Dancing never felt so good. It freed my mind and body of all my worries. All my troubles. I was lost in the beat, living only for the moment, and enjoying every bit of this unabashed fun with my closest friend. The last time Allyson and I hit the clubs, we were still in college. Being here with her tonight brought back a lot of fond memories, many of which were spent drinking our weight in wine.

After about thirty minutes of hard dancing, I motioned to Allyson that I was going back to the table to grab another drink. She responded with a shimmy and little spin. When I turned, I smacked right into a hard-bodied man that was behind me. I teetered on my stilettos and he caught my arm.

“Hey, there,” he drawled and immediately began to grind against me. His face was slick with sweat causing his hair to plaster to his forehead.

Ugh, freaking gross!

There was nothing more annoying than an uninvited dance partner. I moved away quickly, but he grabbed me around the waist. His dark eyes leered at me, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to prickle. The guy was giving me a serious case of the creeps.

“No, I’m sorry,” I said, but quickly realized that my words were drowned out by the sudden uptick of music. I shook my head, but his grip tightened on me and he grinned. His hand moved down, precariously close to the curve of my ass. I tried to shrug away, flashing my left hand, hoping that my engagement ring would hold meaning to this groping stranger.

If it did, I didn’t get the chance to find out. Alexander was between us in an instant. It took me a few seconds to comprehend what was happening. Alexander looked ready to explode with anger, practically capable of murder, as he seized the man by the shirt front.

The man looked startled. I would have felt bad for him, but he made the mistake of throwing Alexander a challenging look. He reached up and gripped Alexander’s wrist and attempted to loosen the hold. Alexander merely glanced down, as if there were nothing more than a fly on his arm. He pulled the man closer, their noses barely an inch apart.

“Keep your fucking hands to yourself!” he roared.

Alexander’s other hand was balled into a fist. I thought he might hit the guy. I should have intervened, but it was like I was frozen, completely rooted to the spot as the scene rapidly unfolded. Thankfully, Matteo showed up behind Alexander and grabbed hold of his arm.

“Alex, not a good idea, my friend.”

Alexander looked to Matteo, his eyes still flashing with anger, but he released his hold.

“What’s going on?” Allyson yelled over the music, apparently not having seen my run in with the stranger.

“Nothing,” I told her. As far as I was concerned, Alexander’s rage was completely unjustified. I could have handled the guy just fine on my own. Now it appeared that I would have to coddle Alexander’s jealousies instead.

Stepping in between the two men, I planted a long and leisurely kiss on Alexander’s lips. My hope was that I could send a stronger message to the creep who grabbed me, as well as dispel some of Alexander’s anger.

It seemed to have worked. Alexander pulled my body tight to his returned my kiss, his lips pressing passionately down on mine. When Matteo let out a loud wolf whistle, I felt Alexander’s lips turn up in a smile against mine.

I pulled away and looked toward Matteo and Allyson. They were both dancing and smiling at us. After a quick glance around, I saw that the man who grabbed me was nowhere in sight. I breathed a sigh of relief.

“You know, I could have handled that guy,” I told Alexander.

“You also could have changed your clothes like I wanted you to,” he countered. His eyes drilled holes into me and I could tell his anger was still simmering just below the surface. I tilted my chin up in defiance.

“Right. Like my clothes have anything to do with what happened.”

Without warning, Alexander pulled me to him once more, hoisting me up just enough so that my feet barely skimmed the floor.

“You will be the death of me, do you know that?” he growled into my ear. “Do you know what you look like out here on the dance floor? I’ve been watching your hips, your legs, your curves. And so has every other man in the place. You’re so goddamn hot and you don’t even know it.”

To my surprise, I felt an undeniable hard rigidness begin to grow against my belly.

Holy shit. He’s turned on.

Using the knowledge of his arousal to my advantage, I kissed him long and hard. The heat of his lips against mine spread like wildfire through my veins and my heart began to hammer an erratic beat in my ears. The music changed, spinning into a popular Ed Sheeran mix. After a moment, I pulled back to meet his gaze. His eyes were dark and hungry.

