples. You wouldn’t say people shouldn’t sing if they didn’t have nice voices.”

  “Yes I would!”

  “What, even in the shower?”

  “The shower’s fine but not in public.”

  “Ah, so you do dance but just in the privacy of your own home?” I smiled at his triumphant tone thinking he seemed like a good guy. I’d only met him a couple of nights before at the resort where my sister was getting married. He was the best man; childhood friend of Dan her fiancé and he’d flown in from Hong Kong for the privilege.

  “I’m saying nothing.” I tried to keep a straight face and when I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye I could see him smiling.

  “So anyway,” Mark said, swivelling around to look at me more closely. “Who told you that you can’t dance?”

  “Who says someone told me?”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Whoever told you that is an arsehole, and everyone knows you shouldn’t listen to their shit.”

  I couldn’t hold his intense gaze because I knew he would see the truth in mine; that he was right, someone had told me and I couldn’t forget it. He was also right that the man who’d said it was an arsehole. Trouble is, when you’ve been in love with someone and they have managed to crawl inside your heart, it’s inevitable that they worm themselves into your head too.

  “So it was a nice wedding wasn’t it?” I said, glancing over at where my sister was snuggled up against her husband, holding the hem of her simple white dress so she didn’t trip. Andrea looked so peaceful which was something I’d thought I wouldn’t see again after her first husband had died. She was an amazing person, a true survivor and so unbelievably strong. Seeing her happy-ever-after should have filled me with hope but I’d had too much of it knocked out of me.

  “It was a lovely wedding. They’re two amazing people who deserve something good. I couldn’t be more chuffed for Dan.”

  “I know,” I sighed, hearing the wistfulness in my voice shining through like a beacon and cringing.

  “So,” Mark said, loosening his tie and rolling up his sleeves. “Back to the dancing conversation. I have a plan.” There was a twinkle in his chocolate brown eyes that made my skin feel warm and I couldn’t help but notice his strong tanned forearms and broad shoulders. He looked
like he’d played rugby in his youth, maybe still did in his spare time.

  “Mmm, I don’t think I like the sound of that.”

  “Come on. It involves alcohol, lots of it, and a long discussion about our favourite songs from our youth. And when we’ve settled on a suitable anthem, there’s the opportunity to stagger across the dance floor to that bowtie wearing freak over there to see if he has our song of choice in his CD box of delights!”

  I opened my mouth to state my objections but he interrupted. “Uh uh uh, I haven’t finished Ailee. The deal is, if he has it in his collection we have to dance to it. If he doesn’t, we’ll come back here and watch all the fun. How about that? Deal?” Mark wiggled his eyebrows up and down with a huge grin plastered on his face and I burst out laughing.

  DANCE FOR ME (3) is available now.

  UK – Buy Here

  US – Buy Here

  End of book stuff

  About the author

  Hi! I’m Holly Stone. I live, work and write in London. Writing isn’t my day job but I love creating characters enough to do it in my spare time. When I’m not working, writing or parenting I’m reading, day dreaming about my next book and trying to stretch time like elastic!

  I love people and chocolate and stories that grab you by the heart and squeeze. Before I became a mummy I travelled to cool places and studied ancient things and danced in heels and drank gin with orange juice. When my kids are grown I am planning to do all those things again, just wearing longer skirts!

  Contact Information

  I would love to hear from you. Contact me at hollystoneauthor@hotmail.com

  Find me on Facebook here and goodreads under Holly Stone.

  Subscribe to receive updates on forthcoming book releases here and I promise only to email you about really interesting things!

  Reviews help authors and readers alike. Please leave one if you have time. It would be much appreciated. If you email me with a link to your review, I will put you on my list to receive a free ARC of my next book. The best 5 reviewers will be chosen by me!