You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This (2 page)

“I’m not laughing at what you said,” she assured him. Warmth radiated through her from his words. She hadn’t imagined the connection between them. He wanted her as much as she wanted him.

“I know.” He gave her a tentative smile. “So what are we, Erin? Are we just colleagues out for a cup?”

His liquid brown eyes looked uncertainly into hers, and she spoke the answer without giving herself time to think. “No. No, we aren’t just that.”

“Good.” He paused. “So you heard me talking about that charity competition. I know you said you don’t compete anymore, and I understand why. But I hoped you’d consider partnering me.”

Her chest tightened. How can he even ask that? She didn’t know if she wanted to compete without Scott, and even if she did, she and Stefan would hardly have enough time to put together a routine. “You said it’s a week from Saturday,” she snapped. “Last minute crunch?”

“We already know how to dance with each other,” he pointed out. “And I’m kind of stuck. My usual partner for this thing can’t be there that weekend. Please, Erin. I’m one of the organizers, and the charity has a special meaning for me. I need to be part of it. I can really use your help.”

Sure, because I’ll be a huge help in a week and a half.
She didn’t know whether she’d even be able to partner with him in competition. Competing wasn’t the same as demonstrating steps to a class or even social dancing. They would have to develop and practice a routine, and the amount of time they’d have to put into their practice to be ready in less than two weeks boggled her mind.

On the other hand, the superstitious part of her wondered if maybe this meant it was time for her to move on from Scott. Not forget about him, not ever forget. Just let go of him a little more, as she’d done when she’d returned to the dance studio, and let herself enjoy competing again. If nothing else, having something like this to focus on might help her through the anniversary.

“Let me think about it,” she said.

“Okay.” He paused. “Did you think yet?”

His eyes twinkled, and she knew he was teasing. Yet, it pissed her off. “You can’t just spring this on me and expect an instant reply! I know there isn’t much time for us to be ready. Maybe you should have thought of that sooner.”

“Probably.” He took a deep breath. “Okay. I know you didn’t expect this. Take some time. Just please let me know by Thursday so I can change my plans if I need to. Arrange a solo or something.”

“I’ll let you know.” She smiled. “Thanks for asking me, anyway.”

“I don’t know anyone else who can keep up with me.” He fiddled with the lid on his cup. “We’d barely even have to practice. We already dance so well together.”

“Now you’re just trying to sweet talk me.”

He grinned. “Yep. Is it working?”

“I’ll let you know by Thursday,” she replied.

He finished his drink. Erin pretended to sip the rest of her tea, which she no longer wanted, until Stefan said, “As much as I’d love sitting here with you for the rest of the night, I think they’re almost ready to close. And I have to go home. My dog’s probably going nuts right about now.”

“Yeah.” She would head back to her apartment. Merit wouldn’t be home tonight, probably. He mentioned that he had another rehearsal as she was walking out the door.

So she would go home alone.

Again, Stefan hesitated. “Do you want to see where I live?”

“You sure you want to show me?” Her heart leapt, and she quickly cracked a joke to hide her pleasure at the invitation. “I might come back some day when you’re gone and rob you blind, you know.”

“The only thing I have worth taking is my dog, and I don’t think he’d go with you.” Stefan winked. “I’m not trying to put the moves on you, unless you want me to. I just—I’d like our conversation to continue.”

She wouldn’t mind a bit if he did “put the moves” on her, but just spending time talking with him appealed. She would arrive home later than usual, but that didn’t bother her. Even though she had to work the next day, the store where she worked selling shoes and clothing to ballet, tap, and jazz students probably wouldn’t be very busy. Unlike the studio where she taught, the studios attended by the store’s customers ran on set terms and schedules, and most of them had already begun their current terms, which meant most of the students had already purchased what they needed and hadn’t been in classes long enough for their shoes to wear out. If she went to work tired the next day, no one would be likely to notice. “Sure. I’ll follow you.”

His face lit up. “Good.”

