Page 34 of Love's a Glitch
An empty threat, but I needed him to show up and prove that there were good guys I could rely on.Maybe I should’ve just bitten the bullet and asked Milo, the guy I’msupposedto be dating.
The door burst open, and Luke strode in. Tall and confident, eyes gleaming as they flashed to me, a hint of collarbone and delectable line of his pecs visible with the top two buttons of his dress shirt undone.
“Sorry, I cut it so close,” he said as he approached me. “Parking was a nightmare.”
Unable to help myself, I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug. “I was starting to think I’d end up like Drew Barrymore inNever Been Kissedwhen she’s at the carnival and that dude yells out he’s got a lonely rider on the Ferris wheel. IguaranteeMichael Vartan wouldn’t step up to save me, so I was beginning to think I’d be dancing with the push broom in the corner.”
“I only understood about half of what you said, but full disclosure, that broom is probably a better dancer than I am. You might be asking it to sweep you off your feet by the end of the night.”
I snorted a laugh.
Luke’s hand remained firm on my side, his fingers fitting perfectly into the grooves of my ribcage, and the butterflies I was trying to pretend weren’t there woke up from their slumber to flap their wings. “When you decided to learn a dance, you chose the black diamond of dances. Why the tango?”
I peered up at him through my lashes, doing my best to keep my expression in check so it wouldn’t go getting all twitterpated on me. “Why do you climb ridiculously tall mountains?”
“Touché.” He dipped his head a few inches, and I felt his chest rise and fall. “Mmm.You smell amazing.”
I sniffed him back, glad I didn’t have to suppress my urge to inhale the scent of him. “You too.”
Before I could ask more about his day, the petite instructor—who’d been in the same room as Ewan freaking McGregor!—clapped to draw our attention and start the class, and I pivoted away from Luke to face her.
No more pity-filled looks came my way. In fact, a few of the women seemed to be struggling not to gape at my partner’s hotness, and I didn’t blame them. The female half of the elderly couple even gave me an overt thumbs up to show her approval of my partner—dancing partner,I reminded myself.
As Madame Pauline detailed the first few steps, I stretched out my fingers until they brushed Luke’s.
And when he folded my hand into his, for the first time since my breakup with Dillon, I was glad the jerk had ghosted me.
* * *
“Up, up, up,”the instructor commanded, nudging Luke’s arm into a sturdy square. My arm lifted along with his, and his eyes flew wide as the tiny five-foot-nothing woman gripped the sides of his waist and wiggled his hips from side to side. “Looser hips. Let the music flow through them.”
“Yeah, loosen and flow, Luke,” I snarked.
The tiny woman whipped her head toward me, and then I was the one with the bulging eyeballs. “You, act less smitten with him. Make him work for it.”
I choked on my own spit—how dare Madame Pauline sell me out like that? Too afraid not to hop to and comply, I strode past Luke, head held high. Instead of stretching my hand back for his like I’d done before, I waited for him to snatch hold of it and yank me toward him. He gripped my thigh, pulling my knee up to his hipbone and leaving my entire body draped across his.
My heart hammered so loudly I was sure everyone in the entire class could hear it, and when Luke’s fingers dug deeper into my thigh, dizziness set in. He dipped me a couple of inches, releasing his hold so I could fling up my leg behind me. Hip swivel, hip swivel as Madame Pauline yelled out, “And five-six-seven-eight. Loosen the hips, three-four-five. Pull away like you mean it—seven-eight.”
Using those strong arms of his, he twirled me back in, flush against him. He pressed his hand to my lower back like I might attempt to get away, and I should try for the sake of not getting a lecture from Madame Pauline.
My leg flipped up between his, and despite my assurance I wouldn’t kick him in the balls, he still gasped. But he didn’t let go either.
Luke pivoted me, snatched my other hand, and spin, spin, spin. Step ball change, step ball change. I leaned as far as I could the opposite way, showing our instructor I could resist Luke.
He pulled me right back against him, proving I could not.
The music faded, our chests lifted and fell against one another’s as our rapid breaths filled the space between us. Time slowed to a stop, and I lost a handful of seconds, adrift in his blue gaze, with no intention of finding my way to shore.
“Much better,” Madame Pauline said, and the rest of the class members applauded our efforts, reminding me we were in the middle of the room, putting on a show.
Another couple was called forward for their one-on-one with our instructor. The urge to remain clinging to Luke was strong, but I didn’t want to make things weird, so I forced myself to drop my arms.
Like with the dance, he only allowed me to get a few steps away before yanking me back to his body. He draped an arm around my shoulders, keeping me tucked next to him as we found an open spot.
He reclined his back against the wall, shifting his arm around my shoulders and upper chest, his forearm right above the swells of my breasts.
Respectable range, yet it seemed more intimate thanbuddy ol’ pal.
