Stay With Me by Kelly Elliott
Her facial expression softened and a slow crooked smile moved across her face. “I’ll go and look at your cabin, if you go dancing with me tonight. Country western dancing.”
I let out a roar of laughter before I noticed she was giving me a dead serious look. “Wait. You’re serious? In order for you to come look at the cabin, I have to go dancing with you?”
“Country western dancing.”
I swear, if I didn’t want to be around her so much, I’d turn and walk away. Interior designers were a dime a dozen.
“Fine.”
With a smile almost too big for her face, she asked, “Really?”
Rolling my eyes, I tried to figure out how to keep this from my brothers. No matter what I did to hide it, I was sure they would find out about it.
“Yes. But if you think I’m doing any of that line dancing, you are crazy.”
Her teeth sunk into her lip, making my thoughts wander to where they shouldn’t.
“You say that now, Mr. Drivas. I have your number,” she said as she held up my card. “I’ll call and let you know where to meet me.”
“Meet you? You don’t want me to pick you up?”
With a wink she replied, “Nope. I’ll meet you.”
She headed for her office door. Lifting her hand, she waved goodbye to the receptionist.
“Don’t forget, Kasey. It’s a long weekend for me. I’ll be back in Monday.”
Kasey smiled at Kilyn and then looked at me. She slowly licked her lips and pushed her chest out a little more.
I tried like hell not to look directly at her chest as I passed by. “Good afternoon, sir.”
“Good afternoon,” I replied and quickly followed Kilyn.
We rode down in the elevator in silence. The whole time I was trying to think of how to get myself out of this damn situation I had gotten into. The last thing I really wanted to do was go dancing. I hated dancing.
The doors opened and Kilyn stepped out. I opened my mouth to talk when she stopped and I ran right into the back of her. Spinning around, she flashed me an evil smile.
“Not yet there, Mr. Drivas. Save it for tonight.”
“Yeah, about that, Kilyn, I . . . I um . . .”
Narrowing my eyes, I took in the look on her face. She actually seemed excited about the idea of me going dancing with her. All I wanted to do was be around her. Maybe I needed to get it out of my system; if that meant spending an evening listening to pansy-ass music, then so be it.
“What should I wear?”
Her eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning. Something in me wanted to make her look that happy every single day.
Pushing that thought as far away as possible, I waited for her response.
“Jeans, a T-shirt, and a pair of boots. Cowboy boots.”
With a sly look, I asked, “What if I don’t own any cowboy boots?”
Taking a few steps back, she winked and said, “You better go buy some then. Talk to you soon . . . Thano.”
My heart stopped as my name trickled off her soft plump lips. My breath hitched and I was frozen in my steps. I watched as she walked away while I tried to figure out what in the hell was happening to me.
By the time I got to my car, I was fighting for air. Dropping my head back against my headrest, I closed my eyes and whispered, “I can’t forget her. I won’t forget her.”
“WHAT DO YOU mean Cody won’t be there?” Claire asked.
Leaning forward, I carefully applied my mascara. I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to take a shower, shave, wash and dry my hair, and reapply all of my makeup. I wouldn’t have done any of that if I had been meeting Cody.
“He bugged out on me.”
“But we’re all still going dancing? I thought maybe you were mad at me and didn’t want me to come.”
With a long sigh, I replied, “Nonsense. Is Blake coming?”
“Yes. He has tomorrow off, and since you’re taking a long weekend, I thought I would as well. We talked about going up to the mountains, but they are saying a storm might blow in.”
“Please, they keep saying that and nothing happens. You should go. Enjoy your weekend.”
The silence on the other end of the line told me I needed to make things better. If I didn’t, Claire would beat herself up all night and not enjoy her time with her husband.
“Claire, it’s okay. I’m okay. I promise.”
A sniffle came over the phone. “I hate that it is even there between us.”
“It’s not. It has nothing to do with you. Nothing.”
“It has everything to do with me, Kilyn. Everything.”
Dropping my hand, I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Where once was a girl so broken, now stood a confident woman. I talked about what had happened to me plenty of times. But talking about it with Claire. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.
It was time for a subject change.
“Thano is going tonight.”
Claire gasped. “What? How? Why? Where did you see him?”
Attempting to hold back my giggles, I gave her the answers she was seeking.
“Thano is meeting us at the club. He stopped by the office today looking for an interior designer for a new cabin he built up in the mountains. He had no idea it was our firm.”
“Oh. My. God. It’s like the gods are throwing you two together.”
With a roll of my eyes, I went back to applying my mascara. “Please.”
“Okay, so how did it end up that he is coming dancing with us?”
“He said country music was for pussies. I was not about to let that go. I told him the only way I’d go and look at his cabin to see if we wanted to take on the job was if he came dancing tonight.”
Claire started coughing. “Hold on. Choking here.”
Blowing out a frustrated puff of air, I waited for her to get it all out of her system. I knew Claire better than anyone. We grew up together. She was like my sister and I knew what was about to come.
“You like him!”
And there it is.
