Shane released her, swinging her out wide, making her laugh with delight as her skirt flared. She felt pure enjoyment in their dance.
As he pulled her up tight against his chest and bent down, his eyes searing her with their desire, her laughter evaporated. Pure sexual hunger radiated through her. She pushed into his arousal, taking delight in the anguished gasp escaping his lips.
“We should go back now,” he said. But his hands had other ideas. They were resting on her hips, but soon began climbing up her waist, slowly, reaching the side of her br**sts, where his fingers briefly grazed the mounds before moving to her back and outlining her shoulder blades, pulling her tightly into him, making her beaded ni**les ache as they rubbed against his solid chest.
Lia had all but forgotten her family sitting in the next room. Luckily, the other couples on the dance floor seemed just as entranced with each other as the two of them were, or the two of them would be making quite a spectacle of themselves.
The dimly lit dance floor was tucked into a corner of the restaurant, the perfect place for couples to work up anticipation for a night of scorching romance. Shane had built her desire into a frenzy, and she no longer wanted to be at the stiflingly decorous restaurant.
She wanted a bed!
The song “ Fever” began to play; a vocalist had joined the string quartet, and her sexy voice only added to the throbbing in Lia’s overheated body. The sultry rhythm automatically made Lia grind her h*ps against Shane’s. She moved them in time to the music as her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.
“Later tonight, I’m going to push you down on the bed, unbutton your pants, set that beautiful arousal free, and take you deep into my mouth,” she whispered, delighting when he shook in her arms.
“Lia…” he warned.
“Then I plan on stripping all my clothes off while you watch… After that, I’m going to climb up on top of you, and sink down on that thick staff of yours and ride you until the sun begins to rise.”
“Let’s go!” he said as his hands flew to her backside and he pulled her against him. If possible, he’d grown even harder at her words.
“Sounds good to me,” she said, feeling triumphant. Her family would forgive her — she hoped.
They turned the corner and Lia ran right into a body, excusing herself until she looked up and saw the laughing expression on Ari’s face.
“I didn’t interrupt anything, did I?” Ari asked, not even trying to hide the mischievous expression on her face.
“Um…no…we…uh…” Lia couldn’t complete a sentence; her brain was occupied with trying to figure out how to get around Ari so that she and Shane could complete what they’d started.
“Oh, you must be so warm after dancing for such a long time,” Ari said, slipping between the two of them, making Lia want to groan in frustration.
She could take Ari out — no problem. Horrified at her own thoughts, Lia sent a pleading look over to Shane, who looked about as miserable as she felt as Ari looped her arms around both Lia and Shane and began leading them back toward the table.
“I have to use the bathroom,” Lia said. Inspiration!
She knew Shane would take the hint and follow.
“Great. Me too. We’ll meet you back at the table, Shane,” Ari said, pointedly locking her arm in Lia’s, letting the wanton young woman know she wouldn’t be allowed to get away.
“Fine,” Shane mumbled as he walked away, shifting his body, obviously more than a little uncomfortable.
“Ari, I’m trying to get some time alone with Shane,” Lia pleaded as she looked at her friend.
“Lia Palazzo, you have had plenty of time alone with Shane for almost a week. Your parents have been worried sick about you. Rachel, Rafe and I were terrified, too. I know you want to rip each other’s clothes off, but you can’t treat your family with such a lack of respect by rushing out. Your mother would be crushed. Family always comes first,” Ari lectured her. “However, anticipation is half the fun. You could always see how much you can make Shane sweat through dinner,” she added with a wink.
“Oh, that does sound like fun,” Lia said as they slipped into the restroom. Hiding in a stall, she slipped off her panties and put them in her pocket.
She and Ari walked back to the table, where Shane’s eyes drank her in as she sat next to him, scooting her chair just a little bit closer.
“When we get out of here, I’m going to release you from your tight pants and run my tongue all over your beautiful shaft,” she whispered in his ear as her finger trailed over his arousal beneath the tablecloth.
Shane jumped in his seat, his knee slamming into the table, making the conversation stop as all eyes turned toward him.
“Is everything OK, Shane?” Rafe asked, looking at his friend with concern.
“Fine,” Shane squeaked, then cleared his throat. “Sorry, thought I saw a mouse,” he added.
Rafe looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “A mouse?” he asked doubtfully.
“Um…yeah, don’t know what I was thinking,” Shane said, sending a glare Lia’s way as her fingers rubbed over him again, making his brow break out in a sweat.
“You’re all flushed, dear. Maybe you picked up an illness on that island,” Rosabella said, her face a mask of concern.
Shane felt like a heel.
He gripped Lia’s hand, trapping it against his leg, the safest place he could think of with the eyes of all her family members on him.
“It’s just a bit warm in here. I’m fine,” he said. He picked up his glass of wine and downed it, not even tasting the exquisite liquid, just praying for a buzz so he could get through this agonizing night.
The family seemed unsure, but finally the conversation began again, and Shane turned toward Lia with a pleading look in his eyes. “Behave,” he muttered as he let go of her hand and turned to speak to Rafe.
Less than a minute had passed when he felt Lia’s fingers on his hand, then felt something in his palm. He turned it, trying to figure out what it was. Pulling it up on his lap, he’d barely managed to stop himself from lifting it to table height before he looked down and noticed the scrap of lace and satin in his hand. It was her panties!
Shoving his hand back under the table, his body went from hard to throbbing when he realized she was sitting next to him in a short skirt with no panties on. A small groan escaped his tight throat, and Rafe looked at him with concern.