“Dance with me,” I told him.

Alexander lowered me so that my feet were firmly planted on the ground. Clasping my right hand, he flashed a wicked and melt-worthy smile, before sending me into a spin. He yanked me back into his arms, his chest hard against mine, and we began to move.

His motions were effortless, making me appear to be a much better dancer than I actually was. I had nearly forgotten how well Alexander could dance. He moved around me in a flawless rhythm, sexy and confident, before pulling my hips against him once more. He teased me with a slow circular grind.

“I know your grandmother taught you East Coast Swing, but please don’t tell me that she taught you these moves too.”

He chuckled, the deep sound of his laughter carrying over the thumping music.

“No, baby. These are all mine.”

In my semi-buzzed state, I found myself shamelessly gyrating against him as he lowered himself down my body. Grabbing my waist and pressing his face against my stomach, he ran his hands up and down my legs. All of his attention was on me, as if there wasn’t another soul in the club.

“You’re crazy, do you know that?” I teased.

His hips never stopped moving as he returned to a standing position.

“Not crazy. Just in love with the shape of you,” he sang, mimicking the song lyrics. I threw my head back and laughed as he took hold of my hips again.

Feeling emboldened by his actions, I reached between us and splayed my palm against the fly of his designer jeans. I felt him tremble before he pulled my hand away.

Gripping the back of my neck, he pulled my ear to his lips.

“I’m going to punish you for that, Miss Cole.”

“Is that a promise?” I provoked. He groaned, the vibration against my ear followed by hot and heavy breaths.

“You really are trying to kill me, aren’t you?”

I laughed and looked around to see where Allyson and Matteo had gone. They were still dancing, Matteo flinging Allyson’s petite body around effortlessly. Matteo, like Alexander, had some pretty good dance moves as well.

The music began to fade out, transitioning into another track. I was panting and sweating from exertion.

“Why don’t we go sit and have another drink,” Alexander suggested. He too was sweating, his hair falling in damp waves over his brow.

“That sounds like a good idea,” I agreed.

When we got back to the table, our server was there at the ready to pour us another round. While I was out dancing with Allyson, Alexander and Matteo must have added to our bottle collection. The Scotch and the Dom Pérignon was now joined by another brand of whiskey and a couple bottles of white wine. I eyed up the people who stood waiting in line for their drinks at the bar. I didn’t envy them in the least.

I could get used to this bottle service thing.

Leaning back against Alexander, I took a sip of the chilled wine, feeling like a spoiled princess.

“We should go dancing more often,” Alexander said as he trailed a finger up and down my arm. “Just do me a favor. Don’t wear such a short skirt next time.”

I rolled my eyes and ignored his comment.

“Yeah, we should do this again soon. It’s a good time.”

I pushed away the thought of what might be coming and the possibility that we wouldn’t be able to do this again anytime soon. I didn’t want to think about it. Not tonight.

“Oh, and another thing. Leather,” he added.

I craned my neck up to look at him.

“Leather?” I asked in confusion.

He cupped my cheek and leaned in to kiss me. His tongue traced the seam of my lips, coaxing them open. Our tongues danced together for a brief moment before he pulled away.

“Yes, no more leather in public. It’s too hard to keep my hands off you when you wear it.”

I raised my eyebrows.

“Is that so?”

“Yes. But you will be wearing it more often for me. And only me. What color bra are you wearing?” he asked, his voice taking on a guttural sound.

I shivered.

“Black lace. Strapless.”

He hissed out a breath.

“Fucking leather and lace. When we get home, I want you kneeling. Bra and skirt. No panties.”

My insides burned, his command an inferno that ripped through my body, settling at the apex of my thighs.

When I spoke, I said the words he always wanted to hear, but they were ones I often felt awkward saying. However, I couldn’t think of a more appropriate and natural response to his current demand.

“Yes, sir,” I whispered.