A Winter Wedding at Primrose Hall (Primrose Woods #6)

Chapter 23

23

Pia wandered over with a sense of inevitability, as though she was being pulled by an invisible thread towards the man at the bar. All those cocktails and glasses of champagne were conspiring inside of her to give her a boldness that she hadn’t known she possessed.

It was something so fundamental and instinctive that she didn’t think twice, her head turned by the guy, admittedly drop-dead gorgeous, whose intense attentions were hard to ignore. What had Ruby told her? That this was her night and a chance to really let go and celebrate. She would only have one hen night, after all. Wasn’t she supposed to enjoy herself?

‘Do you want a drink?’ he asked when she joined him at the bar, his deep brown eyes inveigling her with a look that was full of promises. She nodded her assent. One last drink . She felt sure she had heard that before tonight. Wriggling up on the stool beside him, unable to keep that knowing smile from her lips, it was as if the two of them were on a collision course. She couldn’t apply the brakes now even if she’d wanted to; they were simply hurtling towards each other, completely oblivious to everything else around them.

‘So, have you had a good evening?’ he asked, his voice low, warm and caressing.

‘It’s been great. My friends are…’ Momentarily, she looked around. That was funny. They’d been here a minute ago, but now they’d disappeared from sight. She would find them. Soon. ‘It’s my…’ Her voice trailed away. She didn’t want to talk about that right now. She had the rest of her life to think about her marriage, her commitment, being a good wife. Tonight was all about losing herself to the moment.

‘What about you?’ she said, her hand instinctively reaching out to touch the man’s knee, which sent a jolt of electricity along the length of her arm. ‘Your evening?’ she clarified. Her words sounded slurred to her own ears.

‘It’s just got a whole lot better bumping into you.’ He placed a hand on top of hers and they sat quietly like that for a few moments. She closed her eyes briefly, considering the sensation of their bodies touching, even if it was only their hands entwined. So much electricity in the lightest of touches.

‘Do you dance?’ he asked her.

Pia wasn’t sure that she could stand up, let alone dance, but she tuned into the soulful notes of Luther Vandross coming through the speaker system. He was one of her favourite artists, and his smooth words of love only added to the intensely claustrophobic atmosphere.

‘Yes!’ Often she would put music on in the kitchen and try to persuade Jackson to spin her around the floor, but he would always laugh off her advances. Now she took the proffered hand, an old-fashioned gesture that made her legs sway, as she stood up to meet him. He’d done this before, she could tell, his every move intended to disarm her, to impress and seduce her. He placed one hand on the small of her back, and the other took her hand in a loose hold, even though it felt as though their bodies were being magnetically drawn together. She longed to feel his lean, hard body against hers and to wrap her arms tight around him. She could so easily have melted in his embrace, reached up to feel the dark shadow of stubble across his jawline, stood on tiptoes to press her lips against his. The desire she felt deep down to her core was so overwhelming that she was thankful when the music changed to something more upbeat, the heady sensual atmosphere lifting just a little.

A smile spread across his features, as if he was aware of the power he held over her. With the rhythm of the music thrumming through their bodies, they danced at arm’s length now, matching each other’s movements, their gaze on each other not wavering. Pia relished the freedom, spontaneity and abandonment she felt, as though nothing else in the world mattered but being here, in the moment, and losing herself in the music. She was impressed by how he could dance. Most men would shuffle around a dance floor awkwardly or else throw themselves wholeheartedly into some dad-dancing, but he had all the moves, slow swaying hips and long arm extensions, which looked seductive and tempting in the dark shadows of the bar.

They sidestepped each other as they moved around the dance floor, deliberately avoiding each other, the electric pull between them growing in intensity all the time. Occasionally their bodies would brush together and the resulting frisson would send ripples along Pia’s spine. He was taunting her, teasing her with a wicked smile on his face, but she was enjoying every single second. She didn’t care if they might be seen, because everyone and everything else was forgotten. Her friends were long gone and it was just the two of them in the moment, dancing to the beat of the music.

It was inevitable that they would ultimately be drawn together again. However much they tried to resist, the magnetic pull was too strong and they ended up in each other’s arms, still swaying to the soulful beat. He ran a hand through her hair, which was wild and messy now after all her exertions on the dance floor. Her breath came in short sharp gasps.

‘Can I kiss you?’ Dark brown eyes that glistened with intensity and desire roamed her face, and she felt her skin prickle with anticipation at the thought. To hold his face in her hands, to feel his lips upon hers, to inhale the scent of him, she was simply powerless to resist. She felt beautiful and alive and free, and she nodded as he pulled her towards him urgently, all his pent-up longing erupting in a flood of kisses that ignited an explosion of delicious sensations around her body. She kissed him back, the feelings so natural and all-consuming that she never wanted them to end.

‘Should we get out of here?’ he asked, his long lean body hard up against her. Her hand rested on his lower back, pulling him ever closer.

‘I think we should, Jackson,’ she said with a smile, taking the hand he offered and following him outside. Some things were simply meant to be.