Текст книги "Kissing Her Crazy"
Автор книги: Kira Archer
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“It’s okay, Lena,” he said, interrupting her. “I like to have fun. No point in being miserable, but when the occasion calls for it, I can get the job done. Of course, my parents don’t seem to think so. I think that might be why they keep shooting me down. I mean, expanding a charity is hardly a bad thing to do. But if they think it’ll be more work for them, they’ll oppose it.”
“Exactly. So you need to go in fully prepared to answer all their questions and show them you are serious about it.”
“Right.”
“So, first you need a rock solid idea.”
Elliot frowned. “Where do I get one of those?”
Lena laughed and the sound washed over him like the cool ocean spray—refreshing, invigorating, and completely addicting. He had the irresistible urge to make it his mission in life to make the woman in front of him laugh as often as possible.
“I’m not sure I’m the best one to help you with this. It’s obviously important to you. I’m kind of bad luck when it comes to business stuff.”
“I don’t believe in bad luck.”
She snorted. “Wait a while. We’ve just met. You hang around me long enough, and you’ll believe, trust me.”
He laughed. “Oh, come on. I’m sure if we put our heads together, we can do amazing things.”
Lena’s gaze flashed to his, and he let his lips stretch into a sexy grin. She bit her lip and looked down, a slight blush staining her cheeks. Good. She’d caught that little innuendo. The fact that he could affect her like that with only a few words sent a rush of adrenaline through him. What was she doing to him? The weird hyper-focus he had on her should scare the shit out of him. But it didn’t. Instead, it made him even more determined to get as close to her as possible.
She looked up to find him still staring at her. Caught red-handed, he had no shame. He kept right on staring. Her cheeks flamed hotter, but she didn’t look away. A smile to match his graced her amazing, full lips. Elliot’s breath hitched in his throat, and her smile stretched wider.
“Well. Let’s see what we can come up with then,” she said.
Elliot held out his hand. She hesitated for a second and then slipped her hand into his. It felt so small wrapped in his. Tiny, soft. But strong. Just like Lena.
He shook his head, a little startled at the thoughts running rampant in his mind. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to fall for her. Shouldn’t that thought send him screaming for the hills?
Somewhere during her conversation with Elliot, Lena realized she was having a good time. A really good time. Apparently, there was a lot more to Elliot than a gorgeous face and a body to drool for. In fact, despite the whole man-child act, he was surprisingly intelligent. Just thinking that made Lena cringe.
She once had a school buddy who had been totally shocked when report cards came out and Lena had straight As, because, according to the friend, Lena came off as a total airhead. That had stung. She liked to laugh and amuse people, but that didn’t mean she was a ditz. No more than Elliot liking to have a good time and not knowing anything about kids made him some immature party boy.
She stamped down the urge to apologize to him. The guilt at her snap judgment sat like an uncomfortable knot in her stomach. She redoubled her efforts to help him with his ideas.
They’d wandered back to the lounge chairs, and she sat on the edge of one before crossing her legs and facing him.
“So, you said you wanted to expand your parents’ charity, keep doing something with children, but more focused?”
His face lit up. “Yes. I know we could do so much more than we are doing now. Which is where I was hoping you’d come in.”
“Me, with all my great business ideas, huh?”
“Stop with the tone,” he chided, narrowing his eyes at her.
She smiled. Kind of hard not to when a guy who should be gracing the cover of some Sexiest Men magazine was staring down at her like a disapproving school marm.
“Sorry. I’ll try to keep all tone to a minimum.”
“See that you do,” he said with a little mock glower that had her stomach doing happy cartwheels. “Now, back to what I was saying. Yes, you with all your great ideas. Look, they might not have panned out, but you definitely have a knack for thinking outside the box. For seeing something that I wouldn’t even notice and turning it into this great possible ‘something.’ That’s what I need. A little spark of what you’ve got going on up here.”
He reached up and touched her temple, letting his finger linger to make his point. When he dropped his hand, his finger trailed down her skin for a second, but it was enough to make goose bumps erupt on that side of her body.
She realized she was sitting frozen, staring into his amber eyes. She tore her gaze away and looked down at her hands. “Well, I don’t know. Do you want me to start throwing ideas out there?”
“Yes,” he said, leaning back onto the chaise with his hands behind his head. “Throw away.”
