as well as figuratively.
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a giant pain in the ass?” I blurted out.
“All the time. Come on.” Samir held out his hand.
I swayed forward, teetering on the tiny heels. “Crap.” I grabbed Samir’s hand, more for balance than anything else.
“Dance with me.”
I lifted my chin a notch, meeting his gaze. I felt as though we were playing chess and he was five steps ahead of me. I could blame the alcohol but he was definitely a little drunk too. I still couldn’t keep up with him.
“Dance with me,” he repeated. His dark eyes sparked with amusement—and something else, something infinitely more dangerous. For a moment everything seemed to stand still. We stared at each other, our hands still joined. His palm moved over mine, his fingers curving, linking with mine.
My heart pounded furiously in my chest. I didn’t trust my voice; I merely nodded, letting him have his way. He wasn’t the kind of guy you said no to. Or maybe I just didn’t want to.
Samir made a gap in the crowd, pulling me along with him. A techno song blared from the speakers. He began moving to the music, surprisingly graceful. I struggled to follow his lead. The boy had moves. It wasn’t hard to imagine other places he could put those moves to good use.
“You can dance.”
Samir laughed. “Don’t look so surprised.” He leaned in closer to me, his lips brushing against my ear, his arm wrapping around my waist to pull me closer to his body. “My mother used to make me take dance lessons.”
I giggled despite myself. “I can’t see that at all.”
“I was pretty good.” He glanced down at me. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
His hand traveled downward, hovering just at the small of my back. Through the dress’s thin material the heat of his skin pressed against me. His hand stayed there for a moment, its presence both reassuring and discomfiting. He began stroking my lower back, his movements slow and lazy, his fingers tracing patterns on my body. Each touch lit a fire within me.
The beat changed to a hip-hop song, couples moving closer together. I let Samir pull me toward him, enjoying myself too much to stop. His body was lean, but judging by the hard muscles pressing against me, he knew what to do with it. He moved against me, and suddenly everything stilled again.
His muscles weren’t the only part of him that was hard—
My body rocked against his, relishing the feel of his body pressed against mine. His hand slipped just an inch lower, hovering well below the small of my back. I opened my mouth to protest—
His lips moved toward my ear, rubbing against the curve and down to my earlobe. His teeth grazed the lobe with a little nip. I shivered. Those lips roamed down, tracing the curve of my jaw. He pressed soft kisses there, setting off a whole new wave of emotions within me. I was hot and achy all over, his face buried in the curve of my neck, his lips doing all sorts of naughty things to me.
I’d never done anything like this before, never lost control like this. I was logical, cautious when it counted. This was something else entirely.
Samir’s lips drifted to my cheek. I froze, no longer dancing, hovering on the brink of what would happen next. We stood there together, our bodies pressed against each other, unmoving.
Somehow I knew he was going to kiss me. I don’t know how I knew it was coming, but some instinct in me just knew. I blamed the champagne for the fact that I didn’t move away. Or maybe it was just my own curiosity. Or maybe it was the desire I saw reflected in his eyes.
Samir’s lips brushed against mine, soft at first. Teasing. Then more insistent, his tongue brushing against mine, licking into my mouth, bolder now, his mouth opening wider, the kiss deepening. It wasn’t anything like I expected for my first kiss. It was hot and reckless and completely unexpected. It only took me a beat to catch up before my mouth moved against his. I had no idea what to do, if I was even doing it right, but none of that seemed to matter anymore. Instead I just felt, giving myself over to his lips, his hands, his body. My needs.
His body still pressing against me, he maneuvered me through the crowd, his hands in my hair, his lips devouring mine. We bumped into people, neither one of us bothering to break apart. He sucked on my bottom lip, drawing it into his mouth, giving me soft little bites, following the motion with the soothing sweep of his tongue.
I moaned against his mouth. I wanted more. More kissing, more touching. More.
This was unfuckingbelievable.
The wall pressed against my back. My eyes fluttered open. Samir had guided me into a dark corner, just off the dance floor. His body blocked out most of the crowd, his lips made the rest of the club disappear. His hands were everywhere, leaving a trail of heat in their wake. Parts of my body I never knew could be sensitive tingled—the curve of my neck, my collarbone, the little spot behind my earlobe. I had no idea what I was doing but somewhere along the way, between the dancing and this, I’d learned the moves. He was good. Very, very good. And I never wanted him to stop.
His hands played with the neckline of my dress, his fingers trailing along my skin, dipping underneath the fabric. They hovered dangerously close to my breast.
And then suddenly he wasn’t touching me at all.
Samir broke apart from the kiss first. My eyes widened, staring at him in breathless anticipation, frustration flooding my body. My gaze drifted to a point just over his shoulder. An enormous guy dressed in a black T-shirt stood in front of us, scowling, his beefy arms crossed in front of his chest. He looked like a bouncer. I didn’t hear what Samir said to the guy, but money changed hands. The bouncer disappeared.
Samir turned back to me, his expression hooded, those eyes that just minutes ago were drunk with lust, now unreadable. I stared at Samir; pretty sure my expression nearly mirrored his. He stared back at me, something that might have been shock flashing across his face. It was there for only an instant before his cocky smile slipped back into place.
“Sorry. Got carried away.”
I couldn’t speak. Could barely think. Music pumped through the club. The pounding sound mimicked the mad thumping in my heart. A girl bumped into me. I stumbled forward. Samir reached out, catching me. “Want to go sit down?”
I nodded, my brain still running in circles, my body a mass of confusion. As soon as he pulled away from me it was like a bucket of cold water had been thrown over me. What had I just done—what had I nearly let him do—in public? The worst part? As horrified as I was that we’d even started making out, part of me was just as upset we’d stopped.
What the fuck?
Samir walked me back to the table, his arm around me keeping me from stumbling. Just that touch was enough to send another wave of desire running through me. I tried not to lean into the curve of his body.
“Please don’t tell anyone,” I blurted out, struggling to not freak out. I was the new girl. The last thing I needed was for Fleur to hate me more than she already did.
Making out with her boyfriend was likely a hanging offense.
“Promise,”
