Alex followed Naomi as they slipped past the outer ring of tables, the warm amber lighting of the bar gave way to slow, rhythmic pulses of deep indigo and drifting smoke.
The music had settled into a heavy, dragging tempo. It wasn't a track meant for quick turns or showy footwork. It was a low, vibrating pulse designed to press bodies together and leave them with nowhere else to look.
The crowd had already begun to thicken toward the floor. A few heads turned as the crimson dress passed, then turned again when they saw the man behind her.
Naomi stopped at the edge of the lights.
She turned to him with that look still on her face, eager and hesitant at once, as if she had dragged him here on pride and only now remembered what his hands had already done to her. Her chin was up. Her eyes were not as sure as her mouth had been.
Alex smiled.
"What are you waiting for, darling?"
