By the time they were ready to leave at about nine o’clock that night Erin felt a little better. She might as well try to have some fun. After all, she might never have the opportunity to have an island vacation again. She’d spent a lot of time trying to look good. Her normally curly hair had been brushed straight and swept up in a chignon high on top of her head. The new look made her feel sophisticated, confident. She’d picked a black dress with a flared skirt that fell just above the knees and she was wearing her favorite high heeled sandals, the one with the rhinestones on the straps. She might not be the best dressed in the group but she could stand beside any of them.
As they walked along the cobbled pathway leading from their villa to the main building of the tropical resort Erin breathed in deeply, savoring the fruity smell of the flowers that lined the path. It was a balmy, tropical night. The gentle breeze from the ocean wafted over her skin and the sound of the rolling waves was soothing in her ears. Despite the problems, she’d been enjoying her stay on the island and didn’t want to think about leaving all this to go back to cold Vancouver just yet.
They knew they were close to the nightclub when they heard the horns, trumpets and steel pans of the island music.
“Hey, I don’t know how to dance to that kind of music,” Tisha said with a pout.
Maria laughed. “You? You can dance to anything, girl. I’ve seen you on the dance floor.”
Tisha looked pleased and started to sway her hips to the liquid sounds, her gold dress floating around her athletic legs.
“That’s not how you do it,” Robyn chimed in, obviously determined to turn the spotlight back on herself. “When you do these island dances you have to be real sexy and twist your hips like this.”
She started to gyrate in tight circles and soon had her friends dissolving into helpless laughter. Dancing was definitely not one of Robyn’s talents.
By the time they entered the nightclub Erin’s mood was much lighter, even carefree. The enthusiasm of the girls was rubbing off on her and she was ready to dance.
At first they all four danced as a group, forming a tight little circle in the crowd of people. When the DJ switched from merengue to the steady rhythms of reggae they kept on dancing, bobbing to the sounds of Bob Marley’s “We Jammin’”.
Tisha really showed her moves when the DJ began to play dancehall music. The deep, gravelly sound of Sean Paul’s lyrics filled the room and she began a slow, sexy movement of the hips that had Erin staring in fascination.
The people dancing closest to their group were watching Tisha too and soon they were cheering her on, clapping to the tune of the music while she danced. When the song ended they all clapped and she curtsied cutely in appreciation.
Erin was not surprised when a handsome, honey-colored man approached her friend and asked her for a dance. Tisha gave him a brilliant smile, obviously flattered by his attention, and sauntered off to the other end of the dance floor.
Maria, who loved attention, began a sexy Latin dance, no matter that the music had no Latin flavor at all. She was not used to Tisha usurping her position as the most visible and most attractive member of the group. She wanted to win her position back.
As she danced, her body-hugging red dress glittered under the strobe lights, emphasizing her voluptuous hips and ample curves. Her long hair swayed, tickling her bottom like a scarf of jet black silk.
Maria now began to get the attention she craved, with the crowd giving her the cheers and claps they’d just showered on Tisha. This only spurred her on to more risque moves and Erin stared in surprise as the Latin beauty suddenly dipped to the floor and came back up, sliding her body up the length of a thin, brown-haired man who’d been watching her in fascination. She began dancing close to the man, rubbing against him, teasing him then pulling back only to press into him again.
He was obviously loving it. He slid a tentative arm around her and then as she pressed into him he became bolder, matching her dips and sways with jerky movements of his own.
Soon the crowd closed around the dancing couple. And then there were two. Erin rocked to the beat of the music and smiled over at Robyn, wondering how soon it would be before she found a partner and disappeared, too.
She did not have to wait long. Apparently getting bored with Erin as her dance partner, Robyn gave her a little wave and pushed through the crowd toward the bar. Robyn could never go too long without a drink.
Now Erin was alone. She pasted a fake smile on her face and continued to bob to the music that had suddenly become tedious.
But she couldn’t go running off the dance floor like a frightened doe so she stayed there, alone in a sea of people, rocking to the steady rhythm of the music.
When the DJ switched to slow music it gave her the perfect excuse to finally exit the dance floor. She slid through the mass of dancing couples and headed in the direction of the bar. At least Robyn would be there.
But she was not.
Erin’s eyes skimmed the bar, searching for the emerald green dress, but it was nowhere in sight. She sighed. Robyn must have found a guy and gone back to the dance floor. She would just have to entertain herself for a while.
“Hey, baby, you look hot.”
Erin turned and came face to face with a bespectacled man, probably in his late forties, with receding brown hair and a wide grin.
“Want to dance?”
“I…no, thank you. I’m taking a break right now.” Erin smiled as she spoke the words, not wanting to hurt the man’s feelings.
“Aw, come on. I saw you on the dance floor. You’re a great dancer. Come show me some of your moves.”
The man reached out and put a hand on her shoulder and she felt a shudder go through her. He had some nerve. She jerked away from his touch.
“I really don’t feel like dancing right now,” she said, her voice firm. “I’m thirsty.” As she spoke she was sidling away, trying to get closer to the bar and away from the man.
“Oh, so it’s a drink you want. No problem, honey. That’s what I’m here for. Then we can have some fun.” The man reached out again and this time he grasped her upper arm.
“Let go of me.” Wrenching her arm from his grasp, Erin lurched backward and came up hard against a man’s solid back.
Now look what the idiot made her do. She gave him a withering glare.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, turning around to face the person she had stumbled into, and her words of apology died on her lips. The man from the pool. She was staring up into his cool gray eyes and she could see he was not amused.
“Still at it?” he began, brows drawing together in a frown. “Why don’t you-“
“Darling, there you are,” she gushed, cutting him off.
His frown deepened but before he could say another word she put her arm around his shoulder in a quick hug.
“I’ll have that drink now,” she said loudly, with a little giggle as she took his arm and tried to turn him back to face the bar.
He did not budge.
Her heart skipped. He was going to blow her cover.
She stole a glance up at his face and his eyes bored into her. She could not read his expression but she knew he was angry.
She made one last try. “A pina colada would be lovely.” Erin gave him her best flirtatious smile and her heart melted with relief as a slow if cynical smile spread across his lips.
In one fluid movement he slid off the bar stool and stood before her and for that moment she was very close to him, so close that she could smell the spicy fragrance of his cologne.
She breathed in then gasped as his big hands spanned her waist.
He lifted her effortlessly and set her down on top of the stool he had just vacated. He spun it around so that she was facing the bar then leaned in beside her.
“A pina colada for the lady.”
“Coming right up.” The bartender gave him a nod and within seconds was sliding a frothy glass in front of her.
Not knowing what to say next, she dipped her head and took the straw between her lips. She sucked the sweet, foamy liquid into her mouth, glad for the way it soothed her parched throat.
Finally, she looked at him. His face was so close she could see the faint shadow on his chin. The slight stubble gave him a rakish air and, for some reason, her breathing became ragged.
“Th…thank you,” she said then licked her lips that suddenly felt so dry. She glanced back into the crowd for the man who had made her flee but he was nowhere in sight.
She glanced back at the man from the pool and he was watching her, so intently that she dropped her eyes back to her glass. Her fingers trembled as she cooled her palms on the cold glass. Bending her head, she took another sip of her drink, glad for the excuse to break eye contact with him while her mind raced to find a way to get out of this mess.
“Let’s dance.”
Relief flooded through her as she realized she would not have to make conversation with this man who probably thought she’d been stalking him. They could dance for a minute and then she would thank him and disappear into the crowd. Then hopefully she would never have to see him again.