Don't Bite the Bridesmaid (10 page)

He blinked at her. And the truth spilled out of him before he could think better of it. “Once.”

Alice went suddenly still next to him, and Edna’s eyes blazed with triumph. And he suddenly wondered if the barrage of seemingly ordinary questions had been designed to butter him up to reveal the truth of this one.

“You were married?” Alice asked, voice soft.

“Yes,” he said, simply. “It didn’t work out.” And that was all he was going to say about it.

To his surprise, no one pressed him for more information and the conversation turned to Cindy and Robert, with suggestions from Edna that news of a grandbaby would be a fabulous Christmas present.

Robert, with his obsession with sports, already had names picked out for any boys. All of them were for his favorite sports heroes. Cindy seemed determined to have girls only, because boys, she said, were far too much trouble. But she smiled softly at Robert when she said it, the love between them plain for the world to see.

Happy the pressure had moved from him, Noah finished his meal, silently watching the family around him. Their love for each other was obvious. Did they know how lucky they were?

“Share a dessert with me?” Alice asked after the meal had concluded.

“Sure,” he said.

The waitress brought them a giant piece of cheesecake that Alice eyed as though it were the first bit of food she’d seen after a week on a desert island. He managed a single bite before she finished the whole thing.

“So much for sharing,” he told her quietly.

She grinned at him. “It’s cheesecake. Not my fault if you can’t eat fast enough to get your share.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yup. It’s every man for himself when it comes to dessert.” Her eyes glittered with mischief in the ambient light as she smiled sideways at him like a little girl hiding something behind her back. As uncomfortable as he was with the feelings she stirred in him, he couldn’t tear his gaze from her. She licked her fork and he followed the movement with his eyes, mesmerized.
God, that tongue.
His jeans grew tighter, and he took a deep breath.

“I can tell you’re an only child,” she added.

“Can you?” If she kept licking that fork he’d have to kiss her. Drag her off to the room and taste her. Did she have any idea how sexy she was?

“You don’t know how to fight for your food.”

He didn’t reply, only half hearing her words as he watched her clean the fork. Finally, she set the utensil down, and he flip-flopped between being thankful and utterly disappointed. If he needed to fight for anything, it was for keeping his hands off Alice.

“Are you guys ready?” Cindy asked, and he yanked his attention away from Alice to focus on her sister. Half the table was already up from their chairs, and Cindy leaned over the table to address them, her expression laced with amusement.

“Ready for what?” he asked, smiling nervously and knowing he wasn’t going to like her response. She looked far too excited for his comfort level.

“Salsa dancing,” Cindy replied, her smile growing to envelop her face. Noah felt his face fall as his heart began to race.

Dancing. Of course. Just what he needed to keep his hands off of Alice.

Chapter Six

“S
tart with your left foot,” the instructor called, keeping his voice loud to make himself heard over the music. “One, two, three. Back to the neutral position. Pause on four. Good! Five, step back with your right foot. Six, seven. Nice job. Again!”

Alice tapped her feet on the hardwood floors and tried to avoid looking at her own form in the full-length mirrors lining one of the walls. She felt pretty good about the dancing, and was doing as good a job as the rest of the guests who’d joined them at picking up the steps. Several couples lined up next to each other, forming four long, uneven lines of dancers.

She’d dreaded the opportunity, even as her pulse raced at the thought of moving to a fast-tempo song in Noah’s arms. But it seemed that she hadn’t needed to worry, because the first thirty minutes of dance class hadn’t yet involved dancing with a partner. Instead, they’d lined up and worked at learning the steps on their own.

“Step! Two, three,” the instructor said, stomping his foot on the hardwood floors and clapping in time with the music. Alice wavered and lost her balance as she tried to correct her beat. A steady hand grasped her elbow. She gave Noah a thankful smile and tried to ignore the heat that seemed to pulse from his grip into her, up her arm and down to her core.

“Okay, time to dance with your partner.” The instructor gave them all a brilliant smile, as if this was the moment they’d all been waiting for. Then again, by the looks of the other couples, he was probably right. The crowd scattered, chattering excitedly to each other, still filling only a small area of the dance studio, which was large enough to teach a big group.

But Alice’s stomach dropped. She wanted nothing more than to be in Noah’s arms right this second, but she wasn’t entirely sure she could hide her attraction. She spared him a glance, and felt even worse. He looked…well, he looked whatever the opposite of excited was to dance with her.

But when the salsa music started thumping again, he pulled her close to him, his hard biceps gently flexing. His hand settled firmly on the small of her back, its span almost perfectly as wide as her waist. Her breath caught at the suddenly dark look in his eyes and the power he exuded, even in this casual embrace. Weren’t vampires supposed to be cold? Come to think of it, Olivia had never seemed cold to the touch either. And Noah was never cold. Certainly, she’d never noticed him doing something so odd as not breathing. His body against hers, he felt like a normal man. A normal, sexy, well built, Adonis of a man.

