Page 31 of Rags's Awakening
“Are you okay? It seems like you’re zoning out on me.” Nathan laughed.
“Casey, Nathan’s asking if you’re doing okay. Are you?” Zoe nudged her again, only harder.
She shifted to the side and crossed her legs. “I guess I’m drinking too fast.”
“That’s okay. I’m here to hold you up if you need it.” Again, he laughed, this time too loud, like he was trying hard to have a good time.
“I’ll remember that.” A half smile tugged on the corner of her lip.
Zoe turned to Nathan and patted his forearm. “Tell us all about how you went skydiving and what it felt like to hit the ground. I could never imagine doing that. I remember seeing a show…”
Casey casually rotated her chair to the side and looked over her shoulder. A gasp slipped through her lips when she saw him leaning against the bar, his stare locked on hers. Swallowing, she looked away, then back at him, at all of him, and her breath hitched. His jeans clung to long legs, and the dark gray T-shirt did little to hide a strong chest, a flat abdomen, and sinewy arms. A wallet chain glinted under the lights.Chase Kendricks. He looked like sin, dripping with all that raw sexuality. A jolt of attraction ripped through her.
Casey raised her dark eyes and met his bold gaze. Her mind went blank. It took a moment for her to register the angles of his face, the defined cut of his jaw, and the hard planes of his cheeks. Then, a pulse beat a panicked rhythm in her throat and she looked away.
“Let’s dance,” Nathan said, pushing away from the table.
“He’s askingyou,” Zoe said.
“What? Oh, okay. Yeah…sure, let’s dance.” She jumped up and took Nathan’s hand. Anything to get her mind off of Chase Kendricks and to regain her equilibrium.
On the dance floor the crowd line danced to a cover of “Boot Scootin’ Boogie.” Casey began moving to the beat when Nathan grabbed her hand, pulled her into his arms, and began dancing the two-step. Before she could protest, he was twirling her around and under his arm, then crushing her back to him. Hishand rested on her hip as they circled the dance floor under the low-slung colored lights.
Casey didn’t like the way his fingers dug into her leather skirt and began a slow descent toward her behind. She pulled back a little. Nathan leaned close to her ear and said, “You’re trying to lead.”
“I don’t like dancing this close.”
He laughed and pulled back then twirled her around several times. The room spun too fast around her, and she wished she wouldn’t have had the second martini. Glancing around the crowd, she spotted Zoe with her head on the shoulder of a preppy-looking man. Casey smiled when she saw her friend’s dreamy-eyed look.
“I like dancing with you,” Nathan said, as he crushed her again against his chest. His hand now slipped down to her behind, and he copped a feel as he whirled her around the floor.
“Move your hand.” Casey tried to squirm out of his grasp.
“Relax. Feel the music.” His lips brushed against her ear as he squeezed one of her buttocks.
She stiffened, tried to twist away, but he only tightened his grip. A hot wave of dizziness crashed over her as panic began to set in. Just as she drew a breath to knee him, he was suddenly gone.
She turned, startled, and there he was—Chase Kendricks.
“He won’t bother you again,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“I took care of it.” A faint smile crossed his lips.
“I didn’t ask you to, but… thanks.”
“You look like you need to sit down.”
She nodded, as beads of perspiration trickled down her back. He guided her back to the table, his hand steady on her arm. Sitting down, Casey took several deep breaths.
“Are you feeling better?” The husky timbre of his voice was a seductive whisper, strong enough to cut through the noise in the bar, yet soft enough to draw her in. He sat down next to her.
“Yes, much better,” she said, trying to sound composed. She played with the straw in her empty glass. Chase Kendricks unnerved her. Sitting this close to him made her feel things she didn’t want to. “Thanks for rescuing me.”
“No worries. I saw the way that asshole was acting.”
“Do you know him?”
