Sabrina turned blindly and pushed her way through the crowd. By the time she reached the doors, her chest was tight with emotion, and when she finally made it outside, she exhaled, drawing in great gasps of fresh air.
She made her way to the parking lot and leaned against Teague’s truck, eyes on a midnight sky that was lit up with a million stars. Her chest was tight. It felt as if there was a ball of something in there that needed release.
“You okay?”
The words slid from the dark. Teague.
“Yes,” she answered after a while.
“Liar.”
Eyes still on the sky, she froze when he approached. He turned his head upward and followed her gaze. For a moment there was nothing but the muffled sounds from the bar, the people and the music.
“Funny how the sky looks the same no matter where you are,” Teague murmured. “Alaska. Hawaii. Afghanistan. China. Different perspectives but basically the same.”
Sabrina exhaled and glanced at him. He didn’t look as angry as he had earlier. In fact he looked kind of relaxed.
“Why are you out here?” she asked. “Thought you’d be inside with your girlfriend.”
He arched an eyebrow, but ignored the dig. “I don’t like crowds. I don’t like the unpredictable.”
He turned to her suddenly. “You okay?” he asked again.
Her eyes slipped away. “No,” she whispered, feeling the heat of tears sting her eyes. “I don’t think I’ll ever be okay again.”
“You have to want to be okay. That’s the first step.”
“Really.” She found his gaze again, shivering at the intensity in them. “How’s that working for you?”
A heartbeat passed.
“I don’t know how to be okay.” His answer was so brutally honest. So very much like the man. Was it that honesty that had her opening her mouth and disclosing her secrets?
“I love to dance and I don’t think I will ever dance again.”
Teague stared at her for a long time. So long in fact that by the time his gaze slid from hers, Sabrina’s cheeks were flushed. Something had just changed. The energy in the air was different. It was hot and dark and full of needful things.
Teague reached into his front pocket. He retrieved the keys to his truck and unlocked the vehicle. He fired it up. Got out his phone and a few seconds later, a love song about want and need and pain filled her ears.
A ballad with a haunting melody that made her ache even more than she already did.
Teague slid from the truck and stood in front of her. His white button down shirt made his skin look even darker, and those eyes…those dangerous, intense eyes never left hers.
He held out his hand. “Dance with me,” he said. There was nothing coy in his tone. Nothing playful or flirtatious. But there was danger there and she’d be crazy to poke the tiger.
Sabrina slowly exhaled. Was she crazy?
“We don’t even like each other,” she said softly.
“That’s a little strong, don’t you think?”
She shrugged. She had nothing.
“Doesn’t matter really. We don’t have to like each other to dance.”
“No,” she whispered, after a few seconds. “I guess we don’t.”
Chapter Nine