Chapter 5

The Nearness of You

The trio Kim hired for the party was remarkable... keyboard, drums and a guy that apparently could play anything he put his lips on. Jordan remembered Kim saying that he worked as a legal aid in her new husband's firm. Jordan wondered how long he'd research legalese with his talent.

Woody's arm never left her waist as he pulled her out on the floor. The band was just finishing the song and a polite smattering of applause followed. Jordan assumed Woody didn't notice. He still held her close moving to music that wasn't there.

"The music stopped..." Jordan whispered against Woody's shoulder.

"Really?" he murmured securing his palm along the curve of her lower back.

Jordan couldn't help be smile. "Are you trying to cop a feel detective?"

"It's all part of the act...besides I don't want to give your new friend the impression he can cut in."

Jordan looked over to the bar and noticed the man that had all but accosted her, drunkenly lift his drink in their direction. A few seconds later she couldn't tell if the vibrations that went through her body were from a shudder of revulsion or Woody's silent chuckles. She sharply slapped his arm, but the rest of her retort was lost on her tongue as the next song started.

The legal aid with the golden lips had traded his saxophone for his trumpet. For Jordan, the din in the background disappeared after the first few notes. The sensuous nature of the way he played the old standard didn't ask for specific dance steps. What it did was create the ambiance of seductive intimacy in the dancer's minds...a fact that didn't seem escape either of them.

Together, they swayed in time with the music. Lost in her own world, Jordan forgot about the chaos of the day and the fact that her feet were in new shoes. Her head found her own personal resting space on Woody's shoulder. His crisp cologne tickled her nose bringing a soft smile to her lips. After his crack about his aftershave all those years ago, Jordan would never admit, out loud, how much she loved the smell of him. It was more than the mixture of citrus and sandal wood, it was a scent that was uniquely him.

He was so marvelously warm, she wanted to sink into him, and she actually found herself pressing closer. Immediately, she started to pull back, but he stopped her by spreading his fingers over the back of her dress, running his thumb over the soft skin exposed along her spine, and urging her even closer.

"Relax Jordan. I won't bite." The words were barely a murmur, as if he didn't want them to intrude on the moment.

She relaxed against him letting her hand, which had been resting against the lapel of his jacket, trail up to curve around the base of his neck. She felt a nagging flicker of guilt enter into the shadows of her thoughts. She was shamelessly using him to cover for a lie...all in the name of friendship. She selfishly took advantage of him for comfort and for support...and she had to admit...for pleasure.

She couldn't deny the pleasure she found feeling the strength of his arms around her, the hardness of his chest rubbing against her breasts, as they swayed to the sumptuous wail of horn or the brush of his thighs against hers as he turned her around the floor. Occasionally, she even felt the bulge of his genitals, though she thought he was being careful about that...his manners never anything but perfect, as they always were. For once she wanted him to cop a feel. She found herself breathless; waiting for the next time her hip came in contact with his.

She could feel his heartbeat, slow and steady, beneath her palm and wondered if her own was racing. Their movements slowed as his hand trailed up her back inviting her closer still. She didn't think about protesting. His touch wasn't demanding at all, even when his hand reached the nape of her neck and tilted her head back. She saw the soft curve of his mouth, and then he was kissing her. Even that wasn't challenging. Her eyes drifted shut as her breath was taken away as his lips moved over hers brushing them, shaping them, all without his tongue. A little voice inside her head brazenly admitted she wished he would even though she knew he wouldn't. He promised, and if any Woody was a man of his word.

Jordan never heard the song ending and jumped in surprise as the drum player tap out a quick beat that promised the next song would be a little less dangerous.

Woody's mouth left hers with a hissing sigh. He let her go and looked around the room to see if anybody noticed how close he came to taking her right there on the dance floor.

To Jordan, he looked like he was reminding her it was all an act. Her eyes found Kim, who was happily being dragged out on to the floor by her one of her bosses, seemingly oblivious to her best friend's distress. Jordan suddenly found a great amount interest in the front of Woody's dress shirt. She didn't dare look into his eyes, thus letting him know how much his act was affecting her.

"I, ah, need to take a break...new shoes," she said.

