“Thank you, Grace.” His voice seemed deeper. His lips quirked up in a sexy half-smile. “I’m not so bad, you know. You don’t have to hide in a closet to avoid me.”
She felt herself flush. She’d hoped he hadn’t figured that out. “I had to do inventory.”
His eyes narrowed, and she felt like he could see through her. “I would prefer honesty, Grace, but I don’t suppose we’re there yet. Fine. I can play the game for awhile.” He looked down at Jake. “When the waitress comes by, could you order me a beer?”
Grace barely heard Jake’s “yes” before Sean was leading her toward the dance floor. Her hand felt small engulfed in his large one. God, he made her feel petite, and she wasn’t small in any way. Grace glanced around the bar. No one else was dancing. Everyone was going to be watching the big girl and the guy who was obviously out of her league.
Sean halted in the middle of the floor and pulled her close. “Stop it.”
“Stop what?” She was doing as he asked. She just wasn’t a very good dancer. “If you would prefer someone who knows what they’re doing, please feel free to choose another partner.”
She started to pull away, her face flaming. She should have known better. Sean’s arm tightened around her waist, pulling them closer together. “That wasn’t what I meant. I meant for you to stop stressing about what everyone else thinks.”
“How did you know?” she asked, trying to follow his lead. It was obvious she wasn’t leaving anytime soon.
His arm relaxed as though he understood she was resigned. His hand found the small of her back, and she could feel him leading her gently. “I watched you. Your shoulders come up when you get stressed or nervous. And your jaw locks when you lie.”
“I didn’t lie.”
“You said you didn’t want to dance with me. That was a lie. I saw the way your eyes flared and your jaw clenched when I asked you. You were looking at me the same way you looked at that decadent piece of chocolate cake at the restaurant, and you turned me down the same way you turned down dessert yesterday.”
He was right about that. She was horrifically embarrassed that he could see through her so plainly, but there was a part of her that was amazed he’d learned so much about her. Her husband, God rest his soul, had never figured out those things. “Well, I think you’re both bad for me.”
He surprised her by laughing, the sound as rich as any chocolate. Yep, he was bad for her. He had her thinking all kinds of dirty things. “That is such bullshit, Grace. Everyone needs a little decadence. It makes life worth living.”
Sean moved her around the floor, his grace and rhythm evident in his easy motions. Grace gave over and stopped fighting him. She let him lead. The only problem with chocolate was that it was highly addictive. Once Grace had a little taste, she wanted more. She was pretty damn sure Sean Johansson was going to be very similar.
“So says the man without an ounce of fat on him,” Grace grumbled. Not an ounce. So close to him, she could feel how cut he was. She tried to keep her hands still, but his every muscle seemed rock hard. He enveloped her. She was surrounded by his heat and his very masculine, clean smell. Despite her every misgiving, she found herself relaxing into him. It felt so good to be close to someone.
She felt him sigh, and his arms left their proper dance position and simply wrapped around her. He swayed to the music. “Is that what the problem is? Grace, love, do you look in the mirror?”
“All too often,” Grace replied.
It was time to let him know she was onto his game. She turned her head up, and found him staring down at her with the sweetest smile on his gorgeous face. It took her breath for a minute. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to just dance. She wouldn’t let it go any further. If she was careful, she could enjoy a night out with an amazing man and not get hurt.
“I don’t think you’re looking at the same thing I am,” Sean said. “Now, relax. Are you enjoying yourself?”
“Yes,” she answered honestly. She liked being close to him far too much, but it felt so good to forget about all the reasons she shouldn’t be here and just dance.
“I’m glad. I don’t think you have enough fun, Grace.” His hand moved to cradle her head. He pressed her gently to his chest.
The music swelled around them, and Grace simply forgot about all the people watching them and let herself feel. She wanted. She’d wanted for so long.
The music changed suddenly to a faster pace. Grace reluctantly brought her head up. That hadn’t lasted nearly as long as she’d hoped. She gave Sean a smile.
He shook his head and held her hand. He winked as he twirled her around and brought her back into his arms. “I can do this all night long, Grace. Dance with me.”
Grace felt a smile spread across her face as Sean picked up the pace. The man could dance. Grace relaxed and followed his lead.
* * * *
“What do you mean you didn’t go through her briefcase?” Sean asked. The words came out more harshly than he’d intended, but it had been a rough night.
He’d spent at least a full hour dancing with Grace, her lovely, curvy body pressed against his. He’d been in agony. His cock had been harder than iron, and he’d had to keep himself carefully angled away from her body. He wasn’t sure what Grace would have done had he followed through on his instinct which screamed at him to rub his cock all over her and make sure she was absolutely certain of his interest.
Adam took a long pull off his beer. The minute Grace and the others had disappeared, Adam had ordered a beer as fast as he could get the words out of his mouth. “Kayla showed up. What did you expect me to do? Tell her I’m sorry, you can’t sit with us because I have to rifle through your friend’s briefcase? God, this beer tastes so fucking good. You suck, Jake. I will get you back for that.”
Jake laughed, his head falling back. “The look on your face was so funny.”
Sean slapped at the table to get their attention. “Both of your faces are going to look funny if I don’t get a decent explanation as to why this little mission of ours turned into a complete waste of time.”
It hadn’t been, but he wasn’t willing to admit that. He’d enjoyed Grace’s company far more than he should. She was sweet and funny and so smart. After they’d finished dancing, they’d sat with Adam and Jake and the others from the office who came in and crowded around Grace. Kayla had been there, but so had a bunch of men. Several of them had been watching Grace. She hadn’t noticed at all, but Sean had made damn sure to stare them all down.