They drove to the next town and down a cul-de-sac. Stefan parked at the curb in front of the smallest house on the street, a white ranch with a driveway only large enough for one car, tidy flower beds, and a brick walkway out front. Although it looked like nothing special, the building radiated a sense of home that caught Erin’s breath.

She parked behind Stefan. He got out of his car and trotted over to her window, which she rolled down. “Park in the driveway,” he instructed. “I have a street parking permit and you don’t. I wouldn’t want you to end up with a ticket.”

She didn’t expect to stay long enough to be ticketed for illegal parking, since most places only patrolled after midnight. Still, she appreciated his consideration. She nodded, and he stepped up onto the curb so she could pull into the driveway. Shutting off the engine, she studied the house with a strange feeling that she belonged there. That she had arrived home.

Ridiculous.
She didn’t know where things would go between them after tonight. They’d just had coffee together and decided to be friends outside class. To see where that friendship took them. This house might become a place where she spent time, assuming he invited her over again. It wouldn’t be her home, though. Not for a very long time, if ever. She refused to even think that far ahead in their relationship. She shook her head and opened her car door.

Stefan hurried over to extend a hand to help her out. Smiling, she took it. “I can make it out of a car on my own,” she said, using him as leverage to stand.

“Yes, and I can play gentleman.” He grinned. “Come on up to the door. Just wait a minute before you come in. I have a rather large collie who thinks he’s a lap dog, and I want to be sure he doesn’t knock you down in lieu of greetings.”

Erin laughed. “I don’t mind. I like dogs.”

“Trust me, he’s stronger than he looks and twice as stupid.” Stefan led her to the back door and unlocked it. “Besides, I’ll need to bring him outside before you and I settle in. He’s been shut up in there since about three this afternoon.”

Erin nodded and leaned against the wall beside the door while Stefan went inside. Raucous barking and laughter floated out of the house, followed after a moment by Stefan leading a blue merle collie on a leash that didn’t look nearly strong enough to hold the dog. The animal immediately spotted Erin and tried to jump up on her.

“Gorilla, down!” Stefan snapped.

“Gorilla?” Erin raised an eyebrow and held out her fist for the now-docile dog to sniff. “You’re too pretty to be a gorilla.”

“Big enough to be one, though.” Stefan affectionately scratched Gorilla’s ear. “Got him last year when I decided my house was too big for just me. He was full grown then, with the mind of a puppy. Hasn’t matured much.”

Gorilla barked his agreement and tugged Stefan toward the backyard of the house. Stefan allowed the animal to lead him and called over his shoulder, “We’ll be right back. Go inside if you want.”

Although entering someone else’s house without them seemed awkward, Erin went in. The door led to a kitchen so clean she wondered whether Stefan ever cooked. Stainless steel appliances and gleaming granite countertops gave the small room an illusion of size. An island topped with the same granite as the counters, with two wooden stools in front of it, sat as a barrier between the kitchen and living room.

Uncertainly, Erin walked into the next room, which was just as neat as the kitchen. A glass-topped coffee table held a tidy pile of magazines on one corner and a stack of coasters on the other. The couch and two chairs matched perfectly, patterned with tiny dark blue stripes on a light blue background. On one wall hung a large flat-screen TV.

Ribbons, certificates, and photos of Stefan in various dance competitions covered the wall opposite the TV. A glass bookcase, which matched the coffee table, held several trophies.

She walked over to study the awards more closely. Some of the pictures showed Stefan as a young boy, probably under ten, dancing with a little girl whose various costumes had far too many sequins in Erin’s opinion. Other photos were more recent, including one from the TV dance show with Stefan holding up the ticket to the semifinals. The trophies dated back as far as twenty years. Apparently he’d held onto everything he’d ever won.

“Kind of embarrassing.”

Erin jumped and whirled around. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“Sorry.” Stefan’s grin said he was anything but. “I thought you’d have heard the galumphing Gorilla entering the house.”

“You’ve won a lot,” Erin said, gesturing at the wall. “I didn’t know you’ve been competing so long.”