Lena laughed. “Okay. Well, do you have a particular group of kids you want to help?”
“I know there are a lot of kids that need helping, but I’d like to do something that isn’t being done yet. I think I’d actually like to do something with foster kids. Maybe sponsor a summer camp. Or give them some sort of gift basket or care package when they move to a new home.”
“You know, that’s not a bad idea.”
“Really?”
The surprise on his face was beyond adorable. Lena fought to keep her mind on the topic at hand. “Really. I mean, not a gift basket.”
“No,” Elliot continued. “But something similar. Foster kids usually don’t have much, if anything, as they move from home to home. Some kids only have a trash bag to haul whatever belongings they might have with them. And many of them first coming into the system have nothing at all.”
“That’s terrible.”
Elliot nodded. “So what can we do to fix that?”
Lena’s heart skipped a beat or two at the word “we.” She pressed on, the familiar excitement rushing through her with the onset of a new idea. “What if we took your care package idea but expanded it?” She sat forward, her hands starting to fly as she spoke. “You could coordinate with whoever is in charge of placing the children in homes, and when someone new enters the system, you can do something special for them.”
Elliot sat up, his intent gaze totally focused on her. “I love that idea. We can give them something of their own. They’d have their own things to take into a new home. That would not only give them their own stuff but would help out the foster parents as well, so they wouldn’t need to provide so much.”
“Yes! What if we got something like those large plastic bins? We could decorate them pretty, put the child’s name on it, and fill it with everything they’ll need.”
Elliot nodded. “Exactly. Like sheets, clothing, books, toys. Even toiletry items, brushes, toothpaste. So that when they go to their first foster home, and if they have to move to others, they’ve got their very own things to take with them, in a case that’s theirs alone.”
“That would be perfect!”
He grabbed her hands and pulled her into a quick hug. “It is. It’s simple, but something those kids really need and would love. And it wouldn’t cost much for each child, so we’d be able to stretch the money further. We could even get the community involved. People could sponsor a child. Volunteer to create the case and fill it with items. This is so good. Really.”
“It is!”
Elliot stood up and pulled her to her feet, yanking her in for another hug. This time it lasted a little longer. He let her go a little slower. Her excitement for their idea died away, replaced by a very different kind of thrill running through her. One she hadn’t felt in a very long time.
She looked up, met his gaze while his arms were still draped loosely around her. It would be so easy to lean in a bit, press the rest of her body to his, rise up onto her toes, and close the distance between their mouths.
Elliot leaned down a little, as if his thoughts mirrored her own. She knew she shouldn’t. But… One little kiss wouldn’t hurt…
She moved enough for her lips to brush his. He jerked a little in surprise but recovered quickly, tightening his hold on her to keep her against him. His mouth moved over hers with increased intensity.
Oh my God.
Lena trembled and pressed herself closer, every nerve in her body blazing in a flood of heat that left her head swimming.
Her watch alarm went off, and she jumped with a little squeak, her heart pounding in her chest. She slapped at the thing until she connected with the button that shut it off. Elliot laughed, but he didn’t let her go. He held her lightly enough that she could pull away if she wanted, giving her the choice.
She almost hated to make it, but she knew it was the smart thing to do. She drew away from him, but smiled to take the sting out of any rejection he might feel.
“I need to go pick up Tyler.”
“Ah. Well. May I escort you back?”
She looked back into those shining, eager eyes. How he managed to both make her want to laugh like a total goofball and shove him up against the wall with her tongue down his throat, all at the same time, was beyond her. Just talented, she supposed. And she knew she should say no. Business talk was all well and good, but more than that could be bad.
Then again, hell, it was just a walk, and she actually didn’t know where she was, so…
“Sure. I’d like that.”
Lena shoved the responsible-mommy part of her that was sending up warning flares and SOS signals down into some deep, dark box that she could ignore for at least a few more minutes.
Elliot reached out and took her hand, his brow lifting in a brief question. She should pull away. Her momentary lapse in judgment was already coming back to bite her in the ass. Because all she wanted to do was finish what they’d started. That small taste hadn’t been nearly enough. And if one tiny kiss could affect her this much, then anything more would be a colossal mistake. She should walk, no run, away.
