He continued towards Ginny with purposeful strides. When their eyes met she smiled. It was the first time all night that it looked like her guard was down, like she was just herself. He loved the fact that it was because of him.
When he reached her he said. “That was beautiful. Your voice is beautiful.”
Her left shoulder raised in a slight shrug. “It was just happy birthday, but thanks.”
“Hey you guys!” Krista called out as she passed by, pulling Chase behind her. “Come dance. Come on!”
Dax loved to dance, but he was torn. The Motown music that was playing was slow and holding Ginny in his arms as she rocked against him was not going to help him keep things professional. He was having a difficult time doing that as it was.
When they’d left the studio he’d placed his hand on her lower back for a brief moment and had to drop it immediately when a surge of awareness shot up his arm. She was a temptation unlike anything he’d ever known.
He’d never denied how he’d felt about anyone before, or tried to limit his interactions with someone. If he was attracted to a woman he let them know, he was honest and up front about that and what he wanted. If the other person felt the same way they acted on their mutual desire and if not, he moved on. It was clean. Simple. Easy.
What he felt for Ginny was messy. Complicated. Frustrating. He felt things he shouldn’t feel and wanted things he shouldn’t want. And he had to keep it all to himself.
When he didn’t respond to Krista’s invitation, Ginny looked up at him and smiled weakly. “It’s okay, we don’t have to.” He could hear the disappointment in her voice. “I understand if you can’t dance.”
He should have left it at that. He should have asked her if she wanted a piece of cake instead, or if she was ready to go. But did he do either of those things? No, he didn’t.
Apparently he was a glutton for punishment because he announced, “I can dance.”
Her eyebrows lifted up in surprise, or disbelief, he couldn’t be sure. “Really?”
“My sister still calls me twinkle toes.”
Yep. He had to be a masochist. That was the only explanation for him making that embarrassing admission. He’d never told another soul about his childhood nickname. Not any of his friends, not any females he’d dated, and he sure as hell hadn’t given any of the guys in the Corps that ammunition.
But this was Ginny. Any walls he had she didn’t just scale with ease, she walked through them like they didn’t exist. And he had no idea how to stop her. That in and of itself should scare the crap out of him. Instead it made him want her even more.
“Twinkle toes?” She had the decency to lower her voice as she repeated it, even if she did laugh in his face at the same time.
“Yes, ma’am.” He loved hearing her laugh. It was the sweetest sound in the world. The only thing that came close was hearing her sing. Holding out his elbow he dipped his head. “Shall we?”
Her blue eyes shimmered with the reflection of the lights strung around the room and her smile grew larger as she stared up at him. The way she looked at him made him feel like he could conquer the world. Like he held the keys to the universe.
His chest ached with the perfection of her beauty. The power of her gaze was a force that could easily bring him to his knees. Nothing was better than having this girl look at him like the sun rose and set in his eyes.
“I can’t pass up a chance to see twinkle toes in action.”
Her slender fingers wrapped around his bicep and he covered her hand as he walked her onto the dance floor while The Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There” played. She stepped into him and he wrapped his arms around her waist. Her head rested on his shoulder as he swayed her to the music. His heart was beating rapidly as her body melted against his.
Over the years he’d watched as his friends had fallen in love and gotten married. He’d always thought that kind of relationship was great for them, but not for him. It just wasn’t something he’d ever wanted because he had thought it represented a boring life without variety. He loved women too much to settle down. Now no one existed for him except the woman in his arms. Never in his life had he felt so in sync with another person.
His hand ran up and down her back as he swayed her back and forth and moved her around the dance floor. She snuggled against him and tightened her hold as he leaned down so that the hair on the top of her head tickled his nose. He inhaled, loving the fresh, clean scent of her shampoo.
He loved that he knew what brand of shampoo she used. What kind of toothpaste and body lotion she used. Those were things he’d never even given a second thought to before but now seemed so private and intimate.
As much as he wanted to give himself over to all the things he was feeling, he knew that he couldn’t. As much as he wanted to tell her what he was feeling, he knew that he couldn’t. As much as he wanted to act on what he was feeling, he knew that he couldn’t. His feelings didn’t matter. All that mattered was keeping her safe while she was here. That was his job. To protect her. The fact that he also wanted to love her was something he needed to get over.
Just as his emotions reached critical mass, the song ended and “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)” by the Four Tops started to play. The lyrics mirrored what he was feeling, but he ignored that fact as he spun her, dipped her and danced her around the floor. He was a good dancer but it was obvious she was a trained dancer. Not only did she easily follow his lead, she took the reins several times and showed him a thing or two.
Song after song came on and pure joy radiated from her face as they tore up the dance floor. He may not be able to tell her how he felt, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t have this. It wasn’t everything he wanted, but it was a night he’d never forget. The night he danced with Ginny in a tent filled with twinkle lights and love.