The Butterfly Effect (Boggy Creek Valley 1)

I turned and moved my hips against Bree. If I remembered one thing from my days before marriage, guys liked to watch girls dancing with one another, and I was not going to waste this opportunity.

“Work it, girlfriend,” Bree shouted as she placed her hands on my hips and we did a pretty hot little move. When I lifted my gaze, I saw Aiden. He had turned his chair some for a better view of the dance floor. He had a smile on his face, but I could see the hunger in his eyes all the way from over here.

There was no way I was going to look over at my brother, or the other guys, for that matter.

I turned and faced Bree. “If I had on pants, I could dance a little more provocatively,” I pointed out as she laughed.

“Sweetie, just bend over some and that boy is going to come on the spot.”

“Good Lord!” I yelled as we both laughed. “I didn’t even know I could still move my body like this!”

“Keep it up. He can’t keep his eyes off of you,” Bree called out.

“And Hunter?” I asked.

Bree smirked. “Pretty sure I’m getting lucky tonight!”

“Oh, gross!”

The song changed to another BLACKPINK song, “Kill This Love,” and I let out a squeal.

Bree and I soon got into the music, but I couldn’t ignore the weight of Aiden’s gaze on me as I danced just a little bit sexier.

Aiden

“What in the hell are they playing?” Bishop cried out.

One of the girls said, “It’s BLACKPINK! They’re a K-Pop band and hugely popular.”

“Khop?” Bishop asked as I laughed.

“No, K-Pop! P. O. P.,” the girl next to Bishop shouted.

“Okay, what does that mean?” Hunter asked.

“It’s short for Korean pop. They’re a pretty popular group, both in South Korea and over here,” I heard Kyle say.

“Dude, do I even want to know how you know about K-pop music?” Bishop asked.

I tuned them out and watched as Willa moved her body in ways that made my cock strain against my jeans—and her brother was only a few feet away from me, which made me a shit friend.

Bree and Willa were laughing as they danced, and I loved that she was happy. When Willa turned around again, her eyes met mine. The lyrics in the song were now in English, and I couldn’t help but allow my smile to broaden some as I slowly lifted my beer to my mouth and finished it as Willa sang along. I let my gaze move over her and hoped like hell Hunter was paying attention to Bree and not how I was eye-fucking his baby sister.

When Willa moved her hands over her body in the most seductive way I’d ever seen, I nearly bolted out of the chair so she could touch me instead. She winked at me, and I had to adjust in the fucking seat to accommodate my growing hard-on.

“Christ, Willa,” I whispered under my breath.

Bree tapped Willa on the shoulder and broke the connection between us. She motioned to the bar, and Willa nodded and followed her. The song changed to a slower country song, so I stood, set my empty beer down, and headed through the crowd of people to get to Willa.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Hunter make his way over to Bree.

Reaching for her arm, I gently pulled Willa to a stop, which made her turn around. For a moment, I thought for sure she had been about to hit me, thinking some stranger was manhandling her. When she saw it was me, her eyes brightened and she licked her lips.

“Aiden.”

“Dance with me,” I said, walking her back toward the middle of the dance floor.

Willa looked over her shoulder at Bree, who was now deep in a conversation with Hunter—who’d apparently had the same thought process I did.

“Please,” I called out over the song.

“Of course,” she answered with a sweet smile.

I drew her body close to mine as we slowly danced.

“I’m glad it’s a slow song. I realized I’m out of shape during those last two songs,” Willa said, lifting her head to look me in the eyes.

All I could do was chuckle. She was in my arms, and my body was feeling strange, like it had nine years ago in that barn. No other woman had ever made me feel this way. None. My heart beat hard against my chest, and a rush like no other came over me. The last time I’d felt like this, I was about to kick in a door in Afghanistan, for fuck’s sake.

No, this feeling was different. It felt like adrenaline, but not that kind. This was very different.

Neither one of us said a word as I effortlessly moved us around the dance floor. When the song ended, it moved right into another slow song, and I drew back to look down at her. Willa’s eyes searched my face as if she was trying to read me.