render his question moot, but again, I bit my tongue and simply nodded. As I wound my arms around his neck and let him pull me closer, I locked eyes with Dane across the room.
I wish I was in his arms instead. All I wanted was for him to take me back to the hotel and to spend the rest of the night in bed with him. I knew I shouldn’t want him so badly that I was practically pining for him even though he was in the same room as I was, but there was something about this romantic city and the look in his eyes whenever they met mine that I couldn’t resist.
Julien was a decent dancer and he kept making small talk while spinning me around the floor, but although I answered his questions and tried to be pleasant, I couldn’t quite focus on him. After he finally bowed out, another man took his place and then another.
I was swept across the dance floor more times than I could count, but none of the men captured my attention the way Dane did. Like a puppy at a children’s party, I was a hot commodity. Every time I tried to make my way toward my water bowl—which was Dane in my case—someone would scoop me up and drag me right back to where I started.
It seemed like everyone wanted a piece of me, but since that was exactly what I was here for, I couldn’t complain. With all the compliments being tossed my way, some definitely more genuine than others, it was really difficult to bite my tongue.
A couple of hours into the soiree, I was about to tell my current dance partner that my beauty was a result of hanging around the right people and having their good looks rub off on me, but then the couple who had been dancing beside us left the floor. For the first time since Jefferson had “stolen me away for a moment,” Dane was right there.
He was so close I could practically touch him, and that was what I planned on doing. Offering the man holding me a smile, I stepped out of the circle of his arms. “Will you please excuse me? I’m absolutely parched. I really need to get a drink.”
“Of course,” he said, dipping into a gallant bow before letting me go. He tried to offer to get me something, but I muttered something about the restroom and took off before he could say anything else.
Dane was in the middle of a group of women, but as soon as he saw me making a beeline for him, he must’ve excused himself as well. He took a few steps away from them, smirking while he waited for me to close the distance between us.
“Finally managed to get away from your many admirers?” he joked, but there was a flare to his nostrils when he said it that made me think he didn’t much like the idea of me having admirers.
I shrugged, twirling a lock of my loose hair between my fingers. “I figured you’re my biggest admirer, so I didn’t want to keep wasting time with the others.”
His eyes widened a fraction, a surprised laugh coming out of him before he cocked an eyebrow at me. “Is that a fact? How would you know? Did you sample all the other merchandise around here?”
“I didn’t have to,” I said coyly, getting as close to him as I dared with this many people around. “I was held close enough by some of them to know exactly what they have to offer.”
“Is that all you want from me then?” he said, the laughter still in his eyes letting me know that he was joking.
“Nope. I also want you to hold my hand, feed me, and tell me I’m pretty.”
He reached out to take the hair from between my fingers, pushing it back but not tucking it behind my ear. His fingertips grazed my temple and I swore his touch sent a pleasant buzz straight to my brain.
“I think you’ve had enough people telling you how pretty you are tonight.” He sighed softly when he withdrew his hand and put some space between us. “As for holding your hand and feeding you, I think I can manage those.”
Glancing up over my shoulder, he signaled to a passing waiter carrying a tray of canapés. Then he took the entire tray off the guy’s hands and smiled at me. “Let’s go.”
I stared at the