Free Only In My Dreams by Dana Marie Bell Page B

arms as soon as they were seated, refusing to allow her to move. The flush that stole over her cheeks was worth the amused, knowing looks his Pridemates sent their way. Now to set the record straight. “Chloe and I were talking about her mate.”
    He felt her muscles jump under his hands. “Her mate?”
    He nodded, his lips set against her neck. “Mm-hmm. She knows who he is but he doesn’t seem interested.” The music started back up. Unless he wanted to scream in her ear, he’d have to wait to give her any more information.
    Having Sarah in his arms made everything worth it. He nuzzled her hair, ignoring the screeching of the half-drunk man on stage. He allowed the quiet peace of having his mate’s scent and warmth beside him to lull him, feeling serene for the first time in months.

    I’m going to throw up. Sarah rubbed at her stomach and swallowed hard. She stared out into the audience as the first strains of her song started up, the knowledge that Gabe was there making everything ten times worse. Why, oh why, did I decide to do this? And how did I wind up singing before both Belle and Rick? They signed up before me! She took a deep breath, almost ready to bolt.
    A pair of midnight blue eyes stared up at her from the edge of the stage. Gabe smiled, laughter lighting up his face. She could feel the rueful amusement coming off him and knew he expected her to suck almost as bad as the last person who had been up on the stage. The woman had missed every single note of her song, but she’d had so much fun that Sarah had clapped almost as loud as the girl’s boyfriend.
    Sarah glared at Gabe, determined to prove him wrong. Her stomach settled down and the music began.
    She saw her cue, the joy of the song pushing everything else from her mind. Sarah belted out the lyrics, staring into Gabe’s incredibly handsome face, seeing the astonishment and, yes, pride growing there.
    What made it even better was the envy she could see on Chloe’s face as the woman stopped next to him.
    Hah! Take that, man-stealing bitch! Now that she’d started, Sarah was having a blast. The lyrics matched her mood perfectly. Sheer possessiveness put an extra swing into her hips as she sang. “’Cause I’ve made my mind up, you’re going to be mine.” She made sure she was leaning over for that part, challenging Gabe before turning away from him to sing to the rest of the audience. When the instrumental part started she danced before picking up with the lyrics once more. “When you’ve made your mind up forever to be mine, I’ll pick up your hand and slowly blow your little mind.” She turned, shimmying her ass right in Gabe’s face, ignoring the hands he held up. Nine fingers. Oh, shit. My ass is going to be sore. She threw her head back and laughed, finishing the song with a flourish before accepting his hand off the stage.
    The soft tap to her ass made her jump, a reminder of what lay ahead. “Little mind?”
    The affectionate teasing threading through his voice reassured her enough to have her tease him back.
    “All things considered, I’d dare to call it tiny.”
    “Ouch.” He patted her rear. “Fine, score one for you.”
    “Yes!” She marked a point on an imaginary scoreboard with her finger. Gabe’s love tap on her ass was Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    a little sharper, but he rubbed the sting away almost immediately. Sarah was left blinking, fighting her sudden arousal when they reached the table.
    Emma was clapping. “Way to go, Sarah!”
    “Not bad, Sare-bear!” Sheri gave her two thumbs-up. Adrian merely smiled and nodded, his attention almost immediately returning to Sheri.
    Simon and Becky both looked like they’d taken a drink of water and gotten a mouthful of good wine instead, but both high-fived her. Max, for some obscure reason, looked and felt smug, like he’d known all along that she could do it.
    Gabe helped her into her seat and settled her between