He blushed. “I’m not bad. I’ve won competitions, yeah. I’m not really good enough to hit the big time, though. Actually, I became kind of tired of competing, so other than the charity and a couple events I’ve been doing every year since I was a kid, I don’t compete much anymore.”

“So you instruct.”

“I like helping other people learn to dance.” His face took on a happy little glow as he spoke. “Dancing’s done a lot for me, and I want to pass it on. I do classes for kids on weekends as well as the weeknight stuff, and every once in a while someone just has that spark that lets you know they’re going to go somewhere. Or tells you that they feel better about themselves because they’ve mastered a sequence of steps, or that they feel less clumsy, or any one of a bunch of other things.”

“Dance cures all ills, huh?” she quipped.

“Sometimes,” he replied in complete seriousness. “Anyway, I don’t even know why I have all those displayed. Sometimes I just like to remind myself of what I’ve accomplished.” He smiled. “Plus my baby sister helped me decorate, and she insisted.”

“She’s probably proud of you,” Erin said. “How old’s your sister?”

“She was eighteen.” He touched one of the frames. “Leukemia. She helped me decorate this place before she got really sick, and made me promise to keep adding awards as I earn them. We lost her three years ago.”

“I—I’m so sorry,” Erin said softly.

He inclined his head. “Thanks. She’s why I started the charity event, and why taking part in it is so important to me.”

As soon as he said that, Erin had her answer to his request. Hearing his reason for the event left her no room for doubt. “I want to help.”

He gave her a half-smile. “I tell you a sob story and you all of a sudden make up your mind?”

“You didn’t tell a sob story,” she countered. “And I’m nervous about the idea of competing. Not sure I’ll be able to handle it without either messing up or crying. That’s why I said I wanted to think it over. I thought about it on the way here, and now after what you’ve told me, I’ve decided I want to try.”

“Good.” His smile broadened. “While you’re here, we can start planning the routine, maybe.”

“That sounds good.”

“So stop eyeing all my swag, and let’s talk.” He shot an embarrassed glance at the awards. “Yeah. Definitely shouldn’t have listened to Emma.”

“I think it’s amazing that you’ve won so much.” Erin allowed him to tug her over to the island, and hopped up onto one of the stools. “You certainly shouldn’t be ashamed of displaying them. The people at the studio would probably love to see them.”

“They know I’ve won competitions and things. That’s enough.” He went over to the fridge. “Not much booze here. Then again, you’ll be driving home. So would you like soda or milk?”

“Soda, please. The caffeine rush will make sure I reach home safely.”

He chuckled. “Funny lady.”

He took a bottle of lemon-lime soda out of the fridge and two glasses out of a nearby cupboard. While Stefan poured the drinks, Gorilla wandered over to sniff at Erin’s knee. She scratched him gently behind the ears. “Good dog. Tell your human winning things is okay.”

“I know it’s okay,” Stefan said. “I just don’t like bragging.” He brought the glasses over and sat on the other stool. Gorilla immediately put his front paw up on the island and grinned at his owner. “Down, you fool.” Stefan pushed him gently back to all fours. “Go lay down and let me spend some time talking without you being all furry and cute and stuff.” The dog hesitated. “Go lay down,” Stefan repeated more firmly.

Gorilla sniffed and trotted through the living room and down the hall. “He has a bed in my spare bedroom,” Stefan explained. “So…”

“So?” Alone with Stefan on his turf, Erin suddenly had nothing to say. The small talk about Stefan’s awards had fizzled out, and she didn’t want to talk about competitions anymore because he might ask her about the ones she’d been in. That conversation would have to wait until another time, a time when she’d grown comfortable enough with him not to mind talking about Scott.

She didn’t have any other topics in mind, though. Even though she’d wanted time with him outside class, now that she’d received her wish she didn’t know what to do with it.

   He smiled reassuringly. “I think we’re both in the same shape right now. I’m glad you’re here, Erin. I really am. I wanted to see you away from the studio. I’m just feeling kind of nervous right now, I guess. I don’t often have a beautiful woman in my house, especially without Gorilla trying to maul her.”

“So now that you do have one, are your intentions honorable?” she teased.

