Page 132 of Wicked Bonds

Not as intense as this, she admitted.But don’t you dare stop.

Of course, he didn’t heed the warning, choosing instead to pull back just enough to grin down at her. “Then what happened?”

She almost didn’t want to tell him.

Except it would lead to exactly what she craved.

“We went dancing,” she whispered. It’d been one of the most erotic evenings of her existence.

Perhaps even the most erotic.

And she’d dreamt of it in detail several times since that night.

“Show me, Lee.” The words were a soft seduction in the night air, sending a ripple of excitement down her spine.

Because it was exactly what she wanted to do—to forget everything. The past. The future. Just enjoy a few blissful moments in the present with the male who made her feel things no one else ever had.

A brief kiss of life.

An experience underlined in heat and passion.

An escape into dark oblivion.

She pressed her lips to the edge of his mouth, then grabbed the hand on her ass and spun out of his arms. He allowed her fluid movement, his amusement a palpable warmth in her wake as she guided him toward one of the hotel’s outside bars.

To the very dance floor they’d played on months ago.

A new crowd greeted them this time, their lust an intoxicating cloud that stirred hot memories and excited her every nerve.There are more people here tonight, she informed him.It’s hotter, too. They’d been here in this hemisphere’s winter last time. Now the summer heat had caressed the air, leaving behind a balmy kiss against her skin.

She regretted wearing a long-sleeved dress in this environment. The short black one she’d worn the original night would be so much more appropriate.

Leela described the outfit to him at length, telling him about his jeans and button-down shirt combination as well.

Balthazar wrapped his arm around her waist, tugging her away from the dance floor and into a darker area beneath a palm tree. The music wasn’t as loud here, but the seductive beat hummed in the air, calling to her dancing heart.

“Don’t move,” he said against her ear, his chest to her back.

Then his heat disappeared, his hand leaving hers.

Her brow furrowed.What—

A rip sounded below as he tore the hem of her dress on one side all the way up to her hip. She glanced back to find him kneeling behind her, his focus going to her opposite seam.

Another tear followed.

And the warm air touched her bare thighs. “Better?” he asked, still squatting behind her.

Yes. The fabric danced around her bare calves and tantalizingly parted as she wiggled her hips.

She’d lost her boots on the beach somewhere, as she’d wanted to feel the sand between her toes. Just as Balthazar had discarded his sports jacket, leaving him in slacks and his button-down shirt. He’d rolled the sleeves to the elbows, exposing his toned forearms.

They were both ready to dance.

I wore stilettos that night, she told him.But I can move just as well on bare feet.

Assuming there wasn’t anything sharp or slippery on the floor, anyway.

Balthazar caught her hips before she could move off the sand, his body pressing against hers as he stood again.