Instead, she curled her fingers around his and tried to keep from taking his hand and rubbing her cheek over it like a cat scent-marking its territory. His thumb lightly caressed her skin as they walked. Each stroke was like adding a new butterfly to the mix already cascading through her stomach, fluttering uncontrollably at the mere touch of his skin brushing hers.
Good God, if she was finding it difficult to do normal things like breathe and hold a coherent thought in her head just because he held her hand, she could only imagine what it would feel like if he touched other parts of her. Bare skin to bare skin. She inhaled so quickly at the fantasy images flooding her head that it came out in a soft gasp, and Elliot looked down at her.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, fine.” Except for her cheeks, which were filling with enough blood to make her light-headed. “Must have swallowed a bug or something.”
Elliot grimaced. “I hope it was a mosquito. The damn things have been eating me alive.”
She grinned. “Me, too. Actually, here.” She stopped and reluctantly pulled her hand from his so she could dig around in her fanny pack.
Elliot peered into the recesses of the bag, eyes narrowed.
“What?” she asked, pulling out a small tin container.
“I’ve been meaning to ask why you carry that thing. What could possibly be important enough that you need to strap that monstrosity onto your body?”
From someone else, that might have hurt her feelings. But there was no malice in Elliot. He might be poking a little fun, but somehow he exuded enough good will that you could tell he was having fun with you, not at you. There was a huge difference. And besides, she was well aware of how unfashionable the Mommy Pack was, as Tyler called it.
She held up the tin. “So I always have stuff like this on hand, for one. I have a kid. I used to carry around a purse large enough to pack half our house in. Okay, I still carry that thing around, but for trips such as these, the pack works great. I’ve got baby wipes, hand sanitizer, sunscreen, tissues, a little bottle of water, tweezers… Well, you get the point. It’s always better to be prepared.”
Elliot was laughing, though his eyes looked slightly glazed over. “And what is that stuff?” he asked, pointing at the tin she was opening.
She scooped a little of the ointment onto her finger. “Bug bite remedy.”
“You made this?” He took the tin from her and sniffed it.
“Mmm-hmm. Just some coconut oil, a little olive oil, and some other essential oils. Works better than any store stuff I’ve found.”
“It actually smells pretty good. You sure this won’t make them eat me more?”
She laughed. “No, I promise. Now where does it itch?”
He pointed to a few spots on his arms, and she applied the balm to the bites, taking her time as she did so. Not so slow that she was being obvious about it. She hoped. But long enough to enjoy the feel of his skin and the muscles beneath it. Such an intoxicating mix of soft and hard. She wondered how that skin would feel beneath her lips. She leaned closer. Her mouth actually parted slightly, like she would quickly lean forward and take a tiny taste.
She caught herself in time, before she did anything too humiliating. Barely.
She started to pull away, but Elliot’s voice stopped her. “You missed one.”
Lena glanced up. Elliot’s gaze burned into hers, and he closed the already small distance between them so she was nearly pressed against his body.
Her breath hitched, but she tried to force herself to breathe normally.
“Where?” she said, though it was more a whisper than an actual word.
He pointed to a spot on his neck, just under his ear. She scooped a little more ointment out, and he leaned down so she could get to the bite. It put his face mere inches from hers, their breath mingling together while she tended to the bite. She rubbed the balm on it for much longer than necessary.
Elliot reached up and took her hand. She tried to pull away, heat burning her cheeks. But he didn’t let her. Instead, he pulled her even closer. Her startled eyes met his. He moved slowly enough that she could back away if she wanted. But she didn’t. Sweet Mother of all that was holy, she was very happy to stay right where she was. The responsible wench having a shit fit in her head could shut the hell up. No way was Lena turning this down.
Elliot smiled against her lips and whispered, “Thank you.”
She had half a second to wonder if he was thanking her for the bite balm or for letting him kiss her before his lips covered hers. It started gently, just a sweet kiss, a bare brush of his lips on hers. Even that small touch had sparks shooting through her, jump starting her heart. Then his hand came up to cup her face, his fingers threading into her hair, and he pulled her in closer, his lips increasing the pressure, moving with hers. His other hand tightened around her waist, drawing her in as close to him as she could get.
She leaned into him. His rock hard chest beneath her softer curves made her want to rub against him like a cat against a bedpost. If he kept up the magic his lips were working she’d be purring too. Her wrists trailed up his arms. She still held the bite balm, but she had no intention of breaking the kiss to put it away. She’d make do.
