Lovers' Dance (11 page)

I shuddered. An embarrassing shudder went straight through me when he said that.

“Got the ticket,” Nathan said on his return. I hadn’t noticed when he left. Matt kept staring at me. I couldn’t hold his piercing glance with my eyes, so I slid my hands under his jacket to slip it off. He didn’t stop me, and why in the heck was I touching him so freely? As if he was mine? I tugged the jacket off, then started on his tie. He stood next to his car on the busy street and let me do as I wished. I tossed his jacket and tie into the car. My hands were shaking from his kiss.

“Am I presentable?” he mocked. I cocked my head, lips pursed, then undid the top buttons of his shirt and rolled his sleeves up.

“You are now.” I looked him up and down, satisfied he didn’t look like a corporate banker anymore.

“Are you going to partially undress me, too?” his friend joked from the other side of the car.

“Sod off,” Matt replied with a laugh, but there was a hardness to his jaw as he regarded his friend. Nathan held his hands up and shrugged in good humour. I didn’t think Matt was finding him amusing at this moment. I reached back into the car to get my cell and wallet, then Matt locked up. He linked arms with me and we started walking towards the pub.

“God, I’d forgotten how tiny you are,” he said, as I walked between him and his friend.

“She is quite small, Matt,” Nathan agreed.

I jerked to a stop and pouted at them. “Hey, I’m normal sized for a ballerina.”

They exchanged an amused glance over my head. I sighed in an exaggerated manner, having come to terms with my small stature years ago. Who didn’t want to be a tall, leggy goddess? But variety was the spice of life, and the world would be a bland place if we all looked the same.

We went into the pub, getting a few looks from patrons. Matt led us over to the corner seats by the window and muscled me in so I ended up with him on one side and Nathan on the other. He smiled at me as his leg brushed mine under the table.

“What do you guys want to eat?” I asked, grabbing a menu and trying not to show how much that little contact with his leg had affected me.

Matt and Nathan took a menu each. I observed them as they perused their menus. Nathan had a derisive curl to his lips while scanning what was on offer. I peeked at Matt out of the corner of my eye. His head was bent over the menu, but he was watching me. We grinned at each other and his leg brushed mine again. Why was he sitting so close?

“The roast chicken baguette sounds fine,” Matt said. His tone indicated the opposite.

Nathan shot him a disbelieving glance.

“What are you going to order, Madi?” Matt asked, closing the menu to give me full attention with his startling grey eyes.

“A burger with everything,” I replied, setting the menu down. “And a pint of Carlsberg. After the day I’ve had, a pint is a definite requisite.”

Matt turned to Nathan. “And you?”

Nathan looked at his menu again and winced. “I remain undecided at the moment. Who can decide from such a gourmet on offer?”

There was definitely a truckload of snooty scorn in his posh British voice. My gaze travelled over the blonde man in his fancy business suit. It was obvious he thought this place beneath him. I chewed my lower lip, wondering what the hell I was doing here with these privileged type of men.

“If nothing appeals to you, then starve,” Matt said succinctly, then leaned back against the worn upholstery to regard me with interest. “You own a dance studio?”

I nodded, still a bit peeved over his friend’s snootiness.

“Tell me about it,” he commanded.

I tilted my head up with a bemused expression at his tone. “You’re quite bossy, Matt.”

He moved about in the seat, trying to fit his long frame comfortably. “I’m not,” he disagreed.

Nathan coughed lightly. I looked over and he was staring at Matt with amusement.

“You’re absolutely right, Madi. May I call you that?”

I nodded and Nathan flashed me a bright smile. Matt cleared his throat in a pointed manner and shot me an expectant look. Oh, yeah, he wanted me to tell him about my studio.

“Can we order the food first?” I nudged him, needing him to move so I could get out. “I’m starving. Have you decided what you want, Nathan?”

Nathan frowned again at the menu in his hand. “I’ll have the Caesar salad. Not much can go wrong with a salad.”

