Page 18 of California Love Songs (The Davenports, #4)

The song finished and Damien walked over, affecting a casual stride although inside he was dying to pry this dude away from Crystal’s hips.

As he approached, he heard them speaking Spanish to each other, and inwardly Damien cursed his rudimentary understanding of the language. But as soon as Crystal spotted him, she waved and ended her conversation. She hugged Damien hello and the guy took a step back and disappeared into the crowd.

Crystal looked incredible. He had to tell her. “You look… out of this world.”

She blushed a little and looked down at her dress. “It’s a fun one to dance in,” she said. “You look pretty handsome yourself.”

Damien, who never thought much about his appearance, had spent an embarrassingly long time choosing which white T-shirt he should wear with black jeans.

He shrugged, mortified to feel that he was blushing too.

This was so silly. He’d known Crystal forever and here he was acting like a goofy teenager.

They stared at one another for a moment and he knew then that Crystal was feeling this new tension between them, too.

He was searching for the right words to tell her what was in his heart when she slipped a hand into his and said, “Let’s dance.”

She led him out into the middle of the floor, her sparkling heels clicking on the wood.

A new track started and the music pulsed through his veins, the beat syncopated in a way that made it impossible to stay still.

Their feet moved effortlessly across the floor, perfectly in time with the music.

Crystal was a force of nature—confident, fluid, her body responding to the beat like it had a language of its own.

Years of playing on stage, the pulse of the crowd, had taught him how to feel the rhythm in his bones.

He knew how to move, but he didn’t have a patch on her style.

As they twirled and spun, their laughter and delight in each other’s bodies became their own private soundtrack.

But beneath it, something else simmered.

There was a pull between them, undeniable.

He knew now he had been falling for her for years, and tonight, the realization hit him hard.

He couldn’t ignore it anymore. Her eyes were full of a passion that engulfed him and he wanted her. Completely.

She twirled effortlessly, following his lead, then spinning back into his arms. For a moment, everything blurred—the club, the other dancers, the life outside. It was just the two of them, in sync, caught in the moment.

The song ended and he was about to tell Crystal that he’d just had the best dance of his life when a phone flashed in his direction.

He turned around in anger. For the duration of that one glorious song, Damien had been able to forget that people knew who he was.

He had lost himself in the music, happily anonymous except as Crystal’s partner.

He was feeling as though something precious had been stolen from him, when the man Crystal had been dancing with earlier stepped forward and spoke to the guy with the phone. “No,” he said forcefully. “We come here to dance. We’re not paparazzi.”

“Sorry, man. I’m just a big fan. I won’t tell anyone you’re here. Have a good night.” The guy pocketed his phone and sheepishly backed off.

Damien was relieved that Crystal’s previous partner had intervened. He nodded his thanks. Sure, being recognized and approached by fans was part of the territory, but he so wanted this night with Crystal to be all about the two of them and no one else.

“Do you want a drink?” he asked her.

“No. Let’s keep dancing.”

As Damien lost all sense of time, his body given over to music and to Crystal, he had just enough awareness to realize he was happy. Happier than he’d felt in months.

He’d been battling with his desire to branch out into the world of jazz, to leave behind the grueling schedule of touring worldwide that had been his normal for his entire adult life.

He’d made the huge step of announcing to his family that he was going to stay in town for the foreseeable future.

Now, here he was with Crystal. Who’d known him forever.

Who lived in Carmel. And who would now be only a short drive away.

The thought thrilled him. She thrilled him.

He felt both at peace with his life and excited for what the future could hold.

If he played his cards right, Crystal would be in it.

They danced without stopping for what felt like hours.

Crystal was the expert dancer, but this only served to make Damien move more intuitively.

She made him look good. She made him better.

When they finally parted, sweating and exhausted, they grinned at each other.

He looked around to see the club had half emptied.

It was obviously getting near to closing time. “Shall we head out?” he asked.

Crystal nodded. “I think my feet will drop off if I dance another step.”

“I’ll drive you home.”

Crystal looked disappointed. “I have my car.”

“I’ll follow you in mine, then,” he said quickly, “just to make sure you get back safely.”

Crystal looked as if she was about to say something, but stopped herself. “Okay,” she said quietly, and they headed out into the cool night air.

The moon was high in the sky and cast a silvery glow on their skin.

The air cooled his sweat and he was grateful to be coming back down into his own, familiar body after feeling near drunk with the pleasure of holding Crystal’s shimmying body all evening.

It took every ounce of self-control he had not to take her hand in his.

They walked in silence to her car and when she was safely inside, he headed for his own and followed her lead as she pulled out of the parking lot.

His heart was pounding in his chest as he drove through the familiar streets, Crystal’s taillights like a beacon of hope ahead.

When they got to her place, Damien pulled up behind her in the driveway and switched off the engine. He wasn’t exactly sure what to do next. All he knew was that he didn’t want the evening to end—the way he’d felt at the end of their hike. Leaving her side suddenly felt unnatural.

He got out, then went to open her car door for her. She took his offered hand as she stepped out. Now that they were face-to-face, she gave him a searching look. He held her gaze, feeling himself fall into her dark, expressive eyes.

Finally she said, “You did really well at salsa tonight.”

“I had a great partner.”

Silence fell. The tension between them was undeniable and he couldn’t hold back any longer. No more deliberation. No more overthinking it.

He murmured her name as he leaned down and took her cheeks in the palms of his hands. Her skin was like silk. “Crystal,” he murmured again, and then he closed his eyes and did what his whole body had been yearning to do all night. Softly, slowly, he pressed his lips to hers.

She responded immediately, her fingertips reaching up and running through his hair until he shivered with pleasure. She tasted like honey. And he couldn’t get enough.