Almost in Love by Kylie Gilmore Page B

he could lose himself in the pulsing beat and the rhythm of the other bodies pressing close. She threw her arms in the air and danced freely, giving herself over to it, moving in a sensuous wave.
    Bare stood there, staring at her. She danced closer to him, so close she occasionally bumped into his chest. He settled his hands on her hips, his fingers gripping her tight.
    She grabbed his hands. “Loosen your grip. I gotta move.”
    He released her, and she danced a sexy circle around him. He stayed stock-still, but his eyes never left her. She reached his front again and looked up at him. “Come on, Bare, dance with me.”
    He did a few head bobs. She kept dancing, waiting for him to catch up. Suddenly he burst into an Irish jig. One hand waving in the air, the other behind his back, his feet moved in a quick shuffle-tap motion. She slowed her dance, almost afraid to see what he’d do next. He kicked up his heels to one side, then the other. He was graceful, in time to some mysterious Irish song in his head, perfect for The Dancing Cow but…not at all right for The Bohemian.
    People stopped dancing to watch him. He took that as encouragement and kept going. She stopped dancing and watched in growing horror. Should she tell him to stop? People closed in around him in a circle, clapping in time to his jig. She lost sight of him as more people pushed in to watch the strange dance.
    She felt a hand on her back, and then someone spun her around. She smiled at her frequent dance partner Carlos. “Hey, stranger.”
    “Hey, chica bonita.”
    “I’ve got a date,” she said, quickly sidestepping him, trying to find Bare. She went up on tiptoe. There were so many people. She still couldn’t see him, and then Carlos grabbed her, pulling her back to him. He danced in front of her, face to face, pelvis to pelvis, as they did every time they found each other at the club. It never went further than that. They danced, he moved on to the next woman, just fun. Her friend Steph used to dance with him too—the two of them on either side of him.
    She tried to see around Carlos, but he was moving side to side now, all in her space. She kept dancing, hoping Bare would show up sooner or later. Finally, the crowd around Bare dispersed. She shifted, turning away from Carlos, searching the sea of people. Still no Bare. Carlos moved behind her, a hand on her stomach, grinding into her from behind, not hard, just enough for her to know he was there. She lifted her hair up, cooling the back of her neck, rocking her hips in time to the music as she kept an eye out for Bare. Carlos’ hands went to her hips as he moved with her.
    She danced, scanning the sea of people, and was about to leave the dance floor when Carlos pulled away suddenly and a sprinkle of cold water hit her back. She turned. Omigod. Carlos was absolutely soaked, mostly through the crotch of his black leather pants. He turned, furious, looking for the aggressor.
    “You two need to cool off,” Bare said, holding an empty plastic cup.
    Carlos dove for him, knocking the cup out of his hand and throwing Bare to the ground. Amber leaped into the fray, hanging onto Carlos’ arm before he could smash his fist into Bare’s face.
    “Stop!” she cried. “Don’t hurt him.”
    “These are leather!” Carlos exclaimed. “He ruined them.”
    “He’ll pay for it,” she said.
    “Like hell,” Bare snapped. He took advantage of Carlos’ distraction and rolled away from him. He stood and leaned into Carlos’ face. “You stay away from her. Hear me?”
    Amber jumped in before Carlos had a chance to beat the crap out of Bare. She didn’t know how Bare would do in a fight, but she’d seen Carlos before. He was a black belt. “Very sorry, Carlos, I’ll make it up to you.”
    She pulled at Bare until he finally followed her out the door.
    The night air was cool, and she tried to focus on deep breathing so she wouldn’t yell at him. What was he thinking picking a fight with Carlos of