His lips parted, and he kissed her again, tilting his head for a better angle. His tongue flicked against her lips, and she opened for him, sucking in a sharp breath that ended on a quiet moan in the back of her throat. The noise spurred him on, and he crushed her to him, exploring every corner of her mouth, their lips moving together, tasting each other like they’d never get enough. Her heart raced, every nerve ending tingling. She wrapped her arms around his neck, rising onto her toes so she could get closer.
It was a good thing he was holding on to her because she’d fall over if he let go. She’d read about the whole light-headed feeling in her romance novels, even had a friend tell her that’s how she’d felt the first time she’d kissed her husband. But Lena had never had someone kiss her until her toes curled and she got dizzy. Either it had been too long since she’d been kissed or he was just that damn good.
Elliot came up for air, tilted his head in the other direction, and dragged her back to his lips with both hands cupping her face. Lena moaned again. Oh yeah. He was that good.
Tap, tap, tap.
Giggles erupted and someone tapped on the glass again. Lena gasped and jerked herself out of Elliot’s arms. She hadn’t realized they’d come to a stop right in front of the day care center doors and half a dozen little faces were smiling up at them from behind the window set in the door.
Heat flooded her face, and she took another step away from Elliot, sending up a quick prayer of thanks to whoever was listening that Tyler wasn’t one of the kids who’d seen them.
She shoved the bite balm back into her fanny pack and tucked her hair behind her ear. She found it hard to meet Elliot’s gaze again. Now why would that be? Hmm, maybe because she’d been making out like a teenager in front of a room full of preschoolers. Smooth. Very smooth.
“Thank you,” Elliot said again.
Lena glanced up at him, wondering for the second time what exactly he was thanking her for. Because if it was for the kiss, he was stealing her line. Hell, she was seriously considering buying him a card, engraved with fancy calligraphy, the whole nine yards. That hadn’t been a mere kiss. That had been… She had no words to even describe it.
“For all the ideas on the foundation,” he said, though the heat lingering in his eyes suggested that wasn’t all he was happy with.
She hoped he was just a good mind reader and that she hadn’t actually said any of that out loud. As flustered as she was at the moment, it was a good possibility.
“You’re welcome.” Her voice came out steady and clear. It helped her regain a little of her equilibrium. Until she looked up and saw his gaze lingering on her lips. Their eyes briefly met, and the smile he gave her this time was pure male satisfaction. He’d drawn a response from her and he liked it. And dammit, so did she. In fact, if there wasn’t a room full of kids right next to them…crap!
She walked to the door. Play time was over. Time to get back to the real world. Where she was on her own and knights in shining armor didn’t appear out of nowhere to make promises they’d never keep.
“Hey, can we talk again? About the foundation? Maybe be a sounding board for finalizing things before I pitch it to my parents?” Elliot asked.
Say no, say no, say no. “Sure, sounds great.”
Elliot beamed at her. He leaned in and planted a quick, sweet kiss on her cheek. “I’ll see you later, Lena.”
Her name on his lips sent a tremor through her, like he’d run his finger lightly up her spine. If they hadn’t been in front of the day care, she would have turned around and plastered herself against him. Run her hands over every inch of his body. Discovered what other amazing things he could do with that mouth.
But they did have an audience, one of whom was the little boy she’d never in a million years want to disappoint or embarrass. So she shoved those tantalizing thoughts as far down as she could get them and stepped away from him. Maybe it would be better to avoid him for the rest of the week. The last thing she wanted was for Tyler to actually see an ill-advised public display of inappropriate lust. He’d just get attached and confused. Hell, so would she. Better if she just kept away, for all their sakes.
“Bye, Elliot,” she said, her voice not quite as steady as it had been a moment before.
She turned the doorknob and left him smiling in the hallway.
Chapter Five
Elliot watched the clock, waiting while the minutes ticked by at an insanely slow pace. After Lena left him outside the day care center with a raging case of blue balls and a hard-on that hadn’t gone away until long after he’d returned to his room, she’d proceeded to do her best to avoid him. He didn’t know what the hell gave, because she was obviously into him, too. But he hadn’t been able to get her alone for the rest of the day. And that morning he’d missed her by seconds at breakfast, only catching a glimpse of her beet red face as she and Tyler high-tailed it out of the dining room.
