Chapter 4 The Dance

• Ambient chatter of the previous hours turned into total pandemonium. The bass of the music was literally deafening, pounding directly from the floor and traveling right up into the soles of my feet. The infinity pool was crammed with people, the steam mixing with the salty ocean air and filling the humid night with smells of expensive tequila, orange and people's skin.
• Around us, everyone was making sure that the party lived up to its reputation.
• Couple after couples and groups of people, whom obviously, none of them have known an hour ago, were tightly packed together around railings and sun loungers. Behind the bar, a girl was clinging to the waist of a guy, her lips pressing into his, while his hands were gripping her bare thighs. Around the open loungers, people were already getting busy, their hands running under tops, tracing the curves of people's waists and swallowing the soft, panting moans drowned in the heavy rhythm of the bass.
• All inhibitions of the atmosphere have evaporated completely.
• "Tequila shots first!" Phoebe screamed over the music, grabbing my hand and dragging me straight to the central bar.
• We gulped two quick shots of silver tequila. The taste burned right through my lingering doubts, giving me a warm buzz in my stomach instead. The song changed into a slower and heavier one, dark rhythmic house music that seemed to perfectly match the pulsating of my heartbeat.
• "Dance with me!" Phoebe yelled, laughing, pulling me to the center of the party.
• I let myself go. Closing my eyes, I let the alcohol, the rhythm and the humid night fill with the salty sea breeze and strip away the last traces of my heartbreak. Moving my hands upwards, I started swaying my hips to the deep beats of speakers. And as I was dancing, the sheer sarong on my waist kept sliding lower, while the crimson strings of my bikini were hardly holding on.
• Then, the ambient warmth touching my back changed.
• Big, rough hands touched my waist.
• The contact was absolutely unexpected and hot, stopping my movement so suddenly that I could barely breathe. No need to turn around. That same smell of oud, cypress and sea air wrapped around me before his chest pressed into my back.
• Gabriel.
• "I thought I told you not to be a stranger," his raspy voice spoke into my ear, vibrating right through my entire body.
• Turning my head slightly, I saw the dark, smoldering look in his eyes. He had changed, too, wearing a dark linen shirt completely unbuttoned, revealing his sculpted chest, and casual board shorts hanging on his narrow hips.
• Instead of stepping back, I leant closer. The alcohol was making me bold, but the predatory look in his eyes made me reckless.
• "I was told to explore the ship," I said, turning my head and whispering over my shoulder, still swaying to the rhythm of the bass.
• "Then let me show you the best view," Gabriel murmured.
• His hands slowly, deliberately, slid from my waist to my hips. His fingers grabbed the bare skin on my hips right above the crimson strings of my bikini and drew me back against him so that there was absolutely no distance left between our bodies.
• His body temperature was burning. His palms slid up, tracing my ribcage, then the exposed parts of my breasts before resting firmly on my shoulders, directing my movement. Every touch was an unspoken claim, completely confident.
• The heavy beat of the song seemed to drop an octave, sending ripples through my very spine as Gabriel took full control.
• Not just holding me now, but holding me in place.
• I rolled my shoulders back, relaxing my head against his naked chest, the skin-to-skin contact sending a bolt of pure adrenaline straight down my spine. Finding the rhythm of the heavy song line, I started circling my hips, matching the heavy and dark cadence of his movements.
• A low hum vibrated from within his chest. He dropped his hands from my shoulders and moved them to my waist, his rough palms dragging along the curves of my waist and coming to rest on the edges of the thin crimson strings that rested on my hips. He pulled me back until there was no more space between us.
• "You move like you know exactly what you're doing to me, sweetheart." His voice came from the crook of my neck as he pressed his stubbled cheek against it.
• "Maybe I do," I replied, feeling the effect of the alcohol mixed with the adrenaline rush of being this close to Gabriel.
• Arching my back, I ground my hips against his, moving in a fluid figure eight that seemed to get him going. With the movement, he reacted instantly, gripping the soft flesh of my hips and pressing me against himself.
• He did not withdraw but shifted his stance slightly, opening his legs so that he could press me further into him, matching every movement of my hips with slow and deliberate thrusts.
• Heat built up in my core, the sensation becoming more and more difficult to handle. My sarong had slipped down my mid-thighs and was completely useless now, leaving my ass exposed to the cool night and the burning heat of Gabriel's body.
• His right hand let go of my hip and moved up, his big palm finding my waist and sliding up until it lay flat against my chest, the tips of his fingers dangerously close to the exposed swell of my breasts.
• Tilting my head to the side, I offered my neck to him.
• No hesitation on his part, as his lips landed on the vulnerable spot between my neck and my shoulder blades, sinking into me with just enough force for me to gasp and then healing my skin with the gentle warmth of his tongue.
• The beat shook inside of us as the world became a hazy blend of light and sweat, but all that mattered was the merciless heat of his hands, controlling my body.
• Surrounded by the dancing crowd, the decks have dissolved in the interwoven bodies. On my left side, two students were locked in passionate embrace, touching each other's hair against the railing of the deck. To my right, a couple was dancing so closely that their lips barely parted in between their breaths. But right in the center of the crowd, everything else faded into the background.
• Gabriel's mouth continued caressing the sensitive spot on the junction of my neck and shoulder, softly kissing my skin in the most sensual way without actually kissing, driving me crazy with the anticipation of touch until a sharp shudder went through my entire body.
• A heavy, aching pulse blossomed between my legs, wet and hot, filling me with desire. Leaning my head back against his shoulder, I released a soft gasp as his hands ran back down my stomach, resting firmly on my lower belly.
• I did not know when I let out a moan.
• He drew me closer to himself and ground his hips to mine, moving in sync with the rhythm of the music.
• The contact was unmistakable. Firm, thick and completely aroused, the heavy bulge of his erection was pressing right against the small of my back through the thin fabric of his shorts.
• Gabriel growled darkly in my ear, his fingers digging into my hips as he felt how I yielded to him.
• "You have no idea what you're doing to me in this red bikini, Lucy," he groaned, his voice hoarse from the desire. "None at all."