When she finally lifted her eyes to his, she realized she’d been caught admiring him. His expression was blank, but his eyes bored into hers, making her breathing hitch. It was only when Gilbert danced onto the dance floor, handing out more shots, that Isaiah turned away to peer at him. Gilbert started toward Kelli until Isaiah stepped in front of him. He leaned in and said something to him that made Gilbert’s smile go flat. Kelli braced herself because, while she’d never known Gilbert to be as explosive as she already knew Isaiah could be, he had been drinking. A lot.
Gilbert glanced up at her and shrugged, taking the shot she could only assume he’d meant to give to her until her fiancé stepped in. Isaiah turned back to her and their eyes met again. Just like earlier, they seemed to challenge her to protest. She could see the man was ridiculously officious. Without him even saying anything, she could tell what he was thinking. I don’t want you taking any more drinks from him. No doubt he’d made it clear to Gilbert that he was done bringing Kelli drinks. She was also certain of another thing. It had nothing to do with her safety. This was entirely due to Gilbert being her first everything.
She turned away from Isaiah’s challenging eyes when she was nudged. Dylan smiled as he bumped his hip against hers. Obviously, he’d had plenty to drink as well. First, he was quick to get away from her the moment Isaiah told him he was her fiancé. Now he was bumping hips with her right in front of him. The only thing she was thankful for, because already her irritable bodyguard was staring Dylan down, was that Dylan wasn’t alone. The girl he’d walked on the dance floor with was doing her own version of Isaiah’s sexy hip wave, only she had nothing on Isaiah’s moves.
But the wicked smile on the girl’s face as she closed in on Dylan was appreciated because Isaiah’s glare at Dylan was as noxious as Kelli had come to expect. Little did he know, in Dylan’s case, if Isaiah were actually Kelli’s fiancé, he’d have every right to be glaring at him in that way. Unlike Isaiah, who was loyal about not breaking bro codes, those codes meant nothing to Dylan. But if she hadn’t planned on sharing much more of Matt and Gilbert with him, she certainly wasn’t sharing with him about Dylan.
“Alright, let’s slow this down,” the DJ announced as the music changed to something much slower.
Isaiah was quick to pull her to him and brought his arm around her waist, lowering his mouth to her ear. Her body shivered again as she felt his lips graze her ear. “Let’s go get you something to drink—water. Your feet must be killing you.”
“Not really.” She glanced up at those stunning eyes, chiding herself for lying.
They were actually. If the music hadn’t slowed, she’d planned on taking them off soon. But she’d sacrifice the pain now to be in his arms just a little longer. He stared at her for a moment, his eyes dropping to her lips for a millisecond before jumping up to stare into her eyes again. If panic was a tangible thing, his eyes swam in it now.
“Let’s go anyway.” He slipped his hand in hers and began walking off the still-crowded dance floor.
Kelli’s insides were completely conflicted. On the one hand, the disappointment of not being able to dance in his arms to the romantic slow song playing weighed heavily. On the other, it was almost a thrill that, without her even trying to seduce him, his resistance seemed to be breaking. And yet another part of her was suddenly terrified because she knew with all certainty, in the same way he was breaking, she’d be just as incapable to stop him if he ever did. Only she wasn’t sure her heart could survive losing him again.
Chapter 16: Losing the Battle
Isaiah
This night needed to be over and it needed to happen now. With every moment Isaiah had spent with Kelli tonight—inhaling that intoxicating fragrance, holding her soft hand, and staring at those lips he wanted so badly to taste just one more time—the more persuasive the argument between his dick and his head got.
He’d already kissed her once.
This would likely never get back to Nathan anyway.
How much harm could one more kiss do?
Could going further—going there just one last time—be that bad?
But the more sensible side of him, the one that knew better, argued something far more compelling. He was fooling himself if he thought kissing her tonight would stop at just that. Or that making love to her would be just a onetime deal too. If he did this, if he gave into the unrelenting temptation to do this, it certainly wouldn’t end tonight either. He still had no idea how much longer he’d be assigned to watch her. He had to stand firm against the temptation. His heart had already begun to plead its case again too. It had been over a year, and maybe if he talked to Nathan, it wouldn’t be so bad. But then he’d remember Matt and Gilbert—her first everything. Too many times tonight, he’d already had visions of punching the idiot in the fucking throat. No way would he ever be willing to deal with her continued close friendship with an ex.
Something else had crossed his mind more than once since she’d explained why she’d blown him off last year. She was right about one thing, and apparently things still hadn’t changed. Her life was a dangerous one. Aside from anything else his family might have to say about his involvement with Nathan’s ex, they might protest his bringing someone into his life that could potentially bring harm to him. More than anything, he was worried about bringing someone into their lives that might be dangerous. Once again, the argument that giving into the temptation just wasn’t worth the risk won out.
Isaiah returned to concentrating on one thing, wrapping this night up with the least amount of damage. The bar area wasn’t nearly as packed now as it was before everyone hit the dance floor.
“I need a drink,” Kelli said, squeezing his hand. “No more shots, but I don’t want water. I need wine.” Isaiah glanced back at her and she smiled sweetly, fluttering her lashes at him then tilting her head sideways. “Please?”
