Dragged to the Wedding(39)
“But I can’t do this,” Howard protested.
“Bullshit,” Daniel growled, and the dance instructor inhaled sharply. Daniel seemed to ignore her and continued. “Have you ever seen one of those old movies with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers?” Howard nodded and shrugged, probably confused. “Well, think about it. You have the easy part. Your job is to make Holly look like an angel. Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, only backwards and in heels. Please start the music.” The instructor turned it on, and James watched, enthralled, as Daniel started with Howard. If he was honest, he might have been a little jealous.
“Look at me. Not your feet. For now, I’m Holly, and you watch her when you dance. She is your entire focus. Look into her eyes, feel the movement of her body, make her as beautiful to everyone else as she is to you.” Daniel pointed. “Your feet are uninteresting anyway. Watch my eyes and my expression.” Daniel slowly guided Howard through some simple steps. “There you go,” he said when Howard didn’t smash his feet. James was grateful for that, because he had plans for Daniel and his feet. “Now do it again. Don’t pay any attention to your feet—they’ll follow the rest of you. Just look at me.” Daniel touched Howard’s chin to move his gaze upward. “Dancing is like sex, standing up,” Daniel commented, and Howard nearly tripped. James stifled a snicker, and Holly snorted from next to him. “It’s about two people communicating with their bodies. When you’re dancing, just watch Holly and you’ll be fine.” They continued moving, and Daniel guided Howard through more and more steps. They were all simple, and yet they looked good together. “Just relax and have fun. This isn’t torture. You’re going to be taking the woman you love most in the world and giving her a taste of what’s to come when the two of you are alone.” Finally, Howard stopped moving like a robot and their dancing improved greatly.
James watched Daniel and occasionally glanced at Holly, who shifted her weight from foot to foot.
When James could stand it no more, he nodded to Holly. “Go get your man.” She retrieved her husband-to-be, and James tugged Daniel into his arms.
“But...”
“You cheated...and you were amazing.” James smiled, locked gazes with Daniel, and glided him around the floor. “You’re a stubborn pain in the ass, and you look gorgeous when you dance, absolutely breathtaking.” He smiled, and Daniel stopped trying to lead. James pressed Daniel even closer. “I see your attraction and I felt it last night,” he breathed. “You can say what you want, but your eyes and body give you away.”
Daniel stopped in his tracks, and James tugged him close once again and then spun him out and back, taking Daniel around the waist.
“I told you...” Daniel stiffened in his arms.
“I know what you said.” He gazed into stormy deep blue eyes and propelled Daniel around the floor, keeping him close, never faltering in his gaze, determined to communicate with his body where words seemed to fall short. “This is your punishment for cheating. You have to dance with me.”
Daniel chuckled. “Do you always make your punishments so pleasurable?” His deep blue eyes actually sparkled with excitement.
“I try.” James made sure Daniel could feel his breath. “Believe me. The more pleasure and the longer I can delay it, the more delicious it becomes.” He swung Daniel around more athletically, letting his soul take both of them on their dance-floor journey.
The song ended and another started, the beat slightly different. James moved accordingly, spinning Daniel and recalling him, keeping a tight hold when he was near, watching his expressive eyes, the occasional flare of his nostrils. Daniel’s gaze shifted, his expression becoming less stormy, but still intense. He loved that Daniel threw himself into everything he did, and at least while they were on the dance floor, that energy was all his. And damn, it was excitement personified. James twirled Daniel as they circled the floor, movements fluid, languid and easy, yet intense. Daniel felt right in his arms, like he was made for him. He’d had multiple dance partners, but he hadn’t danced like this in quite some time. The movements came right back, and as the music shifted, so did James, keeping Daniel on his toes, changing direction and tempo right along with the music, carrying Daniel along. There were missteps, but they quickly became fewer and fewer as the two of them became one along with the music. “I had no idea you could dance like this,” Daniel said, a little breathlessly.
“I’m a man of many hidden talents,” James tossed back. “It’s up to you to try to determine what they are...if you have the guts.” He dipped Daniel at the end of the song, grinning from ear to ear. “So how about it? Do you have the courage or not?”
“That was lovely,” Beverly said, and it took James a second to realize she was talking to Howard and Holly. Not that he minded. James held Daniel’s hand, escorting Daniel off to the side as Howard moved Holly around the floor. He hadn’t become proficient in a matter of seconds, but he and Holly were smiling, and it seemed his sister’s feet were safe for the time being.
When yet another song began, James held out his hand, a silent question. Daniel took it, and they took the floor once more. “Remember what you told Howard,” James teased and swung Daniel into a dramatic spin, catching him when he returned and gliding him across the floor.