Page 15 of Night and Day

“Not for me. It’s way past my bedtime.”

“You can’t leave. There might be more young women needing a rescue.”

I smiled. “I hope not.”

“Then dance with me,” he said.

I should finish my drink and go to bed. It had been a long, busy day, and no doubt I’d have a billion emails from Langston to deal with in a few hours. Instead, I took a large sip of my champagne and set the glass on a table. “All right. One dance.”

One dance with a handsome stranger. It couldn’t hurt. I’d promised my friends I’d enjoy myself.

His hand closed over mine. He had strong fingers. As he led me to the dance floor, the crowd parted for him. Then he pulled me into his arms.

Oh.

I felt… so many things all at once. Attraction and heat, yes. But also a sense that I was in the right place. Weird.

He pulled me closer, and I was pressed against his chest, strong arms closing around me. I rested my hands on his broad shoulders.

“You smell good,” he murmured.

“So do you.”

“I smell…jasmine.”

I laughed. “You have a good nose. A friend spritzed me with her signature perfume.”

His dark head lowered. His hair was thick, with a touch of not quite a curl, and I wanted to touch it. My hand flexed on his shoulders.

“And something else…” His mouth was almost touching my bare shoulder and my nipples pebbled. He drew in a deep breath. “Green apples.”

My moisturizing lotion. My heart thudded faster. Then, he swung me into a dance and I found that he moved well. I held on and let him lead.

The song changed and we whirled around the dance floor. It was like no one else existed. I felt drunk on him, and the way his dark eyes locked on mine.

This was crazy. I didn’t melt for a man I didn’t know. Especially not after one dance.

“Have you been to the Mountain Masquerade before?” I asked.

“No, it’s my first time.”

His eyes were brown, but it was too dark for me to tell any more than that.

“It’s been a great night.”

I felt a punch of pride. It had been a great night.

“I confess, I work. A lot,” he said. “I don’t have a lot of time for balls and parties.”

“Me too.” Unless I was organizing the balls and parties. “My friends joke I stress too much, and try to take care of everything.”

“It’s the only way to guarantee you get things done exactly the way you want.”

“Exactly.” I smiled, feeling a sense of kinship. His gaze dropped to my lips and my pulse did a crazy skitter. “But I remind myself that I need to trust my team. I need to delegate.”

Suddenly, a tipsy couple bumped into us, the pair of them laughing uproariously.

My dance partner slid an arm around me and spun me away. We ended up near the stairs where we’d begun. “Let’s get out of the crush.” He headed up the stairs.