His proximity rendered her slightly breathless, but his strong arms kept a small distance between them as they danced to the music. Somehow, the steps seemed easier to follow with him leading the way, even though for the life of her, she couldn’t keep her focus on counting the steps in her head. The music thrummed through her, booming as if coming from her own heart, and she rocked to it. Her feet glided across the wood floor, and for a few moments she felt almost as graceful and sexy as the Latin music demanded.

Then she tripped, on absolutely nothing. Noah pulled her a little closer until she got her balance. Heat rushed to her face. “Sorry, I’m not the best dancer,” she mumbled.

God, he smelled good. Not like cologne, but of something spicy and exotic, with just a touch of sweat. She hadn’t realized vampires sweated. But they did. He’d sweated quite a bit playing volleyball. Olivia had never sweated. But then, Olivia was more of an indoor brainiac, and not much of an athlete.

“You’re doing fine,” Noah said, but he looked over her shoulder at the other couples, avoiding her gaze. She glanced back to see if something had caught his eye, but the wedding guests all danced obliviously, trying—most of them in vain—to find the beat.

They danced a little ways from the crowd, avoiding the occasional elbow to the side or stumbling of the couples around them, but the instructor’s voice was still clear over the festive beat.

The instructor changed the music to a song that sounded almost exactly the same as the one that had played for most of the class, and Noah and Alice fell into silence, listening to the instructor’s words and obeying, but avoiding looking at each other. Annoyance raged through her. He kept her at arm’s length, as if holding her closer was distasteful. Anger replaced her embarrassment. She might not be the best dancer, but she certainly wasn’t
that
bad.

“Okay change partners!” the instructor called. He pointed at Noah and her, then at the closest couple to them.

“Looks like I’m cutting in,” a smooth, familiar voice said.
Dammit
. She’d almost forgotten Brent was even in the room dancing with Kristen. Everything around them had faded away with the exception of Noah. Kristen stood to Brent’s side, shifting her weight from foot to foot, looking carefully at the floor.

“I guess,” Alice answered, and Noah narrowed his eyes at her. She gave Noah a meaningful look. A short dance wasn’t worth starting a scene. Brent smiled widely, triumphant. And as Brent tugged her away from Noah, Kristen moved to take her place. Alice fought the flash of jealousy that ran through her at the sight of Kristen in Noah’s arms. Noah was no Brent, and besides, she had no claim on Noah. Who was she to get jealous when other girls danced with Noah?

The music filled the room again, far too cheerful and sexy for her current mood and her current partner.

Brent danced like he did everything in life: with great precision and little passion. She danced just as mechanically, or as woodenly as she could with such a spirited type of dance. The smell of his cologne rolled over her, eliciting an odd swirl of emotions. The scent, familiar and almost comforting, also made her nauseous. Her body warred between taking more of it into her lungs and shoving him away so she never had to smell it again.

“I wanted to apologize to you,” he said as they went through the movements.

She looked up from his shoulder and met his gaze, startled. The number of times he’d apologized and admitted wrongdoing the entire time they’d been together could be counted on one hand.

“I acted like an ass the first night on the boat. And I’ve been a jerk ever since. I—”

“You’re apologizing?” She couldn’t help but gape at him. Brent Strub had just apologized. Someone needed to take a damn picture. Catch it on film. Something.

He winced. “I owe you a lot of apologies, Alice. I realize that. And I came to this wedding intent on doing just that. But when I saw you—and then I saw him—” Brent shook his head. “Well, that’s neither here nor there, is it?” His eyes met hers, and they carried the bit of fervor that had always made her feel like he really cared for her. It wasn’t passion, exactly—she could tell the difference now, after looking into Noah’s stormy blue eyes before he’d kissed her—but it was powerful. “I’m sorry, Alice.”

The music stopped and so did they. She stared at him, her mind refusing to offer her any remotely suitable response. He stared back at her, his expression wistful, and if she wasn’t mistaken, a little sad.

A hard hand gripped her arm above the elbow, not quite painful, but firm. “I’ll be taking my dance partner back now,” Noah said, sounding like he spoke through gritted teeth. He pulled her away before Brent could argue.

He swung her back into his arms and they resumed their dance, the music picking up with them. Her mind whirred at Brent’s words. She’d stopped listening to the instructor long ago, so she and Noah only danced the basic moves, while others in the class had gone on to learn fancier footwork.

Noah still held her at a distance, and something in her snapped. She’d had just about enough of this night. Enough of Brent’s weirdness. Enough of Noah’s cool regard. If he didn’t want to dance with her, why on Earth had he come back for more? Propriety?
Ugh.

“Do you think you could make it any more obvious you don’t want to dance with me?” she said, knowing her tone sounded bitchy, but not caring. “I mean, maybe you could stick a chair or something between us so you don’t accidentally touch my repulsive body.”

His gaze met hers and desire, plain as day, flashed in his eyes. There was nothing cold nor distant in his expression. Her stomach flip-flopped and she momentarily stopped breathing. They both stopped dancing, and anger warred with passion to dominate his expression.

