Connected (Connections, #1)(91)

Her dress is short, the neck is open, and her legs look a mile long with those shoes. When she turns to close the door, I have to shift a little to control myself. Her dress has no back and her blonde hair is up in one of those ponytail things so every inch of her bare skin is visible. Images of her and me alone together instantly flood my mind, and I really regret letting Bell throw this party.

Walking down the steps to meet her, I’m overwhelmed by her overall beauty. Saying hi to Aerie, I position myself right in front of Dahlia. She’s almost as tall as me in those shoes and when our eyes meet, she just looks at me, no smile, nothing, I can tell, even before her lips turn up, that she’s feeling seductive.

Her eyes seem to change color depending on her mood, and tonight her hazel eyes are almost brown. They look like a spinning whirlwind of dust clouds, and I love when they’re that color. I also love when her eyes turn goldish-green. There is an almost psychedelic twist to them. It’s as if I can see myself staring at the same raw images she sees. Her mind is like a camera, and just looking into her eyes makes any great view even better. I told once that I notice her eyes change color depending on her mood, she laughed and said, “So if you think my eyes are like a mood ring, what color are they when I’m being bitchy?” I just shook my head.

Leaning in, I inhale the sweet scent of her hair as I kiss the bare skin of her neck all the way up to her ear and softly lower my voice to an intimate level. “Hey birthday girl. You look beautiful, perfect really,” I say, pulling her hips to mine.

“Hey there yourself,” she says, placing her hands on my arms. “Sorry we’re late.”

Bending her neck, she allows me full access, and I can’t help but grin when I notice her goosebumps. Not being one to shy away from an invitation, I slowly work my way down her neck to her exposed collarbone. God, everything about her is just so sensual, and I’m so turned-on right now.

“That’s okay. If you’re late because of this dress,” I say, running my hands down the side of her body, “I definitely forgive you. You look so hot.”

“Umm . . .” she moans before saying, “Thank you,” in an extremely low and whispy tone.

Her seductive grin turns to a smile and she points to the driveway. “I thought you said a few people. This looks like way more than a few people. In fact, I’d say it looks like a party.”

Before I can explain, I hear Aerie yell from the top of the stairs, “Caleb you found the place!”

Caleb approaches us and I let go of Dahlia as she starts toward him down the driveway. She kisses him on the cheek and they hug each other. It shouldn’t bother me that his hands are on the bare skin of her back, but it does. There’s something about him I don’t like. Maybe it’s just because he was best friends with him, and most likely, he knows what I know.

She loops her arm through his, leading him back toward me. I can see the glint of that bracelet she still wears from him. I understand why she always wears if, but it bothers me. We talked about it last week, and she explained that she considers it to be her no regrets bracelet. What am I suppose to say to that? Since it makes her happy to wear it, I’m doing my best to be cool with it.

She walks back down to Aerie’s car with Caleb, and I extend my hand. “Hey man, glad you could make it,” I manage, trying to keep it real. I snake my arm around my girl and pull her close. I notice his uneasiness right away. Tonight will be the first time we’ll be together in a social scene and I’m interested to see how it plays out.

“How’ve you been? Sorry I couldn’t meet you two last week for dinner. I got hung up in a meeting with a new client that needed an entire security system installed in a matter of days.”

“It’s cool. We’ll plan it again another time,” I reply, trying not to grit my teeth.

“Come on, let’s go in,” I say and guide Dahlia to the front of me, purposely putting my hand on the small of her back and tucking my fingers inside the cutout of her dress. I swear I see her quiver.





We all stand around the kitchen table singing Happy Birthday, and Dahlia blows out the candles. I slip my arms around her waist, hugging her close to me as I stand directly behind her. Once all the candles are out, I kiss her neck and whisper, “Did you make a wish?”

She turns her head to look at me. “Of course I did, but you know I can’t tell you.”

I just smirk at her because we have gone through this wish thing so many times, but I plan to grant her more than one wish later, so I drop it.

Bell cuts the cake, and I grab Dahlia and pull her into the empty dining room.

“Happy Birthday,” I tell her since it’s after twelve and officially her birthday.

Glancing at my watch, she smiles at me. “I guess it’s my actual birthday. So, thank you.”

I kiss her and my tongue slips slowly into her mouth. Her fingers comb through my hair and I pull away. “Stay here.”

She gives me a questioning look but says, “Okay.”

As I walk, continuing to face her, my eyes drift the length of her body. Before I turn around, I mouth, “stay there,” and go back to the kitchen to grab a few things.

Xander is standing near the entrance and corners me. “Did you tell her yet?”

I just look at him and walk away. I told him I don’t want to talk about it and that I’m not telling her, so why doesn’t he just shut the f*ck up?