Isaiah pressed his lips together once again to fight the implacable urge of taking her face in his hands and kissing her. He also bit his tongue to keep from saying the words that infuriatingly nearly flew out of his mouth. My God, you’re beautiful.
Instead, he turned to one of the ladies passing by with a tray of drinks. She immediately stopped when she saw him motion to the tray. He meant to grab one glass to hand to Kelli, but she grabbed one too and the lady rushed off before he could put his back.
“Does this mean you’ll be having a drink with me?” She smiled as if she didn’t know that wasn’t supposed to happen.
“No, this means you’ll be having two. I have to drive.”
“One glass isn’t going to do you any harm. Even I danced off the shots I had earlier and you had way less.”
He shook his head. It wasn’t happening, not with how easily Kelli’s lips were already distracting him. He needed all the will he could muster. Alcohol would only work against him.
“You know my feet are hurting a little,” she admitted. “Let’s go sit over there.”
She motioned to the sitting area adjacent to the bar area. It was nothing more than small sofas where people were lounging and chatting. The area was somewhat dimly lit, appearing safe enough; though, somehow it felt dangerous. Without letting go of her hand, he started toward it, making sure he headed to two single lounging chairs separated by a small table where they could place their drinks. He waited for her to take her seat; then he took his.
“Who’s Valerie?” she asked with an air of indifference, as she took a sip of her wine.
The out-of-nowhere question surprised him. Then he remembered the call he took from Valerie just before they got out of the car tonight.
“Someone I had plans to get together with tomorrow.”
“Sorry if I messed up your plans with her.”
He shook his head, glancing around casually. “No worries. She’ll be there when I get back. We’ll make other plans.”
“Is it serious?”
Isaiah smirked at the assumption. If the circumstances were different, he might have fu
n with this and have her think otherwise. But he wasn’t into games. “My business relationship with her, yes. But if you mean anything else, nope. Not like that at all.”
Kelli didn’t ask more, but she didn’t seem convinced either. Isaiah figured it didn’t matter, so he let it go too. “You ready to go?”
“I think I am.” She bent over and pulled off one of her shoes. “My feet are killing me, actually.” She glanced at him with a smirk. “I just said they weren’t because I was hoping we could keep dancing. That song they were playing just as we walked off is one I used to love back in the day.”
Isaiah stared at her, thankful that he’d had the presence of mind to get off the dance floor when they had. The thought of having her in his arms as they danced to the slow sensual song that’d been playing would’ve been the end all to his teetering self-control. “I prefer more upbeat dancing.”
“Oh, I noticed.” She smiled even bigger. “You had some impressive moves out there. Where’d you learn to dance like that?”
Isaiah stood up, hoping they could get going but shrugged. “My parents were big on dancing. They always made sure there was music playing at any of our family gatherings. My dad was one of those guys that really moved those hips when he danced, so I guess my siblings and I picked up on it over the years.”
“Ah.” She took another sip of her still nearly full second glass of wine before standing up next to him then giggled. “I should’ve known your talented hip thrusting rhythm would be impressive in more ways than one.”
She sunk her teeth into her bottom lip then glanced away. Isaiah refrained from smirking like he might’ve if she were anyone else. Instead, he swallowed hard, annoyed with himself for setting that one right up for her.
The music suddenly changed and Kelli’s eyes widened. “Uptown Funk,” she gasped, grabbing his hand. “I love this song.”
Only because he was beyond grateful for the change in subject he didn’t protest. Within seconds, they were on the dance floor again; though he held back on his impressive hip thrusting, particularly because this song actually called for some. Plenty of it was going on all around them. Kelli was also getting involved. Her dancing wasn’t too shabby either. It seemed the glass and a half of wine she drank had loosened her up even more now than when they’d been on the dance floor earlier. Watching her keep up with the song by shaking her hips in a way that even Shakira might envy, he breathed in deeply. The damn song had more people flooding the dance floor, forcing him to move closer to Kelli, so close they were almost pressed together. With the continued swaying of her hips, they were now doing the very thing he’d been determined to avoid—grinding.
The arousal was instant. Hell, Isaiah had begun to feel it the moment he’d watched her sink her teeth into her lips, making it clear that, like him, she still remembered that weekend vividly. He brought his arms around her, mostly out of necessity—the space around them was really getting crowded—but also because he was losing the battle fast now. Taking in her fragrance, feeling the heat of her skin because he was that close, had him needing to touch her. Kelli glanced up at him when he placed his hand on her lower back. Their hips swaying together in perfect rhythm made it impossible to concentrate on what he was supposed to be concentrating on—keeping his lips off hers.
This shouldn’t be so difficult. The song they were dancing to was an upbeat one, not a slow sensual grinding song as the movement of their bodies was beginning to indicate.
He lowered his face to her ear, and he felt her shiver as she’d done each time he’d gotten that close to her tonight. “Kel,” he whispered in her ear, trying desperately to keep from lowering his face and kissing her neck.
She glanced up and their lips nearly touched, so he did the opposite of what his tormented body was begging him to do. He backed up. “We need to go.”
