Stay (7 page)

“Dance with me.” I sway my hips playfully, hoping to distrac
t him.

“
Dance
? You want to
dance
wit
h me?”

“You do know how to dance, r
ight?”

Julian chuckles and tilts his head slightly to the side as if confused by my question. “Yes.” He nods. “I know how to dance, Alexa. I happen to own a nightclub, and I also happen to be La
tino.”

“Well, Julian,” I answer in the same sarcastic tone he used on me, “I doubt all the people who own circuses know how to juggle. However, the Latino thing does give you a little more credibility.” My jokes are lame, but I’ve distracte
d him.

Julian flashes me a seductive smile, his look of annoyance gone. I love this playful, flirty side o
f him.

“You sure have a smart and sexy mouth, and I would prefer to get to know it better rather than dance, but a challenge is a challenge.” He pulls me close to him, and I can feel his erection on my leg. “You want to dance, do you?
Vamos a ba
ilar
.”

It turns out stopping and asking Julian to dance with me as a sexual deterrent is a very bad idea and has the exact opposite effect. He actually was doing me a favor by skipping the dancing part of the night. I’ve always been turned on by a guy would could move, and Julian is an amazing dancer. He moves so fluidly in front of me, around me, against me. He’s like a tiger stalking his prey, and he never takes his eyes off
of me.

Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop the Music” comes on, and Julian holds me close as he pushes his hips into me and mouths the words. He mimics the lyrics of the song with his body movements. This i
s hot.

Do you know what you st
arted?

I just came here to
party,

But now we’re rocking on the dance floor, actin’ n
aughty

Your hands around my w
aist …

I’ m also a good dancer, and I’m sure Julian and I make a sexy pair on the dance floor. I let go and just let the music take over my body. If I could focus on anything but him, I would notice people are watching us. I forget he owns this club and that everyone knows him. I briefly wonder if he does this often and realize I honestly don’t really care. He’s dancing with me, and I’m going to freaking enjoy the moment. I feel so alive. We keep bumping and grinding against each other to the sounds of Pitbull’s “Give Me Everything.” Julian keeps singing
to me.

And I might drink a little more than I should to
night,

And I might take you home with me, if I could t
onight

And, baby, Ima make you feel so good t
onight

Cause we might not get tom
orrow…

I’m not sure if it’s the alcohol or the feel of Julian pressed up against me, but I’m suddenly a bit lightheaded. I place my head lightly on his chest, and I feel his heart beating rapidly. His desire for me is both literally and figuratively obvious. We are both a little sweaty from the dancing, but he still smells so good. I take a deep breath and inhale his scent. That doesn’t help with the lightheadedness. Julian Bauer is positively intoxicating. I pull away slightly and look up at him. He looks a bit like I feel—raw and disheveled. His eyes are gazing down at me with fire in them. He puts his hands on the sides of my head and pushes my hair off my face. It’s a gesture that is both gentle and possessive at the
same.

“Ready to stop
dancing
now?”

I nod my head and give him a faint smile. It’s all I can muster. I no longer have the strength or the desire to resist him. Julian takes my hand and leads me off the floor. At the back of the bar, Julian leads me down a short, dimly lit hallway. At the end of the hallway, we round a little corner. There’s a door in front of us, one that I assume leads into his office. I’m surprised that instead of taking me behind the door, he stops, turns me to face him, and presses my back against the wall. He spreads my legs with one of his and keeps it there. I’m straddling his leg, and my dress has crept up my hips, leaving the lower half of my body pretty exposed. Julian holds my hands down by my sides and gently begins stroking my thighs with his long fingers. The feel of his touch on my bare skin is almost more than I can handle. He is so much taller than me that I just come up to his shoulders, and once again my face is in his chest. Being in this position makes it easy for me to avoid his burning stare, yet I can
feel
how he’s looking at me. It’s like he’s trying to see the deepest parts of me. I should feel scared, but I don’t. I’ve been avoiding this level of intimacy for a year because of what happened with Brady. Oddly though, I feel protected and safe rather than frightened. I take a deep breath, and once again my senses are overtaken by the faint smell of peppermint on Julian’s breath coupled with a heady mixture of sweat and cologne. Julian shifts slightly, and I feel the top of his leg hit just the right spot between my legs. I immediately begin gently grinding against him. It’s shameless, but I can’t help m
yself.

