Madison stood beside her surveying the scene. “Yeah, I can’t believe you let that happen. The girl has turned into a major slut since Dean left her.”

Whirling around, Emma gasped in horror. “What? Why I am just hearing about this?”

“I have no idea; your mother must not gossip as much as mine.” Yeah, right, Emma thought. Her mother never missed anything . . . so why didn’t she know about Jill’s divorce? She would have at least warned Brant ahead of time.

“Damn, would you look at that,” Madison said. “I can’t believe she went there.”

Emma shut her eyes and opened them again before she could muster up the strength to look back over at the dance floor. No, it wasn’t a dream; her friend had her hand on Brant’s ass. She was just fixing to march over there and make a huge scene when Brant took Jill’s hand and gently but firmly removed it from his backside. Whatever he said to her must have been effective because her hand stayed where he placed it without roving again.

David had come back from the bar and turned his head to see what they were looking at. With a sigh, he said, “I don’t guess he’s gay.”

“Um, no,” Emma grumbled, “he is definitely not.” My God, couldn’t any of her friends keep their eyes and their hands off her man? Okay, well, maybe he wasn’t really her man, but he damn well was tonight—and it was time she staked her claim. As she set her drink down, the room started spinning for a moment. When she had cleared her head enough to proceed, she noticed that Jill was no longer alone with Brant on the dance floor. Madison, Meg and Tina had now joined them as the music changed from a slow song to a faster number. Emma watched in shock as Brant moved like he was Justin Freaking Timberlake. Why was he torturing her like this? She had wanted him to impress her friends as a good piece of arm candy, but she hadn’t actually wanted them to admire him enough to follow him like the Pied Piper.

If the looks he was receiving were any indication, the women loved him and the men hated him. Her Mr. December had taken the reunion by storm, and she didn’t think there was anyone in the room who wasn’t affected by him in some way. Had she created a monster?

Emma moved up behind him, sliding her arm around his waist as she moved her hips against his. That’s right, baby. I saw Dirty Dancing at least a dozen times. He stiffened against her for a moment until he recognized her. He turned, pulling her against him, chest to chest. He whispered in her ear as they danced together, “Interesting friends.”

“I didn’t see you complaining when Jill grabbed a handful of your ass.” Beside her, Madison raised a brow. Whoops, maybe that was a little louder than she had planned. Jill seemed to be oblivious, though.

Brant circled his tongue around the shell of her ear as he replied, “I only want your hand on my ass, baby. I think Jill knows that now.”

The desire she had been battling all evening came surging back, and she felt with certainty that if she didn’t have him soon, she would explode. She wasn’t sure whether a person could actually die of horniness, but it wasn’t a risk she was willing to take. Grabbing his hand, she pulled him toward the nearest exit. She heard her friends cheering her on and knew her intentions must be obvious. When they made it into the night air, she took a deep breath. Beside her, Brant put a hand against the small of her back and asked, “What’s up? Are you feeling sick?”

Shaking her head, Emma pulled his lips down to hers and started devouring his mouth like the starving, sex-crazed person she had become. Brant moaned against her, backing her into a secluded corner of the building before pulling her tightly against him. As with most of their encounters, slow and sweet wasn’t in the cards. It was frantic, hot and bordering on insanity. When Brant ran his hand under her dress and snapped the delicate thread of her thong, she attempted to clamp her legs around his waist. Tonight, though, he had other ideas. He turned her to face the wall behind them and braced her hands against it. The sound of his zipper lowering was magnified in the quiet surrounding them. She heard him curse under his breath as he fumbled with a condom. His fingers probed between her legs. When he was satisfied that she was more than ready, he pushed into her from behind. The angle provided a deep penetration that had her on the verge of orgasm with just one thrust. He held still for a moment, letting her adjust before retreating. She pushed her hips against his, soon meeting him thrust for thrust. His large hands cupped her breasts, squeezing the nipples to the point of pain as his hips slammed into hers over and over.

Emma heard the sound of car doors just as her body started to spasm. Brant put his hand against her mouth, and she bit into his finger to stifle the sounds of her scream as she climaxed. Behind her, she heard Brant’s muffled curse as he exploded inside her. He continued to slide his cock in and out of her, slowly bringing them both back from the edge. She collapsed against the wall of his chest, grateful for the support that it offered.

“Fuck, that was off the charts,” he murmured as he pressed a kiss against her neck. She nodded her agreement, still too out of breath to reply. He braced her body with one hand, while he pulled his trousers up and zipped them with the other hand. She felt him stroke the curve of her ass before he pulled her dress down. “I think you and I need to find a restroom before we go back in. Right now, it’s obvious what we’ve been up to.”

Emma agreed with him even though going inside was the last thing she wanted to do. She would have loved nothing better than to curl up in Brant’s arms and spend the rest of the night there. If she did, though, Madison was sure to tell her mother, who would tell Emma’s mother, and the gossip would go on and on. She also hated to leave without telling her friend good-bye since she so rarely got to see her anymore. She stifled a giggle as Brant reached down to pick up her ruined underwear and put them in his pocket. He gave her a wolfish grin as they both straightened their clothing to a decent level before walking back in the side door.

Luckily, the restrooms were close to the entrance and mostly deserted. Emma did what she could to restore order to her appearance and walked back out to find Brant waiting for her. He dropped a kiss onto her forehead before leading her inside. Emma felt almost sad as they rejoined the group of her friends. After believing that she detested Brant for so long, she was now facing the undeniable truth that there was more between them than simple contempt. Standing in front of him, pulled against his chest and anchored there with his arms, she wished more than ever that this was real.