Promise Me Always (11 page)

Once the awards were over, and after Tess stopped looking at me like I had grown another head, I took her over to the silent auction. I wanted to see what there was to bid on. It appeared that receiving the award impressed her because the look in her eyes when she watched me now was totally different than before.

She stopped to bid on a spa package and I left her side to check out the rest of the items. There was tons of stuff to bid on—jewelry, football tickets, dinners at fancy restaurants and even home remodels. But when I saw the trip for two to Steamboat Springs, I knew I had to have it. I could just picture taking Tess there. It was such a romantic place, especially in the summer. Even though I wasn’t sure I was actually going to be with Tess in the future, I still had to try. I placed a generous bid just to insure that I would win. It was going to cost me, but it was worth every penny.

When I looked back over to where I had left Tess, she was talking to Cam and Cara. I couldn’t believe how beautiful she looked tonight. She was driving me crazy in that fucking dress. The flower tattoo on her lower back was sexy as hell and I really wanted to see what the rest of it looked like. Just as I was imagining sliding that dress down her smooth skin, I heard the DJ start up the music and the dance floor was finally open. Tess was so excited all of a sudden—she started looking around for me everywhere. She finally spotted me and eagerly started walking my way. Apparently, she wanted to dance. She grabbed my hand and pulled me across the room, the smile on her face knocking the wind out of me.

Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” was blaring through the speakers and the dance floor was filling up fast. Tess pulled me up behind her, wrapped my hands around her waist, and started moving her hips to the music. Her entire back was bare and laid out right in front of me. I pictured myself kissing her smooth skin and running my tongue down her spine. It took everything I had to control myself.
Shit, it’s going to be a long night.

Tess turned around so she was facing me. She pressed herself against me, grinding herself into my leg and running her hands up and down my chest. I moved my hands to her hips, helping her move seductively to the music. I slowly started rubbing my hands up her back and then back down, making sure to stop before I slid them across her ass. I didn’t want to press my luck. Things had been going so well tonight and I didn’t need her thinking that all I wanted was sex.

We stayed in the same position, grinding up against each other, for two more songs. I needed a break before my balls turned blue or my dick pressed into her and I totally freaked her out. I looked over and Cam and Cara, who were dancing very inappropriately right next to us. I decided to see if Cam wanted to get a drink.

“I’m going to grab a drink. Do you need anything, baby girl?” I leaned down and asked her.

“No, I’m good, thanks,” she replied, her lips brushing across my skin with each word. I looked over at Cam and motioned with my head towards the bar. He said something to Cara and she immediately headed over to dance with Tess.

“I give you permission to dance with Cara and only Cara. I don’t need to get in a fight tonight. We’ll be right back.” I winked at her and she gave me a little smirk. With that, Cam and I headed to the bar.

Once we got our drinks, I spotted Tess and Cara on the dance floor. I decided to sit back for a bit before heading back out there. As I was looking around the room, I spotted a strange guy in the sea of people standing around the dance floor. He was watching Tess and Cara dance together and I thought he looked strangely familiar. Just as I was making my move to get a better look at him, a large group of people stepped right in front of my view. When I finally got around them so I could see again, the guy was gone. I scanned the room trying to find him, but he was nowhere to be found. Maybe I was seeing things. I could have sworn I had seen him before, but, then again, I was at a work function and everyone looked familiar.

I headed back to the bar to find Cam. He was talking to the bartender while he made his drinks. I looked back at where Tess was dancing and she and Cara were both swaying their hips with their hands in the air to “Cruise” by Georgia Florida Line. Cam turned around, drink in hand, just in time to see the girls roll their bodies together and put their arms around each other.

“Damn, man! How fucking hot is that?” Cam asked, elbowing me in the side.

“Hot enough that I’m sure if we don’t get back out there, some other guys will be all over them,” I stated, irritated at the thought. Just as the words left my lips, I saw two guys approaching the girls. A douchebag with blonde hair slid behind Tess and snaked his fucking arms around her waist. I noticed she smiled at first and then looked over her shoulder. She was actually pretty pissed when she noticed it wasn’t me. She immediately started looking around for me while she pushed herself out of the asshole’s arms. But he wasn’t letting her go. I saw red instantly. No one was allowed to touch her like that! She was mine.

My fists balled up at my sides and I quickly made my way over to the dance floor. When I was in ear shot, I could hear Tess telling him to leave her alone.

“Hey, asshole! I’m pretty sure she just asked you to leave.” I pulled Tess behind me. I glared at him, my jaw in a hard line. I was so fucking pissed—it was all I could do not to pound this jackass.

“Why don’t you mind your own fucking business? The way she was dancing, she was begging for someone like me to come show her a good time,” he shot back at me, raising his eyebrows in a challenge. I pulled my arm back, ready to punch the asshole in the face, when Tess grabbed my arm.