“Mmm,” Julian whispers huskily in my ear. “That’s it, baby. Feel me between your legs.” Between my legs? I’m feeling him every
where.

The way we’re positioned allows me to feel the heat and power of his erection against my leg, and it turns me on even more if that’s possible. I’m so wet that I’m certain he can feel my dampness on his leg. Sensing my desperate need for release, Julian flexes his leg muscle and pushes into me, making it easier for me to rub myself against him. Aside from the sound of our heaving breathing, it’s quiet. I push into him, and I can feel how much Julian wants me. Still, he remains restrained and lets me use his body for my pleasure. I’m desperate to touch him, but he refuses to let go of my hands. It will not take much for me to orgasm because I’ve been turned on for hours and my body is ready to explode. If Julian would just put his lips on mine, something he has yet to do, I will get the release I crave. Here I’m about to come for this man, and he has not even kissed me yet. I’m in so much trouble
here.

Once again he appears to read my mind about what I need and want from him, and he finally touches me with his beautiful mouth. But Julian doesn’t kiss my lips. Instead he puts his mouth on my neck just below my right ear and slowly runs his tongue all the way down my neck to my collarbone. Chills course through my body, and all I want in this moment is to grab his head and force his lips to mine. But I can’t because my hands are still pinned to my sides. I attempt to pull them away again. He tightens his grip and gently shakes his he
ad no.

He whispers seductively in my ear, finally breaking the silence. “What do you need, Alexa? Are you wet for me? Are you going to get off by grinding your sweet self into my
leg?”

I respond affirmatively by grinding into him more forcefully, my dress riding even further up my
hips.

“Yes, I know you’re turned on, baby. I can feel you on my leg. And it’s so okay with me because I can’t think of anything sexier and more beautiful right now then you being so turned on that I don’t even have to touch you or kiss you to make you come. Can you feel me? Can you feel how turned on I am, how hard? I might come in my pants too. That’s how sexy you are, how beaut
iful.”

I’m so close already that his words push me over the edge. I grind my hips hard into his, squeeze my inner thighs as tight as I can, and grip his hands with everything I have. I lean my forehead against his chest and shamelessly let my orgasm shudder through me as I moan s
oftly.

“Mmm, that was so hot,
corazón
.” Julian exhales into my neck. I didn’t realize he was holding his b
reath.

I keep my head against Julian’s chest and can feel how hard his heart is pounding. This is a man who must be close to the edge himself. I try to catch my breath and compose myself before I pull away. I don’t want him to see the surrender in my eyes. We stay in this position long enough for both of our heartbeats to slow back down to normal. I murmur a small “Gracias” in an attempt to lighten the m
oment.

Julian lets go of one of my hands and brings his hand up to my chin. He tilts it up and forces me to look up at him. I fully expect my eyes to be met with the same lustful, fiery gaze he’s been looking at me with the whole night. I expect a racy, sexually explicit comment is not far off as well. But I’m so
wrong.

Instead, Julian is looking at me with reverent eyes and a tenderness I haven’t seen from him before. Huh? Here we just had this totally hot, carnal moment, and now he’s looking at me with softness in his eyes that should be reserved for someone he has feelings for, not a girl he just let grind against him in a dark hallway. Maybe it’s the lighting and I’m imagining what I see in his eyes. Well, I think, if he isn’t going to say something raunchy, I will. I’ll say anything to get him to stop looking at me like
that.