I nudged Matt once more. He slid aside and stood up.

“What about drinks? You guys haven’t said what you want to drink.” I held my wallet and cell as I slid across the seat and stood next to a waiting Matt. Gosh, he was like a Viking, big and strong with a definite edge of danger hovering around him.

“Bottled water,” they said in unison, then shared a knowing grin with each other.

“I’ll be right back.” I checked the table number and headed towards the bar, now unsure about my choice of a pint. Would they think I was an alcoholic? It was a pint. I mean, who has bottled water in a pub? I would get half a pint instead. That was more ladylike.

There were a few people waiting to be served, so I stood at the bar awaiting my turn.

<><><>

Matt smiled to himself as he watched her waiting at the bar. She looked great. Instead of looking casual in a t-shirt and khaki shorts with the cowboy boots, Matt thought she looked like a catwalk model posing in bohemian wear and completely unaware of the effect she had on the people around her. He narrowed his eyes at the table of young men who were openly ogling her with lecherous stares.

“Bloody hell, Matt. She’s a little thing, isn’t she.”

Matt gave his attention to Nathan, partially that is. He wanted to keep an eye on the louts perving on Madi.

“Yes.”

“Cute, too,” Nathan added. Matt rolled his eyes, and Nathan conceded begrudgingly. “I’ll admit she’s more stunning than her picture. She doesn’t look twenty-six, closer to twenty I think, but, then again, people of her race are known to age—”

“I sincerely hope you’re not going to make any mention of her race.” Matt cut him off curtly, attention once again locked on that table. One of the men had gotten up and was making his way over to the bar. Matt watched as he strolled up to where Madi stood placing their order. There was more than enough space at the bar for him to stand somewhere else.

“I saw you snogging her back at the car. In the open. What’s gotten into you? And why on earth do you keep calling her poppet? You never use nicknames with women.” Nathan was drumming his fingers over the edge of the table, blatantly perplexed concerning Matt’s behaviour.

“Calm down, Nathan. It’s highly improbable that anyone we know was driving along at the exact moment I kissed her.” Matt let his gaze wander around the pub and its patrons. “And near impossible they would come into a place like this.”

Nathan leaned back against the seat, arms folded as he scrutinized Matt. “Tell me, dear friend, what exactly are you planning to do with this young woman? And for how long?”

Matt held his gaze, thinking over his friend’s words. What was he doing, seated in a pub while awaiting food he was certain would taste like cardboard? He looked at her and a smile split his face. She was frowning at the woman taking her order, and Matt stifled a chuckle as she rifled through her wallet to pull out her ID with a haughty expression on her features.

“You know me, Nathan,” Matt said evasively. “I enjoy new experiences.”

Nathan shook his head slowly. “Did you stop to consider maybe your behaviour regarding this woman—”

“She has a name,” Matt interrupted, a tightening of his mouth the only indication Nathan was beginning to annoy him. “It’s Madison, or Madi if you so choose to use, as long as you use it.”

Nathan inhaled noisily, also frustrated and annoyed with Matt. “Fine. Did you stop to consider your behaviour regarding Madison is directly linked to the pressure being placed upon you to make things official with Louisa?”

Matt jerked back in surprise, completely at a loss over Nathan’s comment. “Why would you think that? It has nothing to do with—she’s coming back. Do try and be pleasant.”

<><><>

I sauntered back to our table and Matt stood up to let me slip past him. He didn’t give me much room and I couldn’t avoid bumping into him. “Food’s ordered and our drinks will be here in a minute.” I took my seat, wondering if it had been deliberate on Matt’s part, not giving me enough space to pass without touching him.

“While we wait, you can tell us about your dance studio,” he said.
Persistent, wasn’t he?
I figured Matt was the type of man who got what he wanted. He exuded a quiet confidence that came from a lifetime of not having to worry if people took you seriously. I doubted he ever experienced what it was like to not be sure of yourself. Matt acted like the world was his, and that was the way it should be.