“Hell no.” He put his hand on her knee and she shivered at his touch. “Right now, I’d really, really like to kiss you.”

“I think that wouldn’t be a bad idea at all.” She licked her lips, anticipating the touch of his mouth against hers. Kissing would be much better than talking.

Balancing carefully on the stool, Stefan leaned toward her. She braced herself on the island top and leaned into his hand, which cupped her cheek as he brought his lips to hers. He tasted like the mint gum he always chewed during class.

Her mind spun and finally decided to give up thinking for a little while. The touch of Stefan’s hand and lips, the closeness of his body, gave her a feeling she’d never had before. Not only physical desire. True wanting, emotionally, physically, any way she could have him. All those nights at class had given her only the tiniest taste of this, dancing close together with their bodies just touching.

They weren’t in class now, and this dance would almost certainly lead to something much more physical.

He broke the kiss long enough to slide off the stool and pull her from hers into his arms. “Oh, Erin,” he murmured. “I knew I wanted you. I didn’t know it would be like this.”

“Like what?” she asked, trying to lighten the moment by asking a question she had no need for him to answer.

“Don’t toy with me.” He grinned. “You’re a good kisser, did I mention that?”

“Just now, yeah.”

He swatted her rear. “You’re teasing again.”

“And I don’t recall giving you permission to spank me.” She smacked his ass. “There. Fair’s fair.”

“This is what I’ve been missing all the times I thought about asking you out and didn’t dare to.” He took her hand and led her over to the TV and the cabinet beneath it, which he opened to reveal a stereo system. “Wait right here.”

“Where else would I go?” Curious to see what he had planned, although the pulse beating between her legs truly didn’t care, she leaned against the wall.

He crouched beside the stereo and pushed a few buttons. The beginning notes of one of the songs he most frequently played in class filled the room, and he stood again and took a few paces away from Erin. Extending his hand, he said, “Dance with me.”

She placed her hand in his, and they began the movements in which they’d trained. Following the beat of the music was automatic for Erin, just like following her partner. In the beginning, she’d always tried to anticipate her partners’ next moves, and had always wound up missing steps because of it. Over the eight years since she’d learned the dance, she had also learned to give up control entirely and allow whomever she danced with to lead her, whether through basic steps or fancy variations.

They’d danced like this so many times, but tonight was different. The contact between their bodies was electric, sending tingles through her. This wasn’t only a dance. The old saying, “Dancing is a vertical expression of a horizontal desire,” took on a new meaning for Erin. Their position didn’t matter. They moved as one.

The beat of the song was low and throbbing. For West Coast Swing, the music worked well because of how easily the count of the beat could be followed. However, this song had obviously been written with something in mind that involved much more contact between bodies. The bass thrummed through her and her pussy kept time, moistening with arousal so strong it nearly pushed her out of the dance.

Only nearly. She’d trained too hard to miss a step just because of horniness.

Stefan twirled her into an embrace, and she prepared herself for the next step in the sequence. Instead of releasing her, however, he nuzzled her neck. “Screw dancing,” he murmured hoarsely. He kissed her cheek. “I want you.”

“Dancing is a vertical expression of a horizontal desire,” she said, voicing her thoughts.

As Stefan covered her breasts with his hands, she decided she really didn’t give a shit about some stupid quote.

“It certainly is.” His warm breath tickled her ear. “And I desire you very much, Erin. Will you let me make love to you?”

Her mind gibbered a bit at the word “love,” until she convinced herself that it was just part of the euphemism. “I’ll let you do whatever you want, if you let me do the same,” she replied.

He spun her to face him and kissed her hard, crushing her lips against her teeth. His tongue slipped into her mouth and began its own dance with her tongue. He stroked her hair with one hand. With his other hand against her back, he pressed her tightly to him.

She wrapped her arms around him. Between her legs more moisture gathered, and every nerve ending in her focused on the points where he touched her. Arousal painted fire over her skin and through her.

His cock bulged against her belly. The thought of having him inside her sent Erin’s libido into overload. Breathless, aching for him, she pulled away. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Good. Follow me.”