Zane’s voice was thoughtful, so Ellie asked, “Do you think you couldn’t have done just as well?” Women were obviously falling all over Zane, albeit not for the right reasons. But somehow she had a suspicion that he didn’t feel like he measured up to his brothers.
“I’m a nerd scientist, Ellie. I’m just…different. You know I don’t do small talk well, and all of my siblings can charm the hell out of anybody at any kind of party or event. Chloe might not like going to them, but she can play the perfect hostess when she has to.”
Leaning back, Ellie looked at the accepting look on Zane’s face, and it made her heart swell. “You don’t have to be anybody else,” she said fiercely. “You’re not that nerdy kid anymore, not that there was ever anything wrong with that. You’ve grown up and matured into the hottest guy I’ve ever seen. So what if you don’t want to talk about the weather unless it’s out of the ordinary? Small talk is boring, and you have more important things to discuss.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You think I’m hot?”
Zane was teasing, but Ellie was fairly certain there was still a small doubt in his mind about his personal value when compared to his brothers.
Ellie tightened her arms around his neck, the effects of the champagne she’d guzzled making her feel a little bit less inhibited. “I find intelligent men incredibly sexy. You have gorgeous eyes, a hot body, and a mind I admire. You’re tenacious, and you’re the only person who was still searching for me when everybody else thought I was dead. You’re my hero. I would say that puts you pretty high on the fuckable scale for reasons that have nothing to do with your money.”
He pressed his mouth against her ear. “I’m not your hero. I’m just a man.”
Ellie shivered as his warm breath wafted across her ear, his husky voice making her core clench so hard she missed a step. Zane guided her to a quick recovery before she answered, “An amazing man.”
“I don’t want you to want me just because I saved your life,” he rasped.
Surprised, she replied adamantly. “I don’t. I never did. I’ve always cared about you, way before you saved my life.”
The song ended just as she finished her sentence, and Zane dipped her backward, supporting her upper body with his arm as she stretched. Instantly, he pulled her back up again and she slammed up against his rock-hard body.
“You’re not wearing a bra,” he said irritably.
“How do you know that?” she asked, her words muffled against his chest.
In fact, she wasn’t wearing much in the way of undergarments at all. The dress had long, off-the-shoulder sleeves, something she hadn’t thought about when she’d purchased her ensemble. By the time she discovered she didn’t have the appropriate undergarments for the dress, she’d just went without. The material was heavy enough not to show anything, and she wasn’t exactly heavily endowed.
“Your nipples are hard. I could tell when the fabric stretched,” Zane grumbled.
Everyone was applauding the orchestra and Ellie joined in as she replied, “Then maybe you shouldn’t have held me so close and put your sexy mouth against my ear.” She turned to leave the dance floor.
Zane caught her arm before she went very far. “Did dancing turn you on?”
Ellie swiped one more glass of champagne from a waiter who was patrolling the edge of the dance floor and took a large sip before she looked up at him. “Not dancing. Dancing with you turned me on.”
Wordlessly, he took her hand and moved through the bulk of the people until they reached an unused table. He helped her take a seat before he insisted, “Stay here. I’m going to the bar. I think I need a drink.”
“They have champagne everywhere,” Ellie reminded him.
“I need something stronger than that.” He put a hand in one of the pockets of his tuxedo pants, his eyes trailing down the front of her dress. “No dancing with anybody else but me. Do I want to know exactly what you’re wearing beneath that dress?”
Ellie downed the rest of her champagne and smiled at him sweetly as she crooked her finger to make him come closer. Giving her a suspicious look, he bent down so she could whisper in his ear. “I’ve never worn a dress like this, but I didn’t want panty lines, so I bought the cutest little black thong with a tiny pink bow, and matching thigh-high stockings. That’s it. I feel almost…naked.”
Ellie’s heart started to pound against her chest wall as Zane turned his head and their gazes clashed and held, his face so close to hers that she wanted to reach out and grasp his hair, make him kiss her until she couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe.
His eyes were dangerous, a gray so dark and turbulent they reminded her of an incoming thunderstorm. “Jesus Christ, Ellie! Are you trying to be a cock-tease, or are you just being honest?” he whispered hoarsely.
She leaned in closer. “Maybe a little bit of both,” she confessed. “I don’t flirt. Not usually.” She had a feeling the champagne was letting her say exactly what she wanted. When it came to alcohol, she was a lightweight since she rarely even had a small glass of wine.
He put a hand behind her neck, and the intimate, possessive touch made her shiver.
“Don’t do it with anyone else but me,” Zane demanded, and then placed a rough kiss on her lips before he straightened. “I’ll be right back.” It sounded more like a warning than a comment.
She watched as Zane strode across the room to the bar, sighing at the tantalizingly sexy male gait of a predator that he used to move from one place to another. Her eyes stayed fixed on his wide shoulders until he finally disappeared into the sea of other dark tuxedos near the bar.