It was one thing for him to be polite to her, but him knowin’ how to dance was somethin’ she couldn’t have even dreamed about.
“I can probably make due,” she said with a bit of a grin. Sure, dancin’ alone in her living room wasn’t bound to be the same thing, but she wasn’t going to concede defeat on that, not at all.
The music was upbeat and cheerful, and in no time Damien led her out into a dance.
He was big, bulky and broad, but none of that stopped the man from moving in time with the music, leading her in a dance as if he knew it almost as well as he knew fightin’. And each time she thought she had the measure of him, he upped the ante. He lifted her hand up over her head and spun her about before grasping her about the waist again.
“Makin’ due,” he reiterated with a grin, seeming to be enjoying himself immensely as they came together tightly for one section.
She could feel other people’s eyes burnin’ on them, watching as they danced together. She was havin’ way too much fun to be bothered by that, though, and instead she found herself nearly double over, gigglin’ as he dipped her low and then pulled her back to his chest.
He felt so warm against her, his power radiating out of him.
All those sculpted muscles put to use making him nimble on his feet, and able to move her with such effortless grace. Where other men made a show of attemptin’ to lift their ladies a half foot or so, Damien hoisted her up over his head as if he was totin’ his own feather-stuffed pillow!
“Like dancin’ with a winged angel,” he declared with a cheery grin.
She’d have brushed it off as silly flattery, but not from Damien. He’d never been the type, and instead it made her heart sing. The music came to a stop, and the band announced they’d be back in ten minutes.
“Think we can grab a drink?” she asked, her hand on her heaving chest as she still tried to catch her breath, her laughter makin’ it near impossible.
“We’d best,” he said, putting a hand on her lower back and guiding her slowly towards the refreshment stand, “I don’t want you wearin’ out on me before I get a few more hours of dancin’ in.”
* * *
By the time they stumbled into the farmhouse it was late, and Britney was definitely stumblin’. Not just figuratively.
She laughed, her head a lil’ light from the spiked punch at the party, and Damien followed behind. He was cheerful and laughing too, but as always, he was a rock, keepin’ her steady with his arm about her as they entered into their old home.
“That was… the finest night I ever did have,” Damien declared brightly.
Her hair was tousled from the dancin’ and the bike, her dress a bit wrinkled, but she’d never felt better in her life. It was like all her cares and worries had just disappeared, and it was just the two of them, enjoyin’ one another.
There weren’t much better in life than that, and she clung to him a little tighter. Not just for the stability, but for the warmth and comfort of his strong body.
“I can’t believe you know how to dance.”
He chuckled deeply and ran a hand back over her hair, brushing it back and restoring some order to it as he looked down upon her.
“A man’s gotta cut loose and have some fun now and then, even in the big city,” he said with a bright grin, his hand resting upon the back of her head as his other palm came to stop upon her hip. That look of cheerful joy slowly shifting to something else. “You looked radiant out there. The finest lady in the whole dance, by far.”
“Damien,” she murmured, her face flushing a bit.
He always had a way of makin’ her feel a little shy, like she wanted to please him. He always had, even before, when he didn’t care much for her.
But now, it was easy to make him see her as somethin’ else, and she wasn’t used to gettin’ what she wanted, not with him.
His hand on her hip was firm, and she was more aware of it than ever, the way his fingers pressed into her flesh.
“You’re so different than I remember.”
“Could say the same for you, doll,” he remarked with that uneven smile of his, brushing a hand through her hair so tenderly. All that muscle and strength but he touched and held her with a delicate care not becomin’ of a man of his size. That is, until his grasp tightened at her hip, his arm goin’ around her waist and pullin’ her in tighter, showin’ how quick those thick arms could conjure up so much power.
“I thought I was bein’ a fool… havin’ the thoughts I did,” he said, his voice husky and deep. “But then once we was out on that dance floor… two of us movin’ together. Our bodies findin’ their tempo in unison… damn Britney,” he said with a big intake of breath, lookin’ like he had to restrain himself so hard. “You an’ me just felt so damn right.”
Her heart was poundin’ so hard against her ribs she wasn’t sure she’d heard him right. Said the words that she’d been too afraid to even think, let alone say. He felt for her, really did.
And even though she knew it wasn’t right, the alcohol and the high of bein’ with him was makin’ her less able to control herself.