“No, I do not. I needed someone to dance with tonight since Cody backed out on me.”
With a loud laugh, Claire replied, “Oh, because the hundreds of single guys at the club aren’t good enough?”
“No. Because the moment he said that, I had to prove him wrong. I’ll get him loving country music by the time we finish his cabin if it kills me.”
“So you’ve already decided you’re taking on the cabin? What about the Conner project?”
Dropping my mascara back into my makeup bag, I dug around for my blush.
“Don’t worry, Claire. You’re always worrying. Are we all driving together or what?”
She sighed, and I knew this conversation was far from over. “We’ll pick you up at seven.”
“Perfect!” I said. “See ya then!”
The nice cowboy spun me around and dipped me at the end of the song, causing me to let out a laugh.
Pulling me back up, he searched my face. “Tell me you’re here alone.”
With a pout, I said, “Sorry, cowboy. Waiting for my date to show up.”
“Lucky him.”
I smiled and headed toward the bar. Even though I was dressed in a lightweight baby-blue shirt and shorts, I was still sweating my ass off. My mother had hated when I wore my cowboy boots with shorts, but that was when I was fourteen. I was older and I knew it made my ass look good.
Trying to catch my breath, I motioned to the bartender for another Bud Light.
“Better slow it down there, ladybug, if you’re too drunk you can’t teach me to dance.”
Goose bumps ran down my neck and over my body as his hot breath touched my skin.
“How long have you been here?” I asked, taking the bottle of beer and pressing it to my lips. When I turned around, I damn near choked at the sight in front of me.
“Holy hell,” I whispered as my eyes looked at the Greek god standing in front of me. His dark hair and skin were made darker by the ultra-tight
My heart skipped a beat and I fought like hell to ignore it. “You bought boots.”
His hand wrapped around my waist and he pulled me closer to him. My breath caught and I was positive he could hear my heart pounding against my chest.
Jesus. Was he always this touchy? I certainly hoped like hell he was.
“I did, and let me tell you something, they were expensive as hell.” He smiled and those damn dimples popped right on out. The urge to push my hand down my panties was real. So real, I let a small moan slip from my lips.
Thano leaned in closer, placing his lips next my ear. “But don’t worry, the saleslady assured me they would work when I told her I was trying to impress a country girl. I told her if they didn’t, I was bringing them back.”
Trying not to, I busted out laughing. Placing my hands on his massive chest, I ignored the pull in my lower stomach. With a good push, he took a few steps back. Not even bothered by the fact that I had used all my might to push him away and he only took two steps back.
I need to get to the gym.
“You wouldn’t think of returning them!” I gasped.
“I would! I totally would. So you better make it worth my while.”
The burning in my chest was something I wasn’t familiar with. I’d never had a guy make me feel the way Thano did. I was positive it was because of this whole running into each other bullshit we had going on. Maybe someone was trying to tell me something. If they were, I was going to keep ignoring them. A guy like Thano surely had to have a revolving door when it came to his bedroom and the girls he invited in. That had to be the reason he didn’t have a girlfriend.
When Dirks Bentley’s “Drunk on a Plane” started, I grabbed Thano and pulled him out onto the dance floor.
“Okay, now all these people are doing the two-step. It’s really simple once you get it down. When you get a little comfortable with the steps then you can try giving me a spin or two!”
He smiled, but it was almost an evil smile. Like he knew something I didn’t. “Thélis na horépsis mazí mu, Kilyn?” he called out.
I froze and couldn’t move an inch. Never mind the fact that I had barely gotten over how damn good he looked, now he pushed me right in front of the MAC truck and tried to finish me off by saying something in what I could only assume was Greek.
Jesus, Kilyn, pull yourself together.
Swallowing hard, I licked my lips and tried to speak past the lump in my throat. “What did you say?”
“Would you dance with me, Kilyn?”
Dear God. Talk to me like that again and I’ll let you do whatever you want to me.
“Um . . . yes. I mean okay.”
When he took me into his arms, my breath caught and I was pretty sure he knew he was having an effect on me.
“Show me how to two-step.”
Can’t. Think. Body. On. Fire.
“Give me a second. Your whole speaking to me in Greek threw me and I’m trying to get myself back together.”
His head dropped back and he let out a roar of laughter.
After adjusting his hands into the right position, I showed him how to take the correct steps. He was catching on pretty good and I was honestly impressed with how fast he was learning. There might be hope for him after all.
We stopped after two songs and got a drink. “You’re learning pretty fast.”
Thano flashed me a sexy-ass grin and said, “I’m a fast learner.”
I bet.
When LOCASH’s song “I Love This Life” started, I jumped up.
“I love this song!”
Thano finished off his beer and took my hand. “Then let’s go dance.”
A part of me was bummed out because I loved cutting up the floor with this song and was kind of hoping to hook up with another dancer. Thano pulled me into his arms and we took off.
He guided me around that dance floor like he’d been two-stepping all his life. Then he spun me and pulled me back to him without missing a beat. I’d never danced with anyone who knew how to lead like this guy was.