The waitress brought us our drinks and I began telling them about the dance company Dante and I had started. By the time our food came, Nathan was warming up to me if his outrageous teasing of my accent was anything to go off. When I mentioned my place of birth, he joked I was a deserter and it was common sense to return to ‘our’ Great Britain.

I got stuck into my burger, cutting it into quarters, before demolishing it. Matt laughed while Nathan observed me in mock horror.

“I didn’t think you could manage a burger of that size,” he said, picking at his salad. “But you’ve proved me wrong.”

“I burn a lot of calories with dancing,” I explained. “Although I don’t usually have burgers.” I grabbed a couple of fries and smeared them through the ketchup. “I tend to eat healthy. This is my weekly pig-out.” The fries got popped into my mouth and I chewed with an unrepentant grin on my face. I’d probably never see these two after today. What did it matter if they thought my eating habits were gross? Matt’s leg brushed mine, and I tried to ignore the heat radiating between us. Would he ask for my number? Should I ask for his? No way. I stomped that idea into the ground. Risk humiliation by asking the handsome white man for his number?
Hell, no.
It was by chance we had run into each other today. Although we had kissed by his car, I seriously doubted he’d given me a second thought after that night. It was a spectacular kiss though.

“Are you the same age as Matt?” I asked Nathan.

“Older,” Matt jumped in with a devious twinkle in his eyes.

Nathan looked offended. “By a few months.”

Matt sipped his water while I chuckled at Nathan’s affront.

“How old are you, if you don’t mind my asking?” Nathan asked. There was a sudden undercurrent of tension between him and Matt. Or it felt like that from the way Matt abruptly placed his glass of water on the table.

“Twenty-six,” I answered, finishing off the last few fries on my plate. Mmm, that had been good.

“You’ve accomplished quite a lot for a woman of your age.” Nathan was smiling at me. I wasn’t sure if his smile was genuine. Matt cleared his throat in a decidedly threatening manner and my gaze jumped between them.

“Uh, so what do you guys do?” I asked, wanting this weird tension gone. I was enjoying myself in Matt’s company.

“Nathan works for me.” Matt pushed his plate aside. The half-eaten baguette with untouched fries looked pretty sad.

“We work at the same company,” Nathan clarified with a semi-mean glare in Matt’s direction.

I shrugged, deciding to ignore whatever it was going on between them. “Okay, but what do you guys do?”

Matt casually slung his arm over the back of the seat. His fingers grazed my shoulder and a tremor went through my limbs. He turned his head, flashing me that gorgeous smile of his, and my brain went numb. How could anyone be that good looking? He didn’t look like someone past mid-thirty. He stroked my skin lightly and my mouth went dry.

“I’m suddenly beginning to feel like an unwanted third wheel,” Nathan joked. I blinked up at Matt, his gaze fell to my lips and, without conscious thought, I licked them. Matt’s eyes darkened as he shifted in his seat, bringing us closer together.

“It’s almost uncomfortable watching you two eye hump each other,” Nathan drawled as he took a sip of his water. His words dragged me out of the seductive cloud Matt’s look had sucked me into.
Eye hump?
What the fuck?

“I’m a virgin,” I hissed in outrage, as Nathan suddenly choked on his drink and spluttered water over the table and himself.

I slapped a hand over my mouth, horrified at myself. What in the world was wrong with me?

“I beg your pardon?” Nathan croaked, wiping a stream of water and dribble off his chin.

Matt squeezed my shoulder, eyes laughing at me and I jerked away, mortified and wanting the floor to open up under me. Why did I feel the need to constantly affirm my lack of promiscuity? To freaking strangers. Was it because I had been raised with the understanding white guys always assumed a black woman was loose? Aunt Cleo had been a firm believer in knowing what black people suffered, and still were suffering at the hands of white people. I was more a live and let live kind of gal.

“She does that when she’s embarrassed,” Matt explained, openly chuckling as he handed Nathan a napkin.