***
The autism charity ball was being held at the Atlantis Hotel, The Palm and the room was already half full by the time we got there. I noticed many raised eyebrows as we entered the room together. I saw Samira talking with a few people and as soon as she saw us she made a beeline over to us.
“Good evening Mr. Hunter.” She had her professional face on.
“Good evening Samira, you look very lovely.”
She blushed. “Thank you, sir.”
She grabbed my hands. “Sarah, you look so beautiful.”
“I told her the same thing.” He raised his eyebrows and had a twinkle in his eye. “I need to go speak with someone. Stay here. I’ll be back.” And with that he disappeared into the crowd.
Samira had a look on her face like the cat who ate the canary.
“What?” I laughed.
She leaned in to whisper to me. “I think Mr. Hunter fancies you.” She was trying hard to hold back her smile.
“Oh, Samira. He’s just being kind.” Was he? We’d kind of moved to a different level now. He was so gentle with me. Until you make him angry. I had to remind myself of his jealous streak. Tonight was going perfectly so far and I didn’t want to do anything to ruin it. Samira wanted to introduce me to her husband so I went with her over to the group she was talking with and she introduced me to everyone. I figured I would only be there for a few minutes and then I would return to the spot where Joshua asked me to wait. We were all making small talk when I felt a gentle hand on my waist. I smiled to myself as I thought it was Joshua coming to collect me.
“May I have this dance?” The voice was definitely not Joshua. I turned to see Conrad smiling at me.
“Hello Conrad.” I cautiously looked around to try to find Joshua but he was nowhere to be seen.
“My dear, you simply take my breath away. You look beautiful.”
“Thank you, you’re very kind.”
“I’m still waiting for an answer to my question.”
“Would Natalia mind?”
“Natalia has Joshua cornered. She won’t mind at all.”
She had Joshua cornered, huh? I was surprised at how jealous and possessive I felt. Joshua Hunter was not a man that did anything he did not want to do. If he was “cornered” by Natalia, he wanted to be there. That lit a fire in me so I decided to dance with Conrad.
Conrad was flirting with me throughout our entire dance. He even told me he wanted to come to the States to visit me. I laughed him off and played down his advances. Unfortunately there was only one man I had eyes for and apparently, tonight, he had eyes for someone else. I started to feel a bit sad when I heard a stern voice interrupt us.
“May I have this dance?”
My body tensed when I heard his voice and I hoped that Conrad did not feel that. I turned to see Joshua standing there, waiting to cut in. I gave him a cool stare as I held firmly to Conrad’s shoulder.
“I am rather enjoying my dance. So, I am going to have to decline your request.”
Joshua was visibly shocked by my response but composed himself quickly. He set his jaw and to say that his eyes were brimming with fire was an understatement. I had never seen that look on his face. He was beyond angry.
“OK, then. I will wait for the next dance.”
Joshua stood on the perimeter of the dance floor watching us, his eyes burning a hole right through me. He must not have cared that nearly everyone in the room was watching his fixation on us. Conrad was a complete gentleman and ignored Joshua’s intense stare. As soon as the song ended Conrad kissed my hand.
“Thank you for indulging me.”
We walked off of the dance floor and Conrad went to go socialize. Joshua grabbed my elbow and held a tight grip.
“Shall we dance?”
I didn’t have time to respond before Joshua whisked me out onto the dance floor. He held me tightly in his grip as we twirled slowly around the floor.
“Joshua, you’re holding me too tight!” I tried to wrench out of his grip but he pulled me closer.
“I thought we had an understanding.” He spat out the venom-filled words as he held me tight. I could feel his hardness pressed against me as we moved around the floor.
I looked up at his gorgeous face and saw his furrowed brow as passion and anger flickered in his eyes. I wanted to placate him so that we would not become a spectacle. He was so caught up in his fury that he disregarded the fact that we were now the center of attention.
In a soft voice, I tried to help him calm down. “I’m sorry if I upset you, sir.”
He seemed to be shocked back into reality as he looked down at me. I felt his grip on my back relax. He realized we were being watched and he completely changed his demeanor. He took a small step back so that we were not pressed against each other, yet he still held me tight as if not wanting to let me go.
He cleared his throat before he spoke. “I apologize, Sarah. I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable.”
I was shocked at his apology. Really? He was apologizing to me? “Apology accepted.” I hesitated but then decided to ask the question that had been consuming me. We were in the middle of the room so I figured he wouldn’t flip out in front of everyone. He did, after all, have an image to maintain. “Why do you get so upset when I am talking with Conrad?”
I felt his body stiffen. He continued to twirl me around the floor. “This is not the place to discuss that.” He voice was firm so I refrained from asking anything further.
We continued to dance in silence and, as I let the beautiful music wash over me, I allowed myself to enjoy the close contact with Joshua. He gently pulled me closer to him as he rested his cheek against my hair. I closed my eyes and it felt as if we were the only two people in the room. I was so caught up in us that I was oblivious to the fact that the music had stopped. It wasn’t until I heard a soft chuckle from Joshua that I snapped out of my haze.
“The music has stopped Sarah.”
I looked up at him, mortified. “Oh my goodness!” Then I quickly glanced around the room to see everyone looking at us. I wanted to shrivel up and die! I quickly stepped away from him and smoothed my dress. We walked off the dance floor and went to get a drink.