Fated Hearts (Southern Bride 8)

After handing them their drinks, Roger motioned for me to slide into the booth, and then he slid in next to me. The feel of his body so close to mine caused a rush of emotions. Lust, excitement, nervousness, curiosity… You name it, I felt it. There was no denying the reason I felt so hot, and it had nothing to do with the heat of the club.

The music vibrated through my entire body, and the longer I sat there, the more I realized how much I wanted to dance. I slid my gaze over to Roger, who was looking out over the dance floor. He must have sensed me staring because his eyes moved to me.

He bent closer and placed his mouth against my ear, and the warmth of his breath made me shiver. “Want to make a bet?”

“What kind of bet?” I asked with a suspicious look.

He laughed. “I’m going to guess that your bartender boy toy is keeping a close eye on the time and will indeed be waiting for you to meet him.”

I glanced out over the crowd to where I had last seen Roby. I couldn’t see him since the nightclub was darker and there was a good group of people in the place, but from the way he’d been lip-locked with that girl, I highly doubted he’d be looking for me still.

Turning back to Roger, I asked, “How much?”

His eyes sparkled with excitement. I loved that he got just as much of a thrill out of betting as I did.

“A hundred dollars says he’ll be there at eleven.”

My eyes drifted down to the wide smile on his mouth. I couldn’t help but wonder if his lips would be as soft as they looked.

“Fine. A hundred on him not being there,” I stated.

Roger slowly shook his head. “Princess, have you looked in the mirror lately? Why do you think he won’t be there?”

I gave a half-shrug. “I think he likes to flirt and will most likely assume I’m a no-show, especially considering I’m older.”

Roger reached for his beer and took a long, slow drink before he placed it back down. He looked at his watch and then back out over the crowd.

“I guess we’ll find out in five minutes,” he shouted as he kept scanning the dance floor.

“Five minutes!? How long were we up at the bar?” I called over the music.

Mary gestured to me. “Are you going to go and see if he shows up?”

I nodded and jammed my thumb toward Roger. “Made a bet with Roger, so I need to go see. He says he’ll show. I say he won’t.”

Dylan laughed and shouted back, “He’ll show!”

Mary nodded. “Hell, yeah, he will. Have you looked in the mirror lately?”

I felt my cheeks heat at Mary’s compliment, or maybe it was from Roger leaning into me as he said, “I told you.”

Glancing back at him, I sucked in a breath at how close we were. All I had to do was lean into him a little bit more, and our lips would meet. Roger’s eyes fell to my mouth, and I instinctively swept my tongue out over my lips. His gaze jerked back up, and for a moment I swore he was going to kiss me. Instead, he grinned wickedly and leaned back, once again scanning the dance floor.

It was only when he took his eyes off me that I realized I had been holding my breath. I exhaled slowly and leaned against the back of the booth.

“Jesus Christ, the sexual tension between the two of you is off the charts!” Mary said into my ear. “Just fuck him already and put both of you out of your misery.”

Laughing, I pushed her away. “You’re crazy!”

She tilted her head and regarded me before she said, “Maybe, but I know I’m getting laid tonight.”

Her voice was a bit loud since there was a slower song playing now, and Roger and Dylan both looked at us.

Dylan grinned from ear to ear and then focused on me. “Mary and I’ll stay here while you two go see if your date arrived. That way we don’t lose the booth.”

Roger slid out and reached for my hand. The moment our fingers touched, I felt that jolt. Roger’s eyes met mine, and there was no doubt about it—I saw the desire in them, and I was positive mine mirrored it back.

Or he was simply excited to see who was going to win the next bet. That thought wasn’t as thrilling, though, so I pushed it away.

Roger laced our fingers together as he guided us toward the entrance, pushing through the crowd of people. I glanced over to where I had seen Roby, but he was gone.

“Wait,” I called out, pulling Roger to a stop.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Dance with me!” I shouted.

His brows snapped down in confusion. “What?”