Page 108 of Snitches and Serpents

Stunned, I blink up at him as he spins me around so that I’m facing him.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“Dancing.” He places one hand on my waist. “It’s the most natural way to continuously move around the room.”

“Do you even know how to dance?”

He draws his eyebrows down and gives me a pointed look. “I can fight off three people at the same time and have a working knowledge of several different types of martial arts. How hard could dancing possibly be?”

Then he moves us into the dance.

And, to Tristan’s complete surprise, it turns out that dancing and fighting are two entirely separate skills.

I suppress another smile as he yet again struggles to keep up with the steps and move in tune with the music.

“I saw that,” he grumbles.

“Saw what?” I reply innocently as we move across the dance floor.

“That little grin.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Uh-huh.” He shoots me a look that says that he doesn’t believe that for a second. Then a sigh filled with grudging amusement escapes his lips. Sweeping his gaze over the dancing couples around us, he adjusts his grip on me and adds, “Just start doing those gestures I showed you.”

I nod.

While we continue dancing as if we’re a normal couple, I discreetly make certain gestures with the hand that I have resting on Tristan’s shoulder.

Nothing happens.

I’m not sure why I expected the whole room to burst into a frenzy as soon as I made those gestures, but seeing as this is my first time as a drug dealer, I don’t really have a frame of reference for any of this.

We keep dancing.

And I continue making those discreet hand movements.

My heart beats nervously behind my ribs.

Tristan gives my waist a comforting squeeze, as if he could read the nervousness on my face. I give his shoulder a quick squeeze in reply, and then make an effort to relax my facial features.

This is no different from any other situation that I’ve had to fake my way through. As long as I keep a perfect mask on my face, no one will ever know that I’m here doing something illegal.

My heart leaps as a man in a burgundy suit suddenly makes a hand gesture back while he dances past with an attractive blonde woman.

“A guy answered,” I hiss to Tristan as a mix of alarm and excitement flashes through me.

“Memorize his face,” Tristan replies, sounding completely calm. “And give him a nod back so he knows that you saw it.”

I quickly memorize what he looks like. Then, with my eyes locked on his, I nod. He dips his chin in a shallow nod as well.

We continue dancing.

Several other people respond as well. My heart leaps every time.

God, I can’t believe that I’m actually a drug dealer now.

My gaze slides up to Tristan.

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