“Wyndham.” They fist-bumped each other the moment Lace reached him. It was their fifth practice together, and by now he was used to the way Lace did things. She was the least self-aware person he had ever met, the least coy. The way she looked at other men, the way she spoke, the way she acted – it was as if she really did consider herself of the same gender as men.
If only the other men in the room thought the same, then maybe Silver would feel a bit more at ease. But at this rate, he felt like he had to be on his guard all the time, needing to protect his unsuspecting lamb from the wolves circling around her.
There were twenty groomsmen, including him. Half of the group were from the same high school as Liam and Lace, and they all treated Lace like a kid sister. The other half were Liam’s college friends – and they all looked like they want to have a kid with her. Assholes.
Evangeline Lace Wyndham was his.
Tonight, Lace herself would know that, too.
Fifteen minutes later, and the music started to play. He and Lace assumed their positions, her hand on his shoulder, his hand on her waist. In the previous practices, they had only danced the first sequences, none of it requiring them to close the distance between their bodies.
But tonight –
Tonight, it was all about swirls and dips, about their bodies touching, and Silver intended to fully take advantage of it. As they danced next to each other, holding hands while facing the stage, Silver asked her about basketball, knowing it would help her relax and lower her guard.
“Yeah, I watched the last game, and it sucks that the Bulls lost.” She squared her shoulders. “But like I always say, the game’s not over until it’s over. They still have a chance to make it to the next round.”
The way she was always full of hope and optimism fascinated him. She was snarky most of the time, but when it came to basketball, she’d turn into a fount of positive quotes in a blink.
“It’s really too bad you never played when you were in college,” Lace was saying, and he had to smother a laugh when he caught her stealing a look at him and started muttering to herself about his height and his damn wingspan. Wingspan. Most women would have seized the chance to inject innuendo into the conversation, to talk about the length and girth of his cock. But his sweet snarky lamb?
“…bet your vertical jump would be off the scales.” A gleeful evil smile curved on her lips. “If I had you on my team, I’d be making the others piss in their pants because I’ve got another pretty boy with brains.”
Silver had to take a deep breath so he wouldn’t be tempted to haul her into his arms.
When the tempo of the music sped up, Silver almost hesitated. They were having such a good time that he was reluctant to ruin it
But then he saw one of the groomsmen staring at Lace, another wolf on the hunt.
Ah, fuck it.
Jealousy ignited, and Silver tightened his grip on her waist. It made Lace look up, and when she did, he smiled at her. Fair warning, his smile said.
Her eyes widened, and Silver knew that she had the tiniest inkling of what his smile was warning her about. She started to pull away from him, but by then it was too late.
In all honesty, it had been too late for her the first time they met.
He wanted her, and he would have her.
Silver pulled her close, using his strength without hurting her. Their bodies touched as he swirled them around. Just a few moments of their bodies coming into full contact. Her breasts pressing against his chest. Her belly against his cock. A few moments, too fast for the other couples to notice, but for them, it was an eternity.
Her eyes widened, her lips parting in shock, her body freezing.
She almost stumbled, but he didn’t let it stop them, managing to catch her although he wasn’t able to prevent her sharp stiletto from trying to crush his toe.
Capturing her gaze, he didn’t let her look away, didn’t allow her any chance to deny the truth. With every swirl and dip, he let her feel it. The way his cock hardened more and more with each brush. His deep, burning urge to possess her. And most of all, he wanted her to know that she wanted him, too.
She didn’t surrender right away, his beautiful girl. She tried pushing him away, tried to cripple him, but every time she did, he retaliated by pulling her closer, angling her body so his cock would throb right between her folds. It had Lace biting her lip very hard, which of course made him want to bite her beautiful lip, too. It was clear in her bright blue eyes she was confused by the way her body was betraying her.
Silver badly wanted to teach her what it all meant, then and there, but he knew it was still too early.
His rebellious lamb had to be wooed very gently and carefully. If he was too aggressive, he would risk having her run away, and he didn’t want that.
When the music ended, Lace was wide-eyed and trembling, but her chin was up and her stance defensive. Little rebellious lamb was not going down without a fight. And hell if that didn’t make her hotter in his eyes, didn’t make him imagine how wild she would be in bed when all her passion was focused on pleasing him.
“Thank you for a wonderful dance, Wyndham.” He had a hard time struggling to keep a straight face at the way his words threw her off. She had expected him to come on strong, but now, when he wasn’t saying or doing anything to confirm it, she was starting to doubt everything, wondering if she had imagined it all.
If she did end up thinking it had been all her imagination, Silver didn’t mind. What mattered was that she now knew what she felt about him.
She wanted him.
Now, it was only a matter of waiting for the right time and place for him to make his next move.