with my boss's brother and he was making it impossible for me to find another candidate. Though I doubted he wanted to sleep with me because he didn't seem interested in flirting. Just talking and dancing. On any other day, I would have loved it because I sincerely liked J.J. He was a good guy. Just not the guy I needed for tonight.
It hurt, though, just a little, that he wasn't as attracted to me as I was to him. I understood why. Growing up, I'd always been Scott's little sister. It didn't surprise me that he wouldn't see me as a woman even all these years later.
Unfortunately, J.J.'s refusal to let me get more than a few feet away from him meant that I wasn't able to flirt with any of Brody's friends either.
Not that I had a lot of experience flirting, but I figured maintaining eye contact, listening, smiling, and encroaching on a man's personal space would get the point across.
I couldn't suppress my sigh when J.J. pulled me out onto the dance floor once again, this time for the bridal party's dance with the new couple.
His arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me in close, but not too close. I could feel the heat of his body through his suit, but the only parts of us that touched were our thighs when they brushed together as we moved.
"What was that for?" he murmured next to my ear.
I didn't look at him, just kept my eyes glued to his shoulder as I focused on not stepping on his toes or tripping over my shoes. I didn't often wear heels and it took a lot of concentration to walk in them, let alone dance.
"What was what for?" I asked, absently.
His arm tightened around me just a shade. "That sigh."
"Just hoping I don't injure you," I lied. "It's been a while since I danced with someone."
"You're doing fine," he murmured, his breath warm against my temple.
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the toe of my heeled sandal caught on his dress shoe and I stumbled.
J.J. pulled me into his body to steady me and I inhaled sharply. My arm ended up along his shoulder and my hand curved around the opposite side of his neck as I clung to him.
Essentially, he carried me for a couple of steps before I got my balance back and I could feel each and every one of his strong muscles working to hold my weight.
It was then that I realized his shoulders were broader than they had been twelve years ago when I'd first developed a crush on him.
He'd filled out. He no longer looked like a teenage boy, but a man.
My stomach twisted and I felt a twinge between my thighs. I might not have dated all that much, but I was no stranger to what arousal felt like and I was definitely experiencing it at the moment.
Just the smallest spark.
And it wouldn't take much to fan it into full flames.
Once my feet were beneath me, I kept my firm grip on J.J. and tilted my head back to look up into his face. His eyes were golden brown and gazed into mine without blinking.
"That's exactly what I was afraid of," I murmured.
That familiar flushed feeling crept back in as J.J. and I maintained eye contact. I hadn't intended to start a staring match, but now that I was so close to him, looking into his eyes, I couldn't tear myself away.
When his grip on me loosened, the hand I'd placed on his neck tightened reflexively. I wasn't ready to let him go yet. Not when I could feel almost every inch of him for the first time.
Any plans I'd formulated, any thoughts that I might have had, disappeared in a puff of smoke. There was only his body and mine, the heat that slowly filled me, and the throbbing low in my abdomen.
J.J. stopped leading me around the dance floor then. "You shouldn't look at me like that," he whispered.
I swallowed and licked my lips. "Like what?"
Oh, God, he didn't seem unaffected now. In fact, despite my inexperience with men, I was pretty sure he felt some of the sensations I did.
His gaze never broke from my face. "Like you want to take a bite out of me."
I didn't have the mental capacity to be embarrassed at the moment, I was too distracted by the reactions of my body. "Why not?"