My heart pounded the entire time I was driving. I couldn't even say why. Alex and I had normal conversations, mostly revolving around complaining about particularly unruly patrons at Coral Brews. But my entire body was just so aware of him. The way his shirt fit around his muscles perfectly, how his hands went from resting on his thighs to crossed in front of his chest and back again, when his tattoos rippled with every movement of his arm. It was all just too much.

But we made it to New Haven without me doing or saying anything particularly stupid. We were headed toward a place I'd never been to before, and when I pulled into the club's parking lot, it was almost completely full despite it only being a Monday night.

"We can find someplace else," I said doubtfully after I pulled into one of the few empty parking spaces. "I didn't think it would be so crowded."

Alex gave me a mild glance. "I'm fine with it if you are."

I nodded and got out. I really had to stop trying to give him outs to this whole evening.

We walked side by side up to the front. The evening air hung warm around us, but Alex was warmer. I could feel the heat radiating off of him even though we remained just far enough apart so our shoulders wouldn't brush.

Alex pulled the door open for me and I was hit but a wave of heat and sound. The interior was dark, bright lights flashing above us. The dance floor was crowded, but not as packed as I would have expected. A small crowd surrounded the bar, but people moved in and out so I figured it wouldn't be too difficult to get drinks.

I felt Alex come up behind me as I observed the scene, feeling his breath on my ear as he spoke. "You want something to drink?" Even though he was a breath away, he still had to practically shout so I could hear him over the music.

Damn. I only realized now that with him right behind me, my hand was trailing down my chest. I quickly dropped my arm to my side. Emilia was right about me.

Not bothering to shout over the noise, I just gave a nod of my head and grabbed him by his hand, dragging him through the crowd. I told myself we were only holding hands so we wouldn't get separated in the throng of people, but a jolt of electricity went up through my hand and into my arm as I felt Alex's strong grip.

We both ordered once we reached the bar, not bothering with small talk due to the noise, but I couldn't help but be very aware of the fact that Alex hadn't let go of my hand even when we were safe from separation from the crowd. Once we got our drinks, he tugged me away and I followed him to the back of the club, through a hallway into a smaller, back room with a few tables and a quieter atmosphere. When we approached the table, Alex and I finally dropped hands, and my fingers flexed involuntarily at the loss of contact.

"So, this is your and Emilia's idea of a night out, huh?" he asked, a small grin on his face as he took a sip of his drink.

I chucked. "Honestly, there's usually more alcohol and less people." I peered back down the hallway. "It's pretty packed out there." I turned doubtful once again. "I haven't had any of this yet," I said, holding up my drink. "If you want to find someplace calmer..."

"Ana," Alex said firmly. "Stop worrying, this is fine. I wouldn't want to waste any more time driving around looking for another place."

There was something in his voice that satisfied me that he was really okay with the packed club. I took a long swig of my drink. "Well okay then."

Neither of us was particularly a lightweight, so one drink wasn't going to get either of us drunk even though they were strong. Alex and I stood at a high table, conversation growing and laughter increasing in volume as we worked our way through our glasses. I had no plan on having any more than the one, I would be driving us home, after all. But as I felt the alcohol work its way through my system, I found myself leaning over more and more on the table, putting my cleavage on display and jutting my hips out. I also found myself caring less and less about the potential repercussions of flirting with Alex.

And I clearly wasn't the only one. I noticed more and more that Alex's eyes flickered down to my chest and across my body, and eventually he found a reason to reach across the table and pick up my hand, playing with my fingers and linking them together with his.

"Do you want another?" I asked him as he reached the bottom of his glass.

He glanced at my own empty cocktail. "Are you having another?"
I shook my head.

He mirrored my movement. "Nah, I'm good." He glanced behind him back toward the dance floor. "Do you want to dance?"

Oh, did I ever. I nodded. "Yeah, I'm just going to go to the bathroom real quick." I knew I would need to go eventually, but I also knew that once I was out there with Alex I very likely wouldn't be able to drag myself away.

Fortunately, I hit it at a lull and there was only a minimal line, so I was in and out in no time. I walked steadily in my heels despite the slight fog that wrapped its way around my brain but nearly crashed into the guy who appeared suddenly in my path.

"Hey, baby." The man was clearly very drunk, and clearly very appreciative of the look I had chosen for the night.

I rolled my eyes and tried to push past him, but he grabbed my arm, stopping me.

"Come on," he slurred, "don't you want to dance?"

Not with him. "Let me go," I said calmly, counting down from ten in my brain, giving myself a timer before I officially flipped out on him.

The guy tried to take a few steps forward but stumbled, giving me the chance to wrench my arm out of his grasp and stalk back to my table, rolling my eyes in disgust on the way. Alex watched me approach with narrowed eyes.

"You okay?" Apparently, he saw the whole thing.

"I can take care of myself," I reassured him. I appreciated that he hadn't interfered. That probably would have just caused a bigger scene.

"I know you can."

I examined him more closely. His eyes were dark and his whole body was tense. His lips pressed together in a thin line. I knew what that emotion was, and it lit a fire in my lower body. He was jealous.

I took a step forward, reached up, and then ran a finger lightly across his clenched jawline. The effect was instantaneous. His body relaxed and his lips parted. His eyes were still dark, but I knew it was for a different reason. The jealously was gone in an instant.

"Dance with me."

