Page 78 of Inferno

Erin sidled up to the table and greeted the pair, whose eyes widened with appreciation as they roved over her sequined body. She smiled coquettishly and batted her long lashes, then—injecting enough saccharine into her voice to give herself a mouthful of cavities—she asked Van Dorn to dance.

He was on his feet before she could complete the invitation, his pale face flushing with delight at being the object of a beautiful woman’s attention.

He led her out to the dance floor and folded her into his beefy arms as some syrupy tune by Barry Manilow began playing. Erin forced herself to smile and laugh on cue at Van Dorn’s flirtatious platitudes as he twirled her around the dance floor. Though he wasn’t a bad dancer, he was nowhere near as smooth and confident as Stan.

Erin waited two songs before she made her move.

“You and your colleagues must be so proud of Lieutenant Wolf,” she warmly remarked.

“Of course,” Van Dorn agreed, smiling affably. “Wolf is a good man, a real asset to the department. Everyone speaks very highly of him.”

Erin smiled. “Have you had an opportunity to dance with his lovely wife yet?”

“Can’t say I’ve had the pleasure.”

“Really?”Erin tsk-tsked, shaking her head at him. “You firefighters may know plenty about saving lives, but you’re woefully clueless when it comes to observing social customs.”

The deputy chief’s blue eyes twinkled with mirth. “Is that so?”

“Yes. Stan Wolf is the man of the hour. As one of his superiors, it’s proper etiquette for you to ask his wife to dance.”

“Oh?” Van Dorn grinned. “I didn’t realize that.”

Erin gave him a lofty smile. “Aren’t you glad I enlightened you?”

He laughed.“Certainly.”

As Air Supply’s “All Out of Love” began playing, they made their way over to Stan and Prissy, who were once again swaying gently together. When Van Dorn tapped Stan on the shoulder, he opened his eyes and lifted his head from the top of Prissy’s. He looked surprised to see the deputy chief and Erin standing there.

“How’s it going, sir?”

“It’s going well, lieutenant. Mind if I cut in?” Van Dorn inquired.

Stan hesitated for a moment, dividing a wary glance between his superior and Erin.

Van Dorn chuckled good-naturedly. “Come on, Wolf. You’ve been monopolizing your beautiful wife all night. Let someone else have a turn.” He smiled charmingly at Prissy. “That is, if Mrs. Wolf doesn’t mind?”

Prissy looked at Erin,thensmiled graciously at Van Dorn. “I don’t mind at all.”

A muscle clenched in Stan’s jaw as he reluctantly relinquished his wife to the deputy chief, then took Erin into his arms. The moment her breasts made contact with the hard, muscular wall of his chest, her nipples tightened and her heart began racing like that of a schoolgirl who’d gotten to dance with her secret crush.

Giddy with nerves and excitement, she slid her arms around Stan’s neck and stared up at him. He was so tall, no less than six foot five, and his shoulders were so massive she felt as if she were standing at the bottom of a mountain. A mountain she wanted desperately to climb.

She smiled at him. “Congratulations on being named Firefighter of the Year. It’s a well-deserved honor.”

“Thanks,” he murmured. But he was staring over her head at Prissy and Van Dorn, who were smiling and chatting companionably as they danced several feet away.

“I really enjoyed your speech.”Except the part where you paid homage to your wife.“I could tell you were speaking from your heart.”

“Hmm,”cameStan’s noncommittal reply. His jaw was tight, and beneath his crisp uniform, his muscles were rigid with tension. He held Erin loosely, leaving more daylight between them than she would have preferred.

But it didn’t matter. After the long, torturous months she’d spent fantasizing about him, justbeingthis close to him had her pulse hammering, her body humming and her loins throbbing with need. She wanted more than anything to press herself against him and rub her pelvis against his groin to see if he was as aroused as she was.

But she dared not.

As an uncomfortable silence stretched between them, she saw one of Stan’s company comrades—Jake Easton, if memory served—driftby with his beautiful young date. When Stan and Prissy had been dancing together, Jake had grinned slyly and given the couplea thumbsup every time he’d waltzed past them. Now he eyed Stan and Erin with barely concealed curiosity.

Ignoring the young firefighter, Erin refocused her attention on her brooding dance partner.