His warmth left me for a brief moment and our song, the song we were supposed to be dancing to, filled the tiny dance studio.
“Time of my Life.”
There was no way Maddox and I could compete with the original dance and actors from the movie Dirty Dancing; they were legends, but it was my favorite movie and song and it was perfect for this dance.
Blindfolded, I waited for Maddox to return to me.
I could feel him somewhere around the room, watching me. The heat of his gaze had my stomach clenching.
The longer he took, the more nervous I became. Tick, tick, tick.
His body brushed against my back, and I sucked in a breath. I squeezed my eyes shut behind my blindfold and reminded myself to breathe. His hand drifted down, his fingers whispering over my body. My ribs, my stomach, my hips. Maddox touched me like I was a made of glass, fragile to his exploration.
Maddox pulled me into him, and he started to move. I followed his steps through our mixed tango and contemporary dance.
He gripped my hips and twirled me left and right before I fell back into his arms. My heart raced faster, and his breathing was ragged. I imagined his hard face and eyes that were so blue I drown in them. Beautiful.
Mine.
Oh, I wished.
I embraced the music and swayed with the flow, matching Maddox’s rhythm and letting him lead me through blindly. I was at his mercy.
After spinning me around and with my heart in my throat, Maddox pulled me back into his body. With one hand on my waist, he grabbed my thigh and slowly brought my leg up to his hip. I hooked my ankle around his thigh, right under his ass. I was breathing hard now, and I wished I could see his face.
His breath brushed my nose. “Is this right? That’s the correct move?” Maddox asked, his voice deep and gruff.
I nodded, mutely. Then, he slowly dipped me low. I released myself into his arms and let him move me. With me bent backward, his body molded over mine. He pressed his face against the crook of my neck. It was just part of the dance, I told myself.
Maddox inhaled.
I exhaled.
He brought me back up, and my leg fell from around his hip. He spun me around to the right and then one quick twirl to the left before Maddox brought me closer to him again. Our movements were synchronized.
I lifted my arms up, and his hands slid down my waist, just below my ribs. I swayed and moved my hips to the music. His fingers tightened on my waist before he lifted me up. My feet left the floor, and I wrapped my legs around his hips before he bent me backward again.
When we were finally standing straight up, I hugged him close, burying my face in his neck. I felt slightly dizzy, my heart beating too fast. But so was his.
Body against body. Chest to chest. I felt his heart beating to the same maddening rhythm as mine. Maddox twirled both of us around once.
My stomach tightened as I slid down his body, and my feet touched the ground once again. His fingers grazed my flushed cheek, and I wondered if he could feel how hot I was. Maddox removed the blindfold as he was told to do during our dance practices.
I blinked, and our eyes locked together.
His face shone with sweat, and my hair was sticking to my sweaty forehead and cheeks. His eyes narrowed on me, hungry and searching. Blazing with something – I didn’t understand, I couldn’t explain.
The expression on his face… I wished I knew what it was.
Maddox took a step back… then another and another, walking backward from me. The song was coming to an end; this was our final move.
Once there was enough distance between us, he crooked his finger at me, beckoning for me to come to him.
I did.
I walked, and then I took off running, one final lift, the same climatic lift as the one in the movie.
Once I was close enough to Maddox, I jumped. His hands gripped my hips, and he lifted me up and over his head. Strong and firm, he kept me steady.
Oh God.
Every muscle in my body tightened. I released a shaky breath as I slowly slid down the length of his body, feeling every hard inch of him. My palms pressed over his chest, sliding down his ribs and abs.
“I got you,” he rumbled.
Do you?
Once I was touching the ground again, I curled my arms behind his neck, and our foreheads pressed together. His lips brushed against the tip of my nose, and my eyes fluttered close.
I can’t breathe.
I swayed, dizzied by the mere proximity of Maddox. My heart hammered in my chest. He exhaled, and his minty breath was on my lips.