I don't know if he actually heard my whispered words over the music, but he knew exactly what I wanted regardless. I took his hand and this time I led him, taking him to the dance floor and winding our way through the crowd so we were right in the middle of everything.

In my mind, I put us in the middle of the throng of dancers to give us an excuse to stay close to each other. But apparently, Alex didn't need an excuse.

Once we found a small pocket of space on the dance floor, I felt him come up behind me and draw me close to him, my back pressing up against his firm front. I bit my lip, suppressing a moan from escaping my lips as I felt the same electricity from holding his hand ignite my entire body.

We moved together with the music. His arms wrapped around my body, his hands gripping my hips and pulling me tight to him. I placed my own hands over his, giving me leverage to grind into him.

It wasn't long before I felt him hard against me. The space between my legs throbbed and I could feel myself getting wet, a small jolt of exhilaration going through me at the fact that I knew how turned on he was, but he had no idea how my body was reacting to him. I liked having that secret. At least for now.

I couldn't hold in another small moan as I felt Alex dip his head and plant his lips on my shoulder, leaving a trail of fiery kisses along my bare skin and up my neck. That first moan I doubted he heard, but he definitely heard my noises when he reached a spot on my neck just under my ear. He stopped his journey along my skin and worked that spot, kissing and sucking, grazing the skin with his teeth.

I guided one of his hands up to my breast and grinded my hips harder back into him. I felt him sharply inhale against my skin.

But my body craved more. I needed his mouth on mine. I threw my head back so it was against his shoulder, and he seemed to read my mind. He lifted his lips from my neck and turned his head so we finally faced each other. Almost painfully slowly, he pressed them against my own.

It didn't stay slow for long. With the hand still on my hip, he spun me around without breaking the kiss so we now faced each other. His hand on my breast still massaged slowly, both my nipples hard and straining against the fabric of my bra, but everything else sped up. His other hand smoothly undid the tight elastic holding my hair in a ponytail, letting my dark locks fall around my shoulders, and then wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me against his hard body. Instead of digging into my butt, his erection now pressed into my stomach.

Alex deepened the kiss as I wrapped my arms around him, one hand digging into his shoulder and the other gripping his hair. His tongue ran across my lower lip and then against my tongue as I opened my mouth for him. When we finally pulled apart for air, I gently dragged my teeth across his bottom lip, causing him to let out a low growl and pull me back toward him.

Fuck, Alex growling. My already damp panties received another surge of wetness.

We both breathed heavily as we continued dancing, no longer kissing but feeling every inch of each other's bodies. My chest pressed up against him, cleavage coming out from the top of my dress, straining with every inhale. His hand was still there, massaging me with the music. His other hand had dropped from my waist down to my butt, squeezing and still holding me firm against him.

It wasn't until that point that I realized we weren't directly in front of each other. We stood slightly off center, one of his legs in between mine and one of my legs in between his. I was practically thigh riding him right there in the middle of the dance floor.

I would have been embarrassed, but a quick glance around told me that a lot of couples were in similar positions, and no one really was paying us any attention.

I sucked in a sharp breath as I felt Alex's mouth dip down to my chest. I wanted his mouth on my nipples. I wanted his mouth everywhere.

I don't know how long we stayed there, our bodies intertwined, our mouths exploring where ever we could given where we were, our skin grown slick with sweat. Part of me thought I was going to orgasm right then and there.

I dropped my hand down from Alex's shoulder and traveled down his torso. His tongue was inside my mouth at that moment, but I felt him still as I approached his waistband. "Ana," he inhaled sharply as my hand brushed his erection on the outside of the jeans. "Ana," he repeated, and he grabbed my hand and pulled back a fraction of an inch.

My body immediately screamed out at the loss of him. He leaned over so he could whisper in my ear and still keep the distance. "If you do much more," he whispered. "I'm going to come right here and now. And I can think of many other places I would rather come than in my pants in the middle of a club."

Fuck. I looked up at him as he stood up straight and stared at me. If I thought his eyes had been dark with lust before, now they were practically pitch black. His face was flushed and his jaw was set.

I could think of a lot of places I would rather him come than in his pants in the middle of the club, too.

I'm sure I looked as hungry and turned on as he did at that moment. The fog of alcohol had left my brain, and in its place was pure lust. I didn't just want him, I needed him. And I knew he needed me, too. The hard-on straining against his pants, giving me a small preview of what the night could potentially hold, proved that to me.

But while I could see the physical signs of his arousal, he had no idea that my panties were practically soaked. A small, primal part of my brain wanted to take them off right then and there just to prove it to him. But fortunately, I was smarter than that.

"I think we should go back to your place."

That was all I had to say. Alex took my hand in a vice-like grip and practically dragged me out of the club. Not that I was complaining. Every time he did something that demonstrated how much he wanted me, a jolt of pleasure shot through my body.

The parking lot was empty of people, and before I let him go around to the passenger side of my car, I stopped him. Alex gave me a positively sinful look, and I shook my head. "Your house," I said firmly, or as firmly as I could get with how turned on I was. I wasn't about to have sex in a random parking lot like some teenager. "But here's something for the road."

I took his hand and put it between my legs and up my dress, letting him feel how wet my panties were. His eyes widened, and I smirked as I dropped his hand and got behind the wheel of my car, letting out a breath as my already sensitive and throbbing pussy sat down on the car seat.

This was going to be the longest drive ever.