But she couldn’t avoid him now. It had been declared mandatory for all wedding party members to attend the dance lessons that had come as part of the wedding package. His mother might not have been thrilled about her last daughter marrying someone like Oz, but throwing anything less than a spectacular wedding was beneath her. So, everyone involved in the wedding would learn how to hold their own on the dance floor whether they liked it or not.
Elliot had been less than excited. He knew how to dance. But now, it was a total godsend. Lena couldn’t get out of it anymore than he could. Even better, the bridesmaids and groomsmen were expected to dance with the one they’d be walking down the aisle with. As the brother of the bride and the sister of the groom, Elliot and Lena were a matched pair. He’d be able to spend at least an hour with Lena in his arms, and there was nothing she could do about it unless she wanted to face the wrath of his mother. And nobody wanted to do that.
There was not a drop of guilt in him for using the lesson as an opportunity to get closer to Lena. He’d felt her reaction when they’d kissed. She was just as drawn to him as he to her. He knew Tyler made things…complicated. But not touching her again sent a streak of something remarkably like panic coursing through him. He didn’t want to examine the strength of that emotion too closely. But he wasn’t willing to let her go so easily.
The clock finally hit 10:45, and he jumped up and headed out the door. He tried not to rush, but he still ended up being the first person in the ballroom. The instructor greeted him politely and returned to setting up the music. Elliot shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked on the balls of his feet, needing some sort of outlet for the nervous energy running through him.
Oz and Cher showed up next, a few more of the wedding party filtering in behind them. Cher’s eyes widened in surprise. She came over and gave him a quick hug.
“Didn’t think you’d show up at all, let alone be the first one here.”
Elliot fought to keep his face neutral. “It’s your wedding. I don’t want to shame you on the dance floor.” He winked at her.
She snorted. “Yeah, right. You could dance circles around everyone here.”
“True. But Mom declared we all be here, so here I be. Maybe I can teach the instructors a thing or two.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Cher said, laughing.
Lena walked in, holding Tyler’s hand, and Elliot’s blood raced. She looked around the room with a polite smile. And then she saw him and froze. She met his gaze, and Elliot’s world narrowed down until he saw no one but her. They stood like two statues, just staring at each other. His heart beat in his ears, drowning out everything else.
“Elliot?”
He blinked, his eyes flicking to his sister and then back to Lena. Her cheeks flamed red, and she looked at the floor, then glanced around like she was making sure no one had seen them staring at each other.
“Elliot? Hello?” Cher said again.
Elliot turned to find Cher looking back and forth between him and Lena before turning a speculating look to her soon-to-be husband. Oz must have been watching them watch each other, too, though his look had a little less speculation and a lot more big brother protective instinct packed into the frown he aimed at Elliot.
Elliot cleared his throat and backed away. “Looks like my partner is here,” he said, making his escape as quickly as possible.
He felt like he should be reassuring Oz that his intentions toward Lena were honorable or something. Except one, he had no idea what his intentions were, long term at least, and two, if anything besides a kiss was going to happen between them, it was probably something he should discuss with Lena first. And she didn’t seem to want to discuss what had happened between them at all, let alone let anything else happen. Something he sincerely hoped he could change her mind about.
He came to a stop right in front of her, watching with growing amusement as she tried to look everywhere but directly at him.
“Elliot!” Tyler said, beaming up at him.
“Hey there, little man. How’s it going today?”
Tyler pouted. “I have to dance with a girl.”
Elliot laughed and squatted down so he was on the same level as Tyler. “Ah, it’s not that bad.”
Tyler didn’t look like he believed him. “Really?”
“Really. In fact, it can be a lot of fun. Especially if you are dancing with the right girl.”
He glanced up at Lena, and she looked back at him, her forehead creasing. She didn’t look angry. More puzzled. He knew the feeling.
Tyler mulled that statement over for a second. “I have to dance with Abby. I played with her at day care yesterday.”
He pointed at the flower girl who was sitting on the floor with her elbows on her knees and her chin on her hands.
“She looks nice enough.”
Tyler shrugged. “I guess.”
“Did you have fun with her at day care?”
“Yeah,” Tyler said. He frowned, like he expected Elliot to trick him somehow.
“Well, this isn’t that much different from playing. You get to dance to some awesome music. You just have to do it standing next to her.”
“Oh. Well, that doesn’t sound too bad, I guess.”