“You think I don’t want to touch you?” he whispered angrily.

She glanced around, but they’d salsa-stepped a short distance from the other dancers, who huddled around the instructor so he could easily correct their motions. Brent’s eyes still followed them, even as he swung Kristen around the dance floor, but he was too far away to hear their conversation.

“It sure doesn’t seem like you do.” She shouldn’t challenge him, something instinctual in her gut told her that was a bad idea, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. “What’s the matter, Noah? Afraid you’ll like it too much?”

His lip rose in a snarl, but he yanked her roughly against his hard body, frightening her just a tiny bit. Nervously, she glanced away from him, briefly and accidentally catching Brent’s watchful eye. As if nothing had happened, Noah started the dance again, but his body moved so closely against hers that she could feel him. So tempting. So powerful.

The air left the room, and it was as if they were alone with the thundering beat and Spanish words singing around them. There was nothing but him. His scent draped around her, filling her lungs with spice and a touch of sweat. He smelled like a man should smell. His hand slid down to caress the small of her back. His body directed her every movement.

Heat slid through her and settled at her core. God, she wanted him. Wanted him to slip off her dress, and slide those strong hands down her body. Touch her and make her call out his name. She could feel it. He’d be as commanding in bed. Showing her what he wanted with his body. Reading hers just as easily.

Crap
. The music had stopped. When had it stopped? Noah held her close, one hand still on the small of her back, while his other arm encircled her waist, wrapping her in his arms. His face was so close to hers, and he moved down to her neck, burying his face in her hair.

His lips touched her neck, brushing her skin lightly. He tugged her closer, and she could feel his erection pressing against her stomach. His very large erection. Her own immediate reaction surprised her. Her pulse quickened and she could feel color beginning to bloom on her cheeks. She inhaled sharply.

The instructor cleared his throat, and Noah stilled against her. Slowly, his head rose from her neck, and his dark eyes met hers. Need so strong hit her that she didn’t care they weren’t alone, or what her family might think. The obvious desire in his eyes made her instantly wet.

And something was wrong with his mouth. The skin looked stretched around his teeth.
Oh, God, his teeth.
Were those his fangs? The thought of him sinking those sharp teeth into her skin suddenly didn’t seem frightening at all, and her knees grew weak at the thought. She shuddered softly against him, knowing he could see it in her eyes, see how much she wanted him.

The class seemed to be emptying around them. People were talking. Saying things. Asking her questions. She couldn’t hear them.

“Good night,” Noah called over his shoulder, breaking their eye contact. Then they were moving. Walking—somehow she was walking—out of the room.

If there hadn’t been a crowd of Alice’s family members at the salsa dancing lesson, Noah wasn’t entirely certain he could have kept himself from pushing her down onto the dance floor and taking her right there. Dancing had been bad enough, but when she’d doubted him, anger had pulsed through him. Anger that quickly morphed into passion as soon as he’d pulled her close.

Half-dragging her down the hallway, he was silent all the way to the room. To his surprise, so was she. And when the door clicked shut behind them, her wide eyes met his in a room lit only by the moonlight streaming in from their balcony.

He stopped and stared at her. She was so beautiful, even now, with an almost grim expression on her face. Slowly, she kicked off her dancing shoes, and her eyes didn’t shy from his. He opened his mouth, not sure what to say, but somehow, he needed to break the silence surrounding them. She stopped him with a finger to his lips and a shake of her head.

He wanted—needed—to touch her, but she stepped back again and pulled her blouse over her head. A thin bra covered her breasts, and he could see the outline of her beading nipples through the fabric. The swell of her breasts was pale in the moonlight. He hadn’t thought his cock could get any harder, but it did at the sight of her. And he couldn’t just stand and watch anymore.

He closed the distance between them, and then took her mouth ferociously. The taste of the red wine they’d enjoyed with dinner filled her mouth. He wanted—ached—to sink his fangs into her skin. Vampire bites could give pleasure, and he needed so badly to give her every pleasure he could imagine.

But he couldn’t bite her. So he forced away the urge and kissed her, expertly avoiding revealing his fangs with his possession of her mouth.

He slid his hand down and palmed her soft breast. She moaned, his lips capturing the sound, and then he pulled away from the kiss.

She was just as he’d imagined her to be—far more times than he’d like to admit. Her lips were swollen and her eyes heavily lidded with passion. He slid his thumb over her nipple and could feel it so tantalizingly close under the thin fabric.

A warning flickered in his mind. This wasn’t the control he’d promised himself. He wasn’t supposed to make love to her. It wasn’t the logical thing to do. Hell, he was pretty damn certain it wasn’t the
right
thing to do. But he didn’t care. He’d never wanted anything so badly in his life.

“Noah,” she said, voice weak.

He closed his mouth over her nipple, the material of her bra still between his lips and her sensitive skin. She gasped, her fingers tangled in his hair. With his tongue, he stroked her through the fabric and was rewarded with breathless words. He sucked and licked at both of her breasts and then stepped back to remove her bra. He needed to see her, all of her.