I open my mouth to make a snarky comment about what just happened, and I’m stopped as he lowers his mouth softly to mine. Julian’s hand is still on my face, and his thumb is stroking my jaw tenderly as he slips his tongue in between my parted lips. I let out a small gasp when I feel the soft silkiness of his tongue as it strokes and caresses the inside of my mouth. Our mouths are connecting much in the same way our bodies did on the dance floor, fluidly and like one. This. Man. Can. Kiss. I can tell by the way he keeps deepening our connection that he’s falling into me as much as I am into him. He pulls his tongue out and slowly traces my lips with it. He gently nips at my lower lip before he plunges his tongue back into my waiting mouth. I’m basically pinned to the wall by his hard body, and he’s still holding one of my hands at my side. I use my other hand to reach around and grab the back of his head, pulling him deeper into me. I catch his tongue with my lips and suck gently. Julian moans and thrusts his tongue deep into my mouth. A rush of feelings streams through my body. I feel him on my lips, on my skin, between my legs, and in my heart. Fuck! In my heart? As intense and passionate as our kisses are, they do not feel purely physical, and all of a sudden, an overwhelming sense of panic begins to engulf me, and my body starts throwing up red flags.
No! No! No!
I scream internally.
No emotions allowed, Alexa; this is just supposed to be abou
t sex.

Somehow I’m able to break my lips away from Julian, and I put my free hand on his chest and gently push him away. Julian pulls back and looks at me, his eyes wide open and questioning. It’s as if he was somewhere else while he was kissing me, and now he can’t believe I’m standing in front of him. His expression is serious, and in this moment I feel completely vulnerable. Again, it’s as if he can see everything I’m thinking and fe
eling.

He groans softly and tries to slow his pulse down by taking a deep breath. I can hardly breathe, and my heart is beating out of my chest. His voice is raspy and laden with lust. “I’m about twenty seconds from ripping all of your clothes off and making love to you right now, Alexa. And I
never
do things like that
here.”

He takes a small step backward, lets go of my hand, and breaks the connection between our b
odies.

“And although the idea of taking you right now against this wall sounds like the best idea in the world, I never mix my business with pleasure. I’ve already crossed way too many lines with you ton
ight.”

He says this but then steps in closer again and puts his hands on my waist. He seems unable to make up his mind about what he shou
ld do.

“But, my God, I want
you.”

My mind is still stuck on his words from a minute ago.
Make love
? Did he just say make love? Where did
that
come from? The whole night has been filled with dirty talk. Now he’s talking about making love? If I were to be honest with myself, which I don’t like to be in these emotional situations, I would be acknowledging that I do understand why he’s acting the way he is. I felt the shift happen too. I knew the second he put his lips on mine that our connection meant so much more than two people just casually hooking up. But I’m not even remotely close to being ready to go there or admit this is anything other than a one-time thing. I quickly convince myself Julian is just caught up in the moment too. I can play this off. Here it goes. Someone needs to get a hold of this situation. I arch my brows, look up at him, and put both of my hands on his chest. I can feel his heart pounding again. I push him back g
ently.

“So,” I said, “make love? The only thing I’d
love
for you to make me right now is another d
rink.”

How lame am I? I cringe as the words come out of my mouth, but it seems to do the trick. My stupid comment about wanting a drink breaks the spell we both have been under since he found me on the dance
floor.

Julian quickly backs away from me, and suddenly everything snaps back hard into focus. I internally agree with him we have crossed way too many lines tonight, both sexually and emotionally. But although I agree with Julian, I can’t help but be uneasy about his sudden mood swing. He seems to vacillate so easily between wanting to pull me close and wanting to push me away. I have no idea what he’s actually feeling. His eyes are now devoid of anything resembling an emotional connection. The man that just had me coming apart with his words and touch is gone, and I’m looking into the eyes of a stranger. I’m reeling, but I don’t want him to see how much his indifference is affecting me. I need to get away from him. I step around him, pull myself together a little bit, and start walking away from him back toward the bar. A huge part of me wants him to stop me. I want him to grab my hand and pull me close like he has done all night long. I want him to say something dirty to me or something funny. All he says is my
name.