Her face softens, and her body melts into mine. “Stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
She escapes my question and my grasp all at once. I let her get away with it, only because she presses her cheek against the front of my tux, bringing her body closer to mine.
When the slow song bleeds into a fast-paced one, Iris squeals. I move to escape the dance floor, but she tugs on my hand and drags me back.
“I love this song!”
“Why am I not surprised?” I pretend to rub my ears in pain.
She laughs as she begins jumping up and down like a madwoman. I’m nearly knocked unconscious when she throws up her arms and sways her hips to the beat. I catch a few men staring at her rolling her body to the music, and my glare scares them off.
“Let’s go sit,” I snap.
“Please. One more song.” She grabs my hands and drags them toward her hips. “Watch me.”
I can’t do anything but watch her. I’m entranced as she shimmies her body to the beat, keeping her lower half only an inch apart from mine. The way she dances isn’t meant to be erotic, but I find myself growing aroused.
She smiles up at me. “You’re not dancing.”
I’m not sure I’m even breathing.
She laughs as she wraps her arms around my neck and tugs me closer.
“Move your hips to the music.”
I try and fail which makes her break out into another fit of laughter. If that’s the reward I get for looking like an idiot, so be it.
She turns around and places my palms back on her hips. “Copy me.”
Her rasp of a voice can barely be heard over the thud of my heart. I snap out of my trance and swivel my body like hers, matching her movement. Heat courses through my body as we both move to the music. Her ass grinds against my cock, and I groan into her ear.
“Now you got it.” She laughs as she steps out of my embrace.
My hands mourn the loss of her touch as she goes back to dancing. Her eyes shut, and she gets lost in the music. I don’t bother trying to dance. I’m far too immersed in the way she moves to care about anything else. Everyone around us moves to the beat of the song until the last note plays, and the crowd disperses, ending the moment all too soon.
“That was so much fun!” She takes a step toward the tables, but I pull her back.
“Not so fast.”
Her lips gape. “You want to keep dancing?”
I clutch onto one of her hands while my other finds the small of her back.
“Yes.”
“I thought you always hated dancing at these things.”
“That was before.”
“Before what?”
“Before I could do this.” I pull her against me and place a soft kiss against her lips before retreating.
Keep her wanting more.
Her sharp inhale makes me grin into her hair. My skin buzzes as she grips onto me and we find our rhythm, two bodies swaying to the music. The song changes and people pass us by, but neither of us dares to end the moment.
The only time we step away from the dance floor is to get more drinks and partake in the auction I have no interest participating in. All it takes is Iris squealing at the prospect of a trip to Mexico for me to become an active bidder, with me raising my paddle to outspend everyone in the ballroom.
Iris wraps her arms around my neck and kisses my cheek when the auctioneer announces our paddle number. I don’t have a chance to process her lips against my skin before she pulls away and settles back in her chair.
Fuck it. I become invigorated by the smiles she sends my way. Some people try to outbid me for whatever catches Iris’s attention, but I outmatch them every time. By the time the auctioneer steps away from the podium, I’ve spent over fifty-million dollars solely for the rush I get whenever Iris smiles.
It doesn’t take much convincing on her end to drag me back onto the dance floor once the auction ends, although I make a pit stop at the bar to get me through it. We keep dancing until the final song plays and we are the last couple in the room. I regrettably let her go, only for her to limp a couple feet.
She doesn’t protest as I wrap an arm around her and take the brunt of her weight.
“I think my feet need to be amputated.” She flinches as she loses her footing.
I don’t think as I haul her over my shoulder, bringing her ass to my eye level. “Problem solved.”
“Declan!” she shouts into my back. “What are you doing?!” She rams her small fists into my spine, and I grunt.
“Being a gentleman.”
“More like a caveman! Put me down right now! This is so embarrassing.”