“Why don’t you go over there and say hi? I bet she’ll be happy to see another kid here. She’ll be more fun to hang around with than all us boring adults.”
“You aren’t boring,” he said, grinning up at Elliot. “Can we go play video games again in your room?”
“No,” Lena said. “We talked about this, Tyler. We’re supposed to do our dance lessons right now. We can do something fun later.”
Tyler sighed. “Okay. Can Elliot do something fun with us?”
“I’d love to,” Elliot cut in, before Lena could say no again.
“We’ll see,” she said.
“That means no,” Tyler whispered to him.
Elliot ruffled his hair. “I’ll see what I can do to change her mind. Go on over and get your dance partner. I think lessons are about to start.”
Tyler let go of his mom’s hand. “Okay.”
He ran off without looking back, and Elliot stood up, his full attention on Lena now that Tyler was happily settled with his friend.
“Hello there,” he said, his voice deep and low, not much louder than a whisper.
“Hi.” She was still looking somewhere around the vicinity of his throat.
“I wasn’t sure you were going to come. You’ve been avoiding me.”
Her gaze finally met his. “No, I haven’t.”
He raised his eyebrows, amused.
She blushed. “Okay, maybe I have. I just… I wasn’t sure… I mean after what happened…”
Elliot stepped a little closer, reaching out so he could run his hands down her arms. “You mean when I kissed you?”
She shivered, her skin erupting in goose bumps, though he knew she couldn’t possibly be cold. The hotel was air-conditioned, but with so many open walls the steamy heat that lay just beyond the cool barriers of the indoors always trickled into the interior.
“Yes,” she murmured, moving her gaze back to his throat.
He gently raised her chin so he could meet her eyes again. “Do you regret kissing me?”
She looked at him a moment before answering. “No,” she said, that gorgeous blush staining her cheeks again.
Happiness streaked through Elliot so strongly he wanted to laugh with the sheer joy of it.
He leaned forward so he could whisper into her ear. “Do you have any idea how badly I want to taste that sweet mouth of yours again? Right now?” He kissed the soft skin beneath her ear, and she shivered again, leaning into him, turning her face so their cheeks brushed together.
She stepped back before their lips met and opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, Oz loomed up next to him. His stony gaze fixed on Elliot’s hands touching his sister. Elliot dropped his hand from her cheek but dragged the other down her arm to take her hand in his.
“Everything okay?” Oz asked her.
“Yep, fine.” Lena’s voice was faint but steady. Her hand gripped his tighter.
Elliot nodded. “Everything’s fine.” He pulled on her hand, leading her onto the dance floor. “Looks like it’s lesson time.”
Oz looked like he wanted to say something, but Cher came over and wrapped her arms around his waist. Oz looked down at her and the frown immediately smoothed away, replaced by such a tender, loving smile that Elliot’s heart almost hurt. Happiness for his sister filled him, and for the first time he wondered what it would be like to have someone staring up at him with such incredible love shining from her face. He’d avoided that scenario like the plague his whole life. Or maybe he’d thought he was avoiding it, but had never found someone who he wanted to look at him like that.
“They look happy, don’t they?” Lena said.
Elliot’s face softened. “Yes, they do.”
“I was worried at first. They’re so different. From two different worlds.”
Elliot looked down at her, concerned at her tone. What was she getting at? “Yeah, I suppose.”
She gazed up into his eyes. “They seem to be making it work.”
“Yes, they are.” A glimmer of hope and unease flickered through him again. Part of him wanted very much to see how things would play out between them. But the part that knew he had no business trying to be any sort of a father figure to a child made a small, hard knot twist in his gut.
Before either one could say anything else, the dance mistress clapped her hands and started barking instructions at them. She went from couple to couple, making sure everyone’s hands were placed correctly. Elliot pulled Lena into his arms, one hand cradling hers, the other low on her back, but not so low that she’d find it inappropriate.
Truthfully, the temptation to run his hand down her back, following her lines over her hips so he could caress the amazing swell of her backside, was so strong he almost had to clench his hand to keep from doing it. But he didn’t want to screw this up with her, and grabbing her ass like some kind of horny teenager would definitely not make the impression he was going for.
The instructor turned on the music, and the strains of a classical waltz filled the room. She started counting out the steps, and Elliot tightened his hold on Lena, leading her through the dance.
