Part 9 (2/2)
”Severo.” Bella's quiet plea calmed the elevating rage that threatened to obliterate Severo's patience.
Seth nodded agreeably, and Severo set him down.
”Call me, Bella,” Seth said. ”You're dancing tonight? I'm sorry, I didn't know. I've got plans.”
”I forgot to tell you, Seth. You can catch me next time,” replied Bella.
Seth nodded and vacated the restaurant quickly.
”Why did you have to do that?” she said as Severo slid into the booth seat next to her. ”Always playing he-man. Gotta be the alpha dog.”
Instead of berating her for her uncouth word choice, Severo leaned in and kissed her silent. The high booth granted them privacy.
The kiss did the trick, and he enjoyed it much more than chastising her. Her fingers slipped between the b.u.t.tons of his silk s.h.i.+rt and he felt her nails dig into his chest. Yes, hurt me. Mark me. Mmm, she was exquisite.
”Still feel the need for dancing?” he asked.
”I have to. It's part of dance cla.s.s.”
”Would you entertain the idea of returning to your home and allowing me to undress you, starting with those wicked shoes, and lick my way all the way up to your mouth?”
”I think I've lost the mood. I'm still angry with you for being so mean to Seth.” ”Very well.”
With a resolute sigh, Severo toyed with the flatware that had been placed squarely before him. His thigh touched Bella's thigh, and his shoulder hugged hers.
Her presence did not cease to still him like a muzzle on a raging beast. He would have liked to shove the idiot Seth through the window, but Bella had gentled him again. What a wonder.
Tilting his head, he laid it upon her shoulder. A smirking breath escaped her. She slid a palm along his cheek. It didn't matter if she was angry with him. This quiet moment meant the world to him. Just him and Bella together.
Must he wait for her to dance before taking her home and having his way with her?
He asked, ”How about now? Change your mind about being angry with me?”
”Yes, werewolf.” She laughed softly. ”You win. Let's head to the club and get this dance over with.”
Severo was familiar with the flamenco style of music. He enjoyed the intricate guitar rhythm and understood some Spanish words the cantor sang. But he'd never watched a flamenco dance performance before. Bella hypnotized him.
She danced with a female partner, each mirroring the other and then at times breaking off to do their own thing upon the small wooden dance floor. The intensity between the two blazed through the small room.
He sat in the back of the club, which was no more than twenty feet from the makes.h.i.+ft dance floor.
The craggy-faced man next to Severo reeked strongly of menthol. He clapped his veiny, long-fingered hands in rhythm, matching the others in the crowd, who encouraged the dancers with their clapping and occasional shouts of ole.
Settling against the wall, he observed through narrowed eyes as his woman seduced the crowd. His woman. Dating wasn't necessary. Claiming her was, though. He'd already learned her climax. But he wouldn't truly claim her until he'd made love to her completely.
And then there was the werewolf. That part of him would provide the final test of whether or not Bella could be his true mate.
A rapid rasgueado by the guitarist brought the women together in a floor-pounding explosion of stomps and hand claps. The crowd's enthusiasm increased.
The man next to him voiced his approval, and Severo found the beat with all the rest.
Bella strode ahead, leaving Severo to close the door behind him. She opened the patio door. A soft night breeze drifted through the screen, tickling the chiffon that hung from the ceiling down the center of her loft. A flowery aroma steeped the air, but she couldn't guess what it was. Mrs. Jones had a wild and abundant garden on the other side of the fence. Wolf boy might know.
She chided herself for thinking of him that way. He was a man, as he'd explained. But she was curious about the wolf part. Yet curiosity led to dread. Vampires with sharp, s.h.i.+ny fangs were bad enough. What would a fully wolfed-out werewolf be like?
Maybe she wasn't so curious, after all.
”Want something to drink?” she offered when he wandered back and forth before the couch. ”I have vodka and Sprite.” ”No beer?”
”I'm not into the icky stuff.”
He grinned. ”I'll take a swig of vodka, neat. But don't slip any of that fruity stuff in there.”
”Gotcha. One anti-cosmo coming right up.”
Tossing his jacket on the couch, he dodged the bamboo plant and stretched his broad shoulders and flexed his arms. He didn't stop moving, striding across the floor as if he were measuring for a marriage bed.
Oh, stop, Bella. That's the wrong image. A caged animal was more appropriate and intriguing.
Was he nervous now that they were alone and s.e.x might be the next step? Full-on s.e.x, that is. Wasn't like he hadn't already rocked her world.
If he could bring her to climax merely by licking her nipples, Bella could not guess how wondrous getting naked with him would be. On the other hand, she could imagine such a scenario. But why imagine when all the elements to the fantasy were at hand?
Severo had told Seth that they were ”exploring mating possibilities.” But it hadn't sounded as disgusting to her as she thought it should. Mating? With the virile man who filled the room with his presence?
Bring it on.
Vodka straight had never appealed to her, but she took a sip before handing the tumbler to Severo. He downed it in one swallow, set the tumbler on the birch coffee table and tugged her into his embrace.
”I needed that,” he said.
”I have difficulty believing you require a drink to loosen up.”
”Oh, I'm loose.”
”I know that. I saw you doing palmas while I was dancing.”
”The what? I wasn't doing anything untoward, sweet.”
She smiled at his teasing allusion. ”Palmas is the clapping of hands, which are as much a musical instrument to flamencos as their feet.”
”Ah. Yes, I think I picked it up.” He tapped a rapid rhythm with three fingers against her collarbone. ”Yes?”
”Very good for a newbie.”
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