“Every so often, when we get that itch.”
Jonathan’s questions were casual, but his tone held an edge.
“We try not to let it affect the quartet,” she said, her hands still on his chest. “It hasn’t, has it? The Gold Quartet will always come first for both of us.”
“I have no doubts about your loyalty to the quartet, and no problem with you and Ethan doing your thing.”
“Is that the truth?” She stared into his amber-brown eyes, stricken, as always, by their intensity. “Because whenever you talk about me and Ethan, you get this irritation in your voice.”
“Irritation? No. That’s jealousy.”
He moved closer, meeting her eyes and trapping her hand under his, flat against his chest. He was joking with her, right? He certainly wasn’t flirting—he wasn’t the flirting type—but her stomach felt fluttery at his expression. His gaze was thoughtful, assessing, maybe a little amused. The corners of his lips twitched in a small smile, the effect seductive rather than mocking. She’d been the object of his mockery so many times when he was in a fiery mood.
This was something else.
He was turning her on and he knew it. She hadn’t offered to act like his girlfriend so she could get all hot and confused about the leader of her quartet. Flustered, she reached for a change of subject.
“Is your crazy fan watching?” she asked.
“I hope so.” He moved his face closer. “I’m going to kiss you.”
“Wow. Okay.”
“Let’s make it convincing,” he said, just before his lips met hers. His fingers cradled her jaw, then brushed down her neck. She suppressed an aroused shiver as he palmed her nape, drawing her against him. His kiss wasn’t voracious, because this wasn’t the place for it, but it was a damned sexy kiss, firm and skillful. It was so easy to melt into him. When he stopped kissing her, she was still melted, and he had to slide a hand around her waist so she didn’t collapse.
“Jessa was definitely watching that,” he said, touching his nose to hers. “She’s swilling champagne a little faster now and forcing a smile.”
He kissed her again, before she’d gathered her wits from the last one. Wow, he was really going for it, and she was one hundred percent in, because his manner was so seductive, so passionate and confident.
She clung to his shoulders and allowed the kiss to deepen, their tongues playing together with the same skill as their violins. Good Lord, she was French kissing Jonathan, and this pretend hot-and-heavy relationship was starting to affect her pussy in a real hot-and-heavy way.
When he ended the kiss this time, she was a few seconds from disaster, from believing his desire for her was real.
“I think she’s convinced,” he murmured against her lips.
“What? Oh. Yeah, I think I’m convinced.” Ruby gazed up at him, aware that his hand still lingered on her hip. “You’re a great kisser.”
“Better than Ethan?”
“It’s not a competition,” she chided him. “Just take the compliment.”
The pianist pitched from an old standard into one of Ruby’s favorite nineties love ballads. When her eyes lit up, Jonathan laughed. “Let’s go dance.”
Ruby was so glad he’d asked. Not only because she needed some time to cool off and regain her equilibrium, but because she’d been wanting to dance all night, because she had the dress and the hair, and she was still a little buzzed. She looked over at Steve and Ethan, and the two fell over each other to give the most exaggerated thumbs-up. Their goofy teasing ended in a pantomimed rhumba.
“Ignore them,” said Jonathan. “They’re just angry they didn’t ask you to dance first.”
“So many partners to choose from,” she said in her best Scarlett O’Hara voice. “So many handsome, virile men in my quartet.”
“So much testosterone to deal with on a daily basis.” Jonathan grinned as he took her hand. His other hand hadn’t left her waist on their jaunt to the dance floor, and now he gathered her close as they swayed to the music.
“Why does this feel like a middle school slow dance?” she said out loud, but that was only because it didn’t feel like a middle school slow dance at all. It felt very natural and sexy, because Jonathan was so good at acting like he liked her.
Yes, it’s acting, she reminded herself. To convince Jessa she doesn’t have a chance. The last thing you need to do is start getting horny for Jonathan.
How much of a hussy could she be? She already got great “benefits” from Ethan when they were feeling it, usually after an intense rehearsal or performance. Ethan was comfortable, a friend. Jonathan was more like her boss.
That makes it even more interesting, her pussy whispered.
“You okay?” Jonathan asked.
She nodded, trying to look innocent. “I love this song.”
“I think the Vitamin String Quartet does a rendition of this in some of their concerts.”