“Don’t you what in the hell me. This was a long time coming.”
She screws up her face. “I think you’re about ten months too late.”
I slip my index finger through one of her belt loops and draw her closer. “There is no too late, Luna. Not for us. We’re a forever kind of thing.”
“Pretty words,” she mumbles.
“Again, who is this?”
I glance to the blond beast of a man. “Samson Carter, Stella’s boyfriend.” I fucking love the way those words roll off my tongue, but her friend… he seems to take issue with it.
“Interesting.” He taps his index finger on his dimpled chin. “She’s never mentioned you.”
It seems like this dude’s trying to measure dicks, but I’m pretty damn confident in what I’m packing.
“Well, now you know,” I say, offering him my hand to shake with a smile.
“And you are?”
“I’m Gabe, and that,” he nods his head toward the man at his side, “is my boyfriend—”
“Zach. We’ve met.”
Gabe stands taller, crossing his arms over his chest. “When was this exactly?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“I’m not a violent man,” Gabe starts, cracking his knuckles. “But I will—”
“Breathe, lover-boy.” Zach interlaces their fingers. “I helped with some flowers at the shop.”
Gabe nods, seemingly placated.
But I’m not as ready to let it go. “That sure was a lot of macho gesturing over a girl that’s not even yours.”
He cuts his eyes at me. “She deserves the best.”
I hold his gaze. “There’s something we can agree on.” I release Stella and take a small step back. “This is Maria.”
Stella’s eyes flare. “You brought your date here and kissed me in front of her? What kind of ass—”
The sound of Maria’s laughter cuts her off. “Trust me, neither of us is interested in the other.”
“Not even remotely.”
Stella pinches the bridge of her nose as she shakes her head back and forth. “This has been the weirdest night ever.”
Maria’s lips twitch at Stella’s confusion. “You two are so cute.”
“Dance with me, Luna?”
Stella looks at me with wide eyes. “Right now? Here in front of all these people.”
I run my finger over her cheekbone and draw her lips back to mine for a quick kiss. “Yeah, in front of all these people.”
She bites her lip and swallows. “Okay.”
I place a possessive hand on her lower back and guide her toward the living room.
Instead of seeking out a spot in the middle of the crowd, I tuck us away in a corner. Not because I’m ashamed to be seen with her, but because I don’t want any of these jackasses watching her as she dances.
Stella is mine. Her body is for my eyes—my hands, my mouth, my cock—only. The mere thought of one of these fuckers looking at her… touching her… is enough to make me consider murder.
I crowd her from behind, wrapping my arms around her as we rock our hips to the rhythm.
“You look beautiful.” I whisper the words against her neck and she shivers in my hold.
“Why are you here, Samson?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I’m here for you.”
She sighs but drops her head back onto my shoulder. “I don’t even know up from down anymore when it comes to us.”
“I want to make things right between us.”
She shrugs her shoulders but doesn’t pull away from me. “You literally went on a date tonight. And according to my brother—and you—you’re seeing someone and it’s serious. But here you are, dancing with me, saying you wanna make things right between us.”
I spin her so that she’s facing me with my thigh wedged between hers. “Come on, Stella. It’s you—you’re the person I’m seeing. It’s always been you; it’s only going to be you.”
“Why is this so hard?” she asks, twining her arms around my neck.
“The things that are most worth having in life are hard.”
“But shouldn’t love be easy?”
I grin down at her. “You saying you love me, Luna?”
She tugs on the hair at my nape. “Shut up.”
I lean down, brushing my nose against hers. “I love you too.”
She pulls back and draws her bottom lip between her teeth. “I don’t know if I’m ready for this.”
“That’s okay, Luna—I can wait.”
She pops up onto her toes and seals her mouth to mine.
For a split second, I’m too stunned to react, but I quickly part my lips for her. She tunnels her fingers through my hair as our tongues tangle together.
My hands find purchase on her ass as our hips move together in a rhythm that’s as familiar as it is sensual.
God, I want her—no, fuck that—I need her. Stella Cartwright is every good thing on this earth and I will spend every single day of the rest of my life showing her that I’m worthy of her.
One song fades into another, and then another but we stay in our little corner, lips locked and hips, until finally Stella pulls away.