Stepbrother Dearest(71)

My friends were on the dance floor and cheered when they spotted me. They pulled me in, and we danced together for at least an hour. The more I thought about Elec, the harder and faster I swayed my hips and shook my head around to the point where my hair must have looked like I’d gotten electrocuted. Getting lost in the music, I didn’t want to stop long enough to feel all of the painful emotions that his words had caused. I certainly didn’t want to accept that the character of Greta Hansen had now been written out of his life.


A half-hour later, my phone buzzed.



What’s your theory on why I ended it where I did?



His response stunned me. To prevent myself from losing it on the dance floor, I kept dancing as if nothing had happened. I didn’t want my friends to think something was wrong.

I shook my ass and typed.



Greta: Because you didn’t want to hurt me. The rest has nothing to do with me.



Elec: You’re sure about that?



Greta: What are you saying?



Elec: Stop shaking your ass for five seconds and maybe I’ll tell you.



What?

Before I could turn around, the feeling of strong hands grasping at the sides of my dress from behind caused me to suddenly stop moving. They slowly slid down my waist and landed on my ass with a cool self-assurance. That grip. That smell. The way my body immediately responded.

No. It couldn’t be.





CHAPTER 21



I flipped around and was met with smoky eyes, incandescent even in the darkness of the club. My heartbeat was so intense, it seemed like it was dueling with the bass of the fast-paced music. Everything around me seemed to fade away upon the realization that Elec was right in front of me, holding onto me as if he knew his presence would jar me to the point that I might collapse and need him for balance.

My voice was trembling. I was so nervous that my first question was a dumb one. “What happened to your glasses?”

“Contacts tonight.”

“Oh.”

Finally, the shock was starting to wear off just enough for me to attempt to ask something that made sense. “I have a million questions. How did you get here? How did you find me? How—”

“Shut up, Greta.” His hot mouth enveloped my lips and abruptly interrupted all further questioning. He devoured me with reckless abandon. If there were any doubt about where things stood between us, the possessive feel of this kiss, the way he pressed his entire body against me, annihilated it.

Without having to say it with his words, the kiss spoke volumes. His tongue lashing at mine, the guttural sounds that came out from his throat as he did it, it was the first time since I’d met him that I’d truly felt it in my bones: he was mine. All of the reservations of the past, every shred of what had been holding us back was gone.

I didn’t know the full story yet of how we suddenly arrived at this place, but I wasn’t sure it mattered.

My fingers raked through his hair desperately as I pulled him harder into me.

Don’t ever leave me again, Elec.

We were still in our own little world despite people dancing all around, bumping into us. He breathed over my lips with his forehead on mine. “I’ve been waiting for you to finish the book so I could come to you. That was the plan.”

“You’ve been in New York all this time?”

“I was already in New York waiting when I sent it.”

“Oh my God.” I buried my face into his chest and savored the smell of him sans cigarettes. I looked up at him and had to ask the question even though it should have been obvious. “You broke up with her?”

He nodded his face over mine.

I continued, “But the ending…you said you were doing the right thing. I thought—”

He cut me off with a kiss again then said, “I figured you might assume that. But the right thing…was admitting that I couldn’t possibly fully love her if my heart beat faster for someone else.” His hands cupped my cheeks. “My heart hasn’t shut up since it spotted you standing in that garden. I finally listened. It just took some time to clear my head enough to really understand what it wanted.”

I was sure it was a long story, that ending things with Chelsea wasn’t easy for him. I knew he’d genuinely loved her and that he’d tell me everything in due time, but now was not the moment for that.

As if he read my mind, he said, “I promise I’ll tell you everything about what happened, but not now, okay? I just want to be with you.”

“Okay.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and let out a breath so intense, you would have thought I’d been holding it for seven years. Maybe I had been. We kissed like our lives depended on it, not coming up for breath for at least the duration of three consecutive songs. I was sure my friends saw us, but I couldn’t take my eyes off him long enough to check for their reactions. They probably thought he was a random hookup, and there would be a lot of explaining to do at work. I pressed my body into his and could feel his erection through his jeans. We were practically making love on the dance floor.

This was surreal.

He spoke into my ear, causing me to shiver. “Do you want me, Greta?”

“Yes.”

“Do you trust me?”