“Blake, no, he isn’t worth it! Seriously, just dance with me please,” she pleaded.

As soon as she touched me, I started to calm down. No woman has ever been able to stop me from a fight like that before. I turned around and stared at her beautiful brown eyes. She wrapped her arms around my waist. “I’m so sorry, Blake. He just came up behind me. I thought he was you until I opened my eyes,” she explained. I could tell she genuinely felt bad for the scene that just unfolded.

“I know, baby girl, I saw the whole thing. You didn’t break any promises.” I tapped her on the nose and smiled at her. “Are you alright, though? I swear, I will beat the shit out of him for touching you like that. Just say the word.” I really wanted to just punch the guy one time to teach him a lesson—I just needed her to give me the green light.

“That won’t be necessary. I’m having too much fun and don’t want to be escorted out because you beat the shit out of some guy that tried dancing with me,” she laughed.

I held her close as the song started to change. The tempo was still fast but I just held her close like we were slow dancing. “Love Somebody” by Maroon 5 started to play and I knew this was my moment to tell her exactly how I was feeling, without actually having to say the words. I had been hearing this song all week in my truck and the lyrics were exactly how I felt about her.

She had her head buried into my chest and her arms were up around my neck. As the second chorus started, I rested my head on hers and lightly sang the lyrics to her as we danced—praying she would get the message. My favorite line was coming up and I made sure to emphasize it while I sang. I needed her to understand that I would never recover from her if I fell. And I was falling so damn hard.

I continued singing the rest of the song as we danced slowly to the tempo. My heart was beating so fucking hard I thought it was going to pop out of my chest. I knew I didn’t deserve Tess and I knew she could do so much better than me, but I couldn’t help myself when I was around her. When the song ended, she looked up at me through those amazing lashes of hers and I tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. I slid my hand down the curve of her face, down her neck, and then down her arm until I was holding her hand. I could see the trail of goose bumps on her arm where I had touched her. I felt her suck in a deep breath and then she closed her eyes. As the next song started to play, I grabbed her close and started moving us along with the beat.

Holy shit!
My heart beat was racing, my stomach was full of butterflies, and my body was reacting to Blake in ways that I never knew it could. As soon as I heard his deep voice start to sing those lyrics to me, I was done for. The throbbing between my thighs returned in full force and all I wanted to do was kiss him—to make some sort of deeper physical connection. The goose bumps on my arms were a dead giveaway of just how much his touch affected me.

We held each other’s gaze while Blake started dancing us along to the next song. His eyes were focused, searching mine, telling me that he meant every word he just sang. He pulled my hands up around his neck and held me close. I leaned into him and finally released the breath that I swear I had been holding in since he started to sing.

So many thoughts were rushing through my head. He had just made himself pretty clear that he wanted to be more than friends. I knew I wanted Blake in return, but I was really scared that it was almost too soon for me. I hadn’t even told Jared that things were completely over between us. I wasn’t worried about hurting Jared, that jackass hurt me enough that it was time for some payback, but I just didn’t want to rush into a new relationship when I wasn’t ready. Plus, Blake wasn’t really known for his long term relationships. He hadn’t been in a committed relationship since high school. Did he even know what he was getting himself into? In that moment, part of me was really fearful that if I gave my heart to Blake, he would eventually get sick of me and leave. I already knew that if that happened, I may never recover. And a friendship after that would be impossible. Was it worth the gamble?

We danced for the rest of song in silence. Hopefully, he was just giving me time to process what he had just sang and he wasn’t being silent because he was regretting what he had just done. I stopped dancing, taking his face in my hands and looking him in the eyes so he knew what I was about to ask was important. His expression darkened and, right before I spoke, a hint of panic flooded his eyes.

“Promise me?” I asked. As soon as the words left my lips, his face softened and his eyes filled with hope.

He looked down at me with pure contentment in his smile. “Always, baby girl. Always.”

Without even knowing what I was doing, without even really considering it, I had made my choice.

I was going to try whatever this thing was with Blake. I knew the only way to protect my heart in this was to let him take the reins. I wasn’t going to push anything on him. I didn’t want him feeling smothered or trapped in this new relationship, if that’s what you could even call it. The only thing I was going to do was show him how much I wanted him. Now that my heart was in, it was time to let my body give in, as well.

The ball was almost over and I was getting anxious, twirling my hair constantly. It was making me crazy not knowing if we would be staying at the hotel or taking the limo home—it was pure torture. I knew what I wanted to do, but I was going to leave it up to Blake to make the final decision. We were standing around the stage, waiting for the silent auction winners to be announced. I was standing in front of Blake and he had is arms around my waist, holding me tight—like he was afraid someone might come try to pull me away. I loved how protective he was of me.