Delayed Call
Page 47

 Toni Aleo

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And she must have suspected it because she looked away, a small smile pulling at her lips as she said, “You missed media.”
“On purpose.”
She giggled. “I figured.”
“I hate it.”
“I know.”
“But if I had known you were gonna look that damn good, I might have showed.”
Her lips curved even more as her eyes lit up. “Are you complimenting me, Mr. Johansson?”
“Aw, call me JoHo. It’s endearing.”
She sputtered with laughter. “Fine, are you complimenting me, JoHo?”
His eyes held hers as his lips tipped up just slightly into a grin. “Yeah, I am.”
“Well, thank you. You look pretty damn snazzy yourself.”
He nodded as he ran his hands down the front of his suit. “I know.”
Scoffing, she rolled her eyes. “You’re sickening.”
“I know that too.”
She looked up at him, laughing, and he grinned back down at her as the party went on around them. All he saw was her. How did this happen? Days ago, he hated her with everything inside of him. But now…now, he wanted her.
Desperately.
When “Bad Things” by Machine Gun Kelly started, her face changed into some pursed lip look as she started to thrust her pelvis. With his brows to his hairline, he gasped, “What are you doing?”
“Oh, man! I love this song.”
“Oh, you’re dancing.”
“Yes.”
“Do you know how to dance?”
“Yes! I’m dancing.”
“You’re humping the air.”
“You don’t know anything about my mad moves.”
His brows drew in, and then he found himself setting down the glass he held. He took her hand and brought her out onto the floor. “What are you doing?” she asked.
“I’m showing you real mad moves,” he said before spinning her out and then back in against him. When she came into him with a gasp, her lips spread wide as he started to move against her, Dirty Dancing-style.
Thank you, Wren, for making him watch that movie four times a day for a whole summer when he was twelve.
He may not have been going exactly to the beat of the music, but he didn’t think either of them cared. They were too busy laughing and acting like complete fools as they moved along the floor, both showing moves they should have left at home. He saw Jensen watching them, shaking his head, and Vaughn didn’t care. He was having a blast. When the song changed to something slow, they both gradually stopped, looking around awkwardly. It was easy just being silly, but as people started to embrace around them, he wasn’t sure what to do.
So he did what he did best. He didn’t think, he just grabbed her, bringing her in close, his hands sliding against her bare skin. Why hadn’t he done this sooner? She felt so fucking good. Right. So right. Looking up at him, she tried to wrap her arms around his neck. She couldn’t reach, but she did get them near his neck, at least.
Shooting her a small smile, he whispered, “You’re short.”
She glared. “I’m aware.”
“Do you want me to pick you up?”
“Sure, if you want me to knee you in the dick.”
His brows shot up. “Rude.”
“Douche.”
Grinning, he moved his thumbs along her back as her lips curved and she laid her head on his chest. As they swayed, he saw her eyes drift shut. All he could feel was her heart pounding against his stomach. Lord Jesus, she smelled damn good too. Like heaven, and he wasn’t sure how much more he could take of just holding her. He wanted to do more.
So much more.
When she looked up at him, he met her gaze before her eyes dropped to his lips. He almost thought she was going to try to kiss him. Though, he was pretty sure he’d have to lean down to her for that to happen. But before he could move, she said, “I like your hair better in your eyes.”
He chuckled, a little taken aback by that. “I didn’t realize you liked anything about me.”
“You’re growing on me.”
“That’s good.”
Her eyes sparkled. “Yeah?”
“Yeah, ’cause you’ve grown on me, completely.”
Her eyes widened as her lips tipped up. “Oh, that’s a huge turn of events.”
“I agree, not sure where to go from here, though.”
She shrugged. “Well, once this song is over, I’m heading out.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, going to go see Rodney and then head back to my apartment.”
“And ring in the New Year alone?”
“Yeah, I’m good at being alone.”
While she said one thing, he swore she meant something totally different. Before he knew it, he was saying, “Maybe tonight can be different?”
She held his gaze. “How?”
“I could come with you.”
She wasn’t the least bit surprised, and her eyes burned into his. “Oh?”
“Yeah.”
They stared at each other, their intentions out in the open, loud and clear. “Are you hitting on me, JoHo?”
His lips quirked at the side. “I think I’m well past hitting on you, Ms. Soledad.”
“So you’re…”
“Asking if I can take you to bed at the stroke of midnight.”
She didn’t seem affected in the least by his words, and her eyes stayed glued to his. “Is that smart?”
“Do we care?”
Swallowing hard, she moved out of his embrace as she looked around, her tongue gliding along her teeth. “No.”
“No, we don’t care? Or no, you don’t want to leave with me?”
“No, I don’t care. Yes, I want to leave with you.”
He nodded, his heart jumping into his throat. “Meet you outside?”
“Sounds good.”
As they passed by each other, his hand reached out, running along her leg, then her ass. When he looked at her face, she was grinning at him, a sinful little look in her eyes.
Holy shit. He was going to sleep with Brie Soledad.
When he turned to look for Jensen, he ran right into him with an oomph. “Damn, dude! You came out of nowhere.”
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing. I don’t know. Why?”