Page 22 of Lost Without You

“Not yet. I hope she’ll be happy,” Ryker commented with a shy smile.

“Oh, my god, she’ll be ecstatic Ry. I’m so happy for both of you.” Rachel’s voice wavered and tears started to well up in her eyes. “Nope, not doing this here,” she whispered and blinked.

“When the time comes, we’d like you to be the baby’s godmother,” Ryker reached out to take his sister’s hand.

“I would be honored,” she replied and then the tears finally let loose.

“We’ve asked Cal, Grey, Luca and Mac to be the godfathers.”

“All four of your friends?” Ethan asked.

“Yep,” Wes replied. “We couldn’t choose, and they all said hell yes. Our baby will be one lucky child.”

He turned and kissed Ryker, and they rested their foreheads against one another. Ethan felt a swell of emotion rush through him as he watched their open affection. Seeing this couple so happy, so in love, just made him long for all the things in life that had eluded him so far. Professional success was one thing. Personal fulfillment was another. He felt that gnawing emptiness that had started to wear on him over the past year.

Ethan glanced at Rachel and the spark of awareness that simmered between them flickered to life.

“One bottle of our finest champagne. What are we celebrating tonight?” the waiter interrupted as he poured them each a glass.

“We’re starting a family,” Wes stated with so much pride and joy in his voice, kissing Ryker’s hand. He was practically glowing.

“Congrats!” the waiter said as he poured glasses.

They ordered more dishes to share over the course of an hour and drank another bottle of champagne. Ethan was relaxed for the first time in months, and it felt damn good. He liked Ryker’s dry, sarcastic quips, a perfect complement to Wes’s gregariousness. And Rachel was always adding one funny story or another.

Two hours later, the lights dimmed, and the music got louder. The spicy Latin beat beckoned various couples out onto the dance floor. Wes and Ryker were one of the first ones up and Ethan watched, impressed by how smoothly they danced together, in perfect rhythm.

“Do you like to dance?” Rachel leaned in and whispered in Ethan’s ear.

A shiver wracked his body despite the warmth of the place.

“I do, but I avoid it at all costs. I have two left feet that may cause others permanent injury,” he joked.

He wasn’t a great dancer and that was the absolute truth. Lara had signed them up for classes before they got married but she got frustrated after the second session and gave up on him.

“Come on,” Rachel held out her hand and Ethan stared for a moment until he finally placed his palm into hers.

The heat and electricity that hummed between them all day intensified and Ethan found himself ready to follow, wherever she led.

The music shifted to a slower number and Rachel carefully guided him out with the other dancers. They stood near Ryker and Wes, who were busy staring at each other, in their own world.

Rachel started taking small steps forward then back and Ethan mimicked her moves, but he was all up in his head, nervous about making a wrong move and crushing her foot.

“You won’t hurt me, Ethan,” she whispered as she moved closer, and their bodies brushed against one another.

Suddenly all his nervous energy shifted and all he wanted to do was get as close to her as possible.

“That’s it, it’s just you and me here. Relax and let your body slide right into the beat.”

She took a step back and swiveled her hips and Ethan was mesmerized. He forgot about his clumsiness as their bodies started to move in synch, forward, backwards, teasing and taunting each other. All he heard was the beat of his own heart, getting faster and faster as his excitement soared. He slowly slipped a hand around Rachel’s waist.

“Is this okay?” he asked and she smiled and slid closer.

Her sexy, edible scent surrounded him, and combined with his own sweat, it was heady. The music tempo changed again to something softer, slower. Couples drew in tighter. This time it was Rachel who placed a hand on his waist and pulled him in. When their bodies came into full contact, Ethan nearly moaned out loud. He wanted more of her heat, her softness, but he kept himself in check. He glanced around, but no one was paying them any particular attention.

Ethan rested his cheek against Rachel’s silky hair as she relaxed into his embrace. Everything about this moment felt incredibly intimate despite being in public. He gently rubbed his hands up and down her back as her body melted into his like she belonged there. Rachel felt so damn right in his arms that a lump formed in his throat.

Glancing over, he noticed Wes and Ryker in a similarly tight clutch, but Ryker was now giving Ethan a glare that made his balls retract. All his sensuous ruminations evaporated.