Page 5 of Risking it All

“Yeah, why do you sound so surprised?”

To be honest, with his reputation, I didn’t think he’d be interested in dancing.

Biting my lip, I answered carefully. “You don’t seem the sort for it, that’s all.”

The frown edged into a scowl. “Why, because I like to flirt?”

This was rapidly approaching an argument and I wasn’t even sure what we were fighting over. Forcing down my irritation with his weird behavior, I huffed.

“No, because I remember your old opinions on dancing and romance. What was it you said? Oh, that’s right, that it was stupid.”

Ice was warmer than my tone and I caught his wince. “I was a teenager, of course I wasn’t interested in all the mushy stuff. Most guys are the same way when they’re young.”

Maybe; I hadn’t known enough boys to be able to say.

Shaking my head, I went to walk away. His grip held firm on my arm, though not enough to be bruising as he cut in. “Why won’t you just ask me to dance if you want to so badly?”

Something lingered under his tone that I didn’t have a name for, but it almost sounded like jealousy. That didn’t make any sense though. William had never once shown interest in me, and I doubt that would change just because I wore a dress.

Shelving that, I faced him and answered truthfully. “Because you’re acting like a jerk. Why would I want to dance with you when you’re huffing and puffing?”

He stopped, looking at where his hand still held me before finally he let go and dragged a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. Today is weird, but I shouldn’t take it out on you.”

That was honestly more than I’d expected from him. The old William would have rolled his eyes and insisted I was imagining things. I appreciated the apology.

Relaxing a tad, I nodded. “You shouldn’t. Why do you even want to dance with me so badly?”

He grimaced, sweeping a glance around the room. “Maybe I just like dancing?”

I sincerely doubted that. There was an ulterior motive here, I just wasn’t seeing it. Still, was there any harm in a dance with him?

Instinct rose then, screaming in my ears.

Of course there is! He thinks of you as a sister, and a dance would feel like more, and you really don’t need the false hope right now.

The voice wasn’t wrong. I’d done well to keep myself in check to this point, but being that close to him…

A war between common sense and that stupid ache that never left waged. In the end it was the almost vulnerable look in his eyes that made my decision.

One dance, nothing more.

“Fine, would you like to dance?” I asked and he nodded, sliding his hand from my arm down to my hand as he led me out onto the floor.

Again I could feel all the eyes of the room on us, but this time I couldn’t focus on them. William was staring at me now with an intensity I’d never seen from him before. It was as if no one else in the room existed but us, and under different circumstances seeing that look on him would have made me happy.

But things were weird right now, a tension I didn’t understand lingering in the air. I needed to know what was going on here and there was only one way to find out.

The music was slow this time, his arms settling around me like weights. Both his hands were on my hips, warmth seeping out from them in waves as we stiffly moved with the music. Dancing with George was more fun.

Despite that, I couldn’t make myself pull away.

The subtle scent of aftershave wafted off William and I breathed it in, soaking in the heavy spice that somehow fit him. Awareness crawled over my skin until I buzzed from it, our movements losing their stiff edge as I sank just a little more against him.

I shouldn’t, logic screamed at the back of my mind that I needed to pull away now, but feeling him like this was what I’d wanted for so long… I would at least finish the dance, then I could put this whole thing behind me.

But when we slowed to a stop, neither of us made to back away. William stared down, his eyes half lidded with something heavy as he said.

“See? I told you I could dance.” His tone was rough, as if he needed something to drink, and I tried to tease.

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