Giving him a look only a mother could give, I yelled, “You already knew how to two-step, didn’t you?”
He winked and spun me again. Laughing, I let it go and enjoyed being in his arms and listening to my song as we danced our asses off. We were a force to be reckoned with as Thano spun me around, dipped me, and even did some fancy move where he whipped me around his body.
I’d never had so much fun.
A slow song came on and I quickly headed to our table where Claire and Blake were. Any closer contact with Thano and I was positive I’d be begging him to make me scream out his name.
Trying like hell to catch my breath, I dropped in my seat while Thano reached across the table and shook Blake’s hand.
“Sorry!” I shouted. “You remember Claire, right? This is her husband, Blake.”
Thano smiled and gave Claire a friendly nod. “The cooking queen.”
Claire laughed. “That’s me! And part time interior decorator as well.”
Thano looked between us. “You work together?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Claire mainly handles everything after the designs have been approved. The contractors and such. She also designs most of the kitchens, since that is her thing.”
Thano stared at me with a goofy smile. “What?” I asked.
“It’s just, someone your age to have your own company and already be so well-known in what you do . . . it’s impressive. Very impressive.”
I could feel my face turn hot. Looking away, I couldn’t help but notice the shit-eating grin on Claire’s face. “She started her company when she was still in college. Kilyn somehow talked one of her professors into letting her design her new house. It was supposed to just be the paint color but when Kilyn started making suggestions, the professor hired her on the spot.”
Needing to change the subject, I turned to Thano. “Let’s forget about that. Do you want to explain to me why you lied?”
He jerked his head back in surprise. “What do you mean? I haven’t lied to you about anything.”
I shook my finger at him. “Oh, oh please. You clearly knew how to two-step, Mr. Drivas. You probably do it better than me!”
Leaning closer to me, I felt myself pull back. “I never said I couldn’t two-step, Ms. O’Kelly. I said I didn’t like country music.”
My head was spinning. “You said you didn’t listen to it! If you don’t listen to it, how in the world can you dance to it? Plus, you asked me to teach you.”
He lifted his beer and took a drink. I watched as the muscles in his throat worked while he swallowed. Why in the hell is that turning me on?
Placing the bottle on the table, he looked directly into my eyes. “My mother started all her sons in dance class at age six. I can probably dance to any type of music you asked me to. My favorite is ballroom dancing.”
Claire leaned forward and shouted, “If I wasn’t married, I’d crawl over the table and have sex with you right now.”
My head snapped over as I yelled, “Claire!”
Blake laughed and chimed in. “That’s my cue to get my wife out onto the dance floor and take her for a spin. Clearly, I’ve been neglecting her.”
I watched as Blake and Claire took off toward the dance floor. When I turned back to Thano, he was staring at me with black eyes. My entire body trembled from his intense stare.
Luke Bryan’s “Strip It Down” started and Thano took my hand and pulled me up.
“Let’s dance, ladybug.”
That was twice he called me that, and I had to admit I kind of liked it. It was cute, but still made me feel . . . sexy. But why ladybug?
Pulling my body up against his, I buried my face and tried to pretend I was dancing with someone who didn’t drive my body crazy and make my stomach feel like I was on an endless roller coaster.
&nb
For crying out loud. I’m not in high school. What in the hell is up with these feelings?
I prayed for the song to end and a fast one to start. When Garth Brooks “Friends in Low Places” started, we danced hard and by the time it was over, I was gasping for breath. Clearly I was out of shape and Thano was so much better at two-stepping than Cody ever would be.
I wondered if he would be better in bed, also.
Stop this, Kilyn.
“You want to stop for the night?”
My heart dropped as I looked at Thano and asked, “What makes you think I want to stop?”
He looked confused. “You said to stop. I assumed you meant you were ready to stop for the night.”
“Are you ready to stop?”
His eyes turned dark again. “Baby, I could go all night long.”
Feeling my heartbeat increase, I whispered, “I bet you could.”
ANYTIME I WAS with Kilyn, the walls I’d built around my heart felt as if they were shaken. A small crack was made each time she smiled at me or laughed that beautiful laugh of hers. Tonight was no different. I hadn’t felt this happy in a very long time.
“Stop this, Kilyn,” she whispered.
Feeling a tightening in my chest at her words, I didn’t want the night to end. “You want to stop for the night?”
She looked at me with an incredulous stare. “What makes you think I want to stop?”
Okay, did I hear her right? “You said to stop. I assumed you meant you were ready to stop for the night.”
“Are you ready to stop?”
Warmth radiated throughout my body at the idea of holding her close to me again. Maybe it was time for a bit of meaningless flirting. At least I would tell myself it was meaningless. “Baby, I could go all night long.”
Her eyes glowed and she unknowingly licked her lips slowly before whispering, “I bet you could.”
My breath stalled as I looked into her eyes. There was something about Kilyn that brought a piece of my heart to life. I wanted desperately to let my guard down, but did I dare open myself up to that kind of heartache again? Was it a risk I was willing to take?