Page 63 of Targeted By Desire

He looked at Justin. “Who’s this?”

“I’m Justin,” my old flame replied, eyeing the hand on my hip.

“Ah, the ex,” he continued, extending his hand. “Nice to finally meet you.”

Justin’s hand muscles flexed as he accepted the handshake, giving a tight squeeze. “And you are…?”

“A friend,” he said, a smirk in his voice.

It took everything in me not to scoff and roll my eyes. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.

“Well, I’ll let you two enjoy your night.” Justin nodded at me. “See you around, Simone.”

I feigned a smile and waved him goodbye. The moment Justin disappeared into the crowd, I sent my elbow straight into this asshole’s stomach. “Get your hands off of me,” I hissed.

He barely winced at the impact. His arm remained locked around my waist as his deep voice rumbled in his chest, not quite a laugh but something like it. “I see you haven’t missed me.”

“Was I supposed to?”

His head lowered to my ear and the cool surface of his mask brushed against my ear. “Sure,” he whispered. “After all, I’ve missed you.”

Shudders I thought I’d rid of ran down my spine. I took another sip of my champagne to keep him from noticing. “Then why stay away for so long?”

“I had other obligations.”

“Meaning you had new names to check off your hit list?”

“Why? Jealous my attention was on someone else?”

I scoffed. “Relieved is more like it.”

“Hm.” He pulled away from my ear. I felt his eyes on me beneath his mask, running over the sapphire blue satin hugging my body. “You look beautiful tonight.”

I shifted on my heels, the sincerity in his voice nearly knocking me off of them. “Thanks. My sister picked everything out.”

He turned his head, fixing his gaze on the dance floor of twirling patrons. A stage filled with musicians lay just beyond it, their instruments switching from an upbeat jazz beat to a slow, romantic tune. “Would you like to dance?”

“With you?” I asked, my brow unintentionally shooting up.

“Unless you had someone else in mind.” He held out his hand, palm open in silent invitation.

I stared at it like Eve must’ve stared at the apple, tempted but hesitant. I knew I shouldn’t, but at the same time, I didn’t have anything to lose. After all, we were in public. He wouldn’t dare do anything stupid with all these people around us.

I set my champagne glass down on a passing waiter’s tray before laying my hand in his.

His fingers, strong and firm, held mine in a gentle hold as he led me onto the dance floor.

There, he lifted my hands to loop and hook them around his neck. His own lowered to my waist and slipped around my hips to the small of my back. He pressed his palms against my spine, gently pushing my body against his.

I don’t think we’ve ever been this close before. Not like this.

The times we were, there were always weapons between us and adrenaline running through our veins.

Neither were present now.

Though my heart was banging against my chest, it wasn’t from alarm bells going off in my head. It was the woody scent of his cologne and the firm muscles of his abdomen pressed against my chest. I took deep, subtle breaths, hoping to slow its pulsing before he felt it too.

As we swayed back and forth, moving in tiny circles to the rhythm of the music, I stared up at him, noticing his eyes for the first time. Pools of rich milk chocolate lay between the slits of his mask, sparkling like copper whenever small bits of light caught them. An impenetrable shield covered them, preventing me from seeing any thought or emotion bubbling inside.