“I am shocked by your filthy mind.”
She slapped a hand to her chest. “In my innocence I cannot imagine what you find offensive about turning two doorknobs at once, but I suspect you’ll prove a master of this move, too.”
Jay proved adept at turning doorknobs while doing a pelvic thrust so she motioned for him to stop. “I have one more for you. It’s very easy. You don’t need to move your feet. Just your hands.”
“Am I turning on or off light switches?” He lifted an inquisitive brow. “Jackhammering concrete? Painting a fence or waxing a car?”
“I’m opening your belt.”
He jerked back when she reached for his buckle. “I don’t think—”
Zara cut him off with a sigh. “I’m not intending to ravish you onstage, if that’s what you’re thinking. I’m planning to show you the belt step made famous by Salman Khan in the movie Dabangg.”
? 18 ?
“Of course. That’s exactly what I thought.” Jay let out a long, slow breath. “The belt step.”
This was a bad idea. He was already aroused from the hands-in-the-pants, pelvic thrusting, and the turning of doorknobs. Things were going to get out of control if she put her hands on his . . .
Chiefs. Buccaneers. Patriots. Steelers. Packers. Cowboys. Eagles . . . He focused on mentally listing every football team in the NFL so the part of him warmed up by all the sexually suggestive moves didn’t get the wrong idea.
“Hold one end of the belt in each hand and pull your hips with alternating hands.”
Taking a step back to put a safe distance between them, Jay yanked one side and then the other, forcing his hips to jerk in either direction with little thought to the beat of the music playing in the background, and a lot of thoughts about football.
Texans. Bills. Raiders. Bears . . . “Is that it?”
“You’re getting it.” Her furrowed brow belied her encouraging tone.
“I’m just not made to dance.” He released the belt with a defeated sigh. “I should focus on what I’m good at. I can organize one hell of a bachelor party, order the booze, keep people in line . . .”
“Let me.” She took the ends of his belt in her hands and gently tugged his hips back and forth, seemingly oblivious to the torture of her casual closeness and the scent of her floral perfume. “You’re too hard on yourself, Jay. You don’t need to do everything perfectly the first time. You don’t need do it perfectly at all. No one is going to judge you if you’re up there having fun.”
He could feel the music now, flowing as she moved his hips.
“See?” She looked up and smiled, warm brown eyes drawing him in. “When you stop overthinking and just let everything go, you can belt dance with the best of them.”
Jaguars. Giants. ColtsSaintsCardinalsPanthersRavensRams . . . No. Not Rams.
One minute they were dancing. The next, their mouths were crashing together and she was in his arms. He lifted her to his hips and her legs wrapped around his waist. Shudders racked his body. He spotted a giant boulder with a flat surface and carried her across the stage, his mouth fused to hers, tongues tangling, her hands raking through his hair as if she couldn’t get enough. Catapulted by a desire so fierce it clouded his senses, he lay her gently on the surface and pushed up her clothing to bare her beautiful breasts. He sucked and licked, stroked and squeezed until she reached for him, tearing at his jeans with frantic fingers.
Driven by an insatiable hunger, he placed one hand beside her to take his weight so he could free his shaft and ease the tension that had been coiling in his belly since he’d walked out her door.
Except the rock wasn’t a rock. Two people were heavier than one. With a high-pitched groan the rock gave way, and they fell to the ground in a sea of Styrofoam, canvas, and wire.
“What the hell is going on here?” An angry voice echoed through the theater.
Jay’s protective instinct overrode his reserve. Yanking up his clothes with one hand, he hovered over Zara, keeping her covered until she’d straightened her clothing. When she gave him a nod, he pulled her up with him and spun to face the intruder.
“Can I help you?” He kept his voice calm and even despite the wreckage of the stage prop behind them.
“What are you doing to the set? I’m going to call the police.” Tall and slim, with a face made of chiseled marble, the dude had the looks but not the muscle. If it came down to it, Jay could take him with one hand tied behind his back.