Maybe a bit of embarrassment sprinkled on, too.
Funny, he thought.
He liked that sound, too.
What other kinds of noises might she make if he—
No, Renzo was not going there. Not yet, anyway.
“Really?” she asked.
Those hazel eyes of hers glittered under the neon green and electric purple lights that flashed, blinked, and moved in every which direction. The softness of her features and the gentle curve of her lips froze under the movement of the strobes. For a moment, she looked like an unmoving angel—perfect, and beautiful.
“What?”
Lucia shrugged, and a hint of pink tinged her cheeks. “People … fucking. Really?”
Innocence?
God.
That—probably more than anything else—made him want her. Because how amazing would she be, if he turned her into a sinner like him; if he made her dirty like him.
“Really,” he told her. “Happens more often than it doesn’t at these. Thing is, they like being watched, so don’t feel like you’re intruding if you do find yourself staring. That’s the whole reason why they do it—they want to be seen. Or, just avert your stare, and pretend like you didn’t see anything in the first place.”
Lucia blinked. “Huh.”
“Not a single one of them will care who you are, or why you’re here tonight as long as you don’t mess up their evening,” he finished.
Lucia grinned. “So … have fun, then?”
“That’s the point of it, babe.”
The word—that endearment—slipped from his lips easily. Like he’d said it a dozen times before to her, but he could guarantee he hadn’t said it to anyone ever. And yet, it felt easy to say it to her, and maybe he liked the way her tongue peeked out to wet her lips right after he dared to let the word come out of his mouth. Or maybe it was the way her throat jumped as she swallowed the longer he kept staring at her.
Maybe he liked a lot of things about her.
Even if that wasn’t really the plan.
“Can we go in?” she asked.
Yeah, that was a better plan than what was going on in his crazy head.
“Lead the way. Don’t take a drink from anyone but me.”
They stepped into the main section of the warehouse, and Lucia’s voice agreeing to Renzo’s demand about the drinks was nothing more than a buzz in his ears. There really was something to be said about the loudness in these parties. Add in the strobe lights, the DJ with a mask over his face, and the people crowded together like sardines in a can as they danced … it was a sight to see.
Intoxicating, maybe.
People chased these parties. Invite-only by way of a text message, a person never really knew when one was going to come up, or where the next location would be. Everything was portable, so it could be easily packed and unpacked when shit needed to be moved. No one really knew the names—only the aliases—or the faces of the people running the damn things.
Lucia was headed right for the swell of people dancing, and Renzo moved to catch up. He caught her wrist in his hand, and winked when she tossed a look over her shoulder to make sure it was him who had grabbed her. He wanted to make sure he kept at least one hand on this girl just in case she felt like trying to get lost.
God knew he wouldn’t find her in the people.
“Do you dance?” she asked.
He didn’t hear her voice over the music, but her moving lips were enough for him to discern what she said. Renzo shrugged one shoulder, and nodded.
He could dance.
He just didn’t do it often.
Lucia wasn’t going to give him a choice, apparently. She pulled him onto the makeshift dance floor, and before he knew it, the rest of the warehouse disappeared as all he cared to focus on was Lucia in her white flowy dress as all her soft curves pressed against him and moved in the best way possible. Her gaze locked on his as the song changed again, and he dragged her closer still.
She was prettier like this.
Carefree, and relaxed. Grinning in that way with a laugh on the tip of her tongue. Equal parts sweet and coy.
And none of that mattered when her body grinded against his, and his cock perked at the sensation. None of that mattered when he could get his hands on her skin, and all he could see was her under the strobes.
He didn’t even think about it, really. The next time she came in close with the swell of