“Go where?” she asked, staring at his lips.
“Back to the room.”
Her eyes widened as her lips fell slightly open. “We do?” she whispered, licking her own lips, even as she continued to sway her hips against his.
The only thing he could do was bring his hand up to her soft neck in a last ditch attempt to stop her from leaning in too closely. But it was a weak attempt. To his horror, she leaned in and kissed his cheek, catching the very corner of his lips, and he froze but didn’t move away. When she leaned in again and their lips grazed one more time, he slipped his hand into hers.
“Let’s go.” He pulled her behind him as he rushed off the dance floor.
With his throbbing cock at full attention now, a heated debate ensued between his head and his pounding heart.
He couldn’t do this—shouldn’t.
He wanted inside her so badly it hurt.
He needed to reclaim her now.
It was only fair. He’d met her before Nathan, and according to her, she’d never slept with his brother. She never even considered Nathan a friend, much less an ex-boyfriend.
They walked through the restaurant, and even as she stopped to say good-bye to the few of her friends that weren’t still on the dance floor, Isaiah’s mind was an ongoing mass of conflicting arguments.
Technically, he wasn’t actually sleeping with his brother’s ex-girlfriend. She was just a girl Nathan had a few meaningless dates with after Isaiah had already spent that magical weekend with her.
Logically, he knew sleeping with her tonight could be harmless. It didn’t mean this was something he’d have to address with any of his siblings—ever. He could just pacify the aching need he was dying to fulfill now and then be done with it when this assignment was over.
Realistically, his heart was already demanding he reclaim her—not just for tonight—not just for the rest of this assignment, but for as long as she’d allow him to. From what she’d admitted to him already, he could only assume she’d be more than willing, which would only make walking away that much harder.
As if to answer the turmoil going on inside him, he got a sudden reminder of something else he hadn’t even factored into all his latest arguments. Matt and Lori walked up to them in a rush. “Are you two leaving?” Lori asked, and Kelli let them know they were then began hugging them good-bye, one by one.
“I need a favor, Fancy Face,” Matt said with a slight slur. “Lori here doesn’t think either me or Gilbert is okay to drive. He doesn’t really want to leave his car here overnight, but he doesn’t have much of a choice. My sweet Lori”—he turned to his girlfriend, putting his arm sloppily around her shoulders—“offered to drive him back to the hotel because I’m going back to her place. Unlike you, Gilbert and I don’t have a suite and Lori and I want to . . .” He paused to bounce his brows stupidly and Lori nudged him.
“Since I’m clear across the other way from their hotel,” Lori said, taking over as Matt laughed like a goofball. “I was just wondering, if you’re going straight back to the hotel that is, if Gilbert could just hitch a ride with you guys.”
As offensive as the thought of having to be in the same car with Gilbert the whole way back to the hotel was, Isaiah thought it might actually help his situation.
“There you are.” Gilbert approached them loudly. “You guys left me on the dance floor.”
He seemed even drunker than Matt, louder anyway. Just when Isaiah thought things couldn’t get more annoying, Dylan joined them. The way he swaggered into the circle, eyeing Kelli with a wolfish grin, Isaiah could only assume he was inebriated, yet he seemed perfectly in control compared to the other two.
Unlike Gilbert and Matt, who were typical guys who dressed appropriately and took the time to shave for the occasion, Dylan was different. It was the first thing Isaiah had noticed about him when he’d first approached Kelli earlier that evening. Aside from how he’d eyed and spoken to Kelli even then, he seemed far more aggressive than either of her two other friends. He dressed the part too. This guy’s cocktail party attire consisted of black jeans with suspenders and a buttoned-up short-sleeved tight shirt he wore with a tie. He
had full-sleeve tattoos on both arms, piercings on both ear lobes and his bottom lip, and judging from the heavy stubble, he hadn’t bothered to shave. His entire demeanor was that of a guy who had zero fucks to give about anything. Isaiah had introduced himself to him the way he had to make a point that maybe he should care what the guy sitting with his sexy Kelli-Bean-Tomboy thought of him speaking to her that way.
Now the douche was peering at her, confirming Isaiah’s first impression of his smug ass. He didn’t give a shit if her fiancé was standing right next to her. Apparently, now that he’d had a few, he was going to admire her from top to bottom, whether Isaiah liked it or not.
“Kelli-Bean, you’re not leaving without saying good-bye to me.” He pointed at her then opened his arms big. “Come lay a big one on me. Who knows when I’ll see your sexy ass again. That’s if”—he brought his hand to his chin and rubbed his stubble with an even smugger grin—“your fiancé doesn’t mind.”
Further annoying Isaiah’s already ruffled temper, Kelli began to loosen her hand from his as if she were actually going to appease this asshole’s request. Isaiah let her hand go but only so he could bring his arm around her waist and pull her to him. “I do mind, actually.” He stared Dylan down so he’d know he was in no way being playful.
Dylan’s smile flattened, but before he could respond, much to his surprise, Gilbert backed Isaiah up. “Yeah, Dylan,” he slurred. “You’d think you would’ve learned by now it’s not cool to try and move in on someone else’s chick.”