Page 151 of By His Vow

“Dance with me.”

“W-what?” I stutter, blindsided by his question.

“Dance with me,” he repeats, holding strong.

“Uh…okay,” I whisper, placing my hand in his much larger one, allowing him to pull me to my feet.

With my heels on, there is less of a height difference between us, but he’s still a head taller than me.

With my chin tipped back, I keep my eyes on his as he pulls me into his body and slides his hands down my back, stopping just before the swell of my ass.

My body aches for him, and when he presses me against him, I discover that I’m not the only one.

He’s hard and ready. All he needs to do is break through whatever keeps holding him back and we can finally shatter this tension between us.

If we stand any chance of getting out of this shitshow with our sanity intact, then we need to do this. It needs to happen.

My heart threatens to pound out of my chest as we begin to move together. It’s slow and sensual, and way, way too much, considering who I am dancing with.

My head screams for me to take a step back and put a stop to where this is heading, but my body...my body is desperate for more, for this powerful connection that is only getting stronger and stronger as the seconds go on.

The music continues and the light breeze blows around us, but I’m nowhere close to being cold while I’m in his embrace.

Resting my cheek against his chest, I close my eyes as I focus on the steady beat of his heart.

It’s racing as fast as mine.

As if we’re no longer two people but one.

“Tatum,” he whispers before his lips press against the top of my head.

Desire unfurls in my stomach.

I want to feel those lips in so many other places, but I refuse to ask. I’ve already shown my hand one too many times regarding what I want from him.

If tonight is the night we take things to the next level, then he’s going to need to be the one to make the first move.

And if that happens, all I have to do is hope that he can see it through to the end. I can’t do another night where he pulls back at the last minute.

My palms slide up his back, loving the way his muscles ripple with my touch, before I drag my nails back down.

He groans the most erotic noise I’ve ever heard before his hand slips lower.

I gasp when he squeezes my ass just hard enough to hurt in the best kind of way.

Pulling my cheek from his chest, I look up at him.

His eyes are dark, his expression tight.

“King?” I whisper, my heart suddenly racing for a whole other reason.

He looks like he’s freaking out.

Fuck. He’s going to?—

“No,” I cry when he releases me and takes a step back. “No, don’t do this.”

I don’t mean for the pleading words to break free. But they do, and they hang heavy in the air between us.