Woody simply nodded and rested his hand politely on the small of her back to guide her through the thong of dancers. He snagged two glasses of champagne from the bar and pressed one in Jordan's hand.

Jordan climbed into one of the tall chairs that flanked the bar and took a sip of the cool wine. She was thankful for something to take her mind off the fact the absence of his body heat left her chilled, and her upper body reacting appropriately.

"I could rub them for you."

Jordan's mind scrambled to figure out the context in which Woody made his comment. Unconsciously, she folded her free arm over her chest.

"...Excuse me?" she choked.

Woody's keen eyes didn't miss Jordan's actions. His slow smile would have been complete with a canary feather sticking out of the corner of his mouth. "Your feet...unless you have something else that needs my attention."

For the second time that evening Jordan cuffed his arm. He gave a dramatic look of mock pain that only made her laugh.

"In your dreams, cowboy."

His answering smirk was so self-satisfied, so confident...So. Damn. Sexy, it hurt.

Woody hooked his foot on the rail along the back of Jordan's chair and loosened his tie only to fuss with the loops

"You can take it off," Jordan pointed out. "I promise not to tell," she added with a tiny curve of her lip.

"We're in a room full of lawyers Jordan," he said still fumbling with his newly loosened tie. "You can't show them any weakness. They're like sharks with the memory of an elephant."

Jordan brushed his hands away and leveled the bowtie herself. "If that's the case," she murmured reaching up to rub her lipstick off the corner of his mouth with the pad of her thumb. "Maybe Lancome's Rouge Absolu Bordeaux is not right shade for you."

"Nonsense," he grinned, rubbing his mouth himself. "I consider it a badge of honor," he finally murmured.

Jordan looked around the room and with its pockets of male egomaniacs. Kim once told her that, for the alpha males in her office, the only thing that was more important than checks in the win column was trading stories of their personal victories with the ladies.

"...I'd think in this crowd it would be more of a badge of conquest."

"If you were single, which you are not."

"It's only an act and only for the night."

"Whatever you say Jordan...but from where I stand you are hopelessly compromised."

She knew he was just joking, but her eyes narrowed anyway. "And what do you mean by that?"

They were interrupted when Kim approached waving her bridal bouquet in the air. With a low squeal, she gave an amused Jordan a big hug. "I can't thank you enough Jordan. This evening wouldn't have been right without you."

"You're welcome," Jordan replied clinging to Kim for another few seconds.

Kim stepped back and gave Woody a warm hug. "You, Handsome, take care of my girl...or I'll have to hunt you down and kick your ass."

Woody chuckled at the comment but still tugged at his ear, unconsciously, knowing there was an underlining thread of truth in Kim's statement. He would hate to meet her or her new husband on the wrong side of the courtroom.

With a sly smirk Kim tossed her bouquet in the air. Jordan had to catch it or chance the thick ribbon wrapped bundle hitting her square in the face. She gave Kim and uncomfortable smile.

Kim tilted her head. "It's your turn, girlfriend..." she arched her eyebrow in Woody's direction and said; "...You're right, he's perfect. Take this as a hint to make it a little more serious than casual."

She patted Woody's chest and his breast pocket. Like she had x-ray vision, her fingernail tapped against the room key card he had stored there. Kim whispered in his ear, "As for you...check out is at eleven. I hope you use your time wisely."

Kim smiled enjoying Jordan's obvious discomfort. "I'm planning on having you both over for dinner after we get back from our honeymoon. I want to get to know you better Woody...take care."

As brightly as she arrived, Kim disappeared into the crowd trying to catch people before they could disappear to lives of their own.

"A dinner party...great."

Woody shrugged, "Think about it Jordan. After this evening, Kim has a face to put with your excuses."

A slight frown marred her features as she emptied her wine glass. "I feel like I've stepped into a wildfire."

Woody set his untouched champagne back on the bar and wrapped one of the loose curls, dangling down the back of Jordan's neck, around his finger. "You know what they say about fires Jordan: What better way to put out a fire, than by letting it run wild."

The feel of his knuckle brushing her skin and the honey coated tone of his words sent a tingle down her back.

Woody missed his calling. Instead of a cop, he should have been an actor. Jordan was having a hard time finding the line between reality and pretend...and she didn't know if she wanted to.