“That’s for later.”
I grinned. “Whatever.”
“All right. Let’s do this.”
The moment AJ brought his foot forward, I forgot about stepping back, and instead, I brought the heel of my pump down on his toes. “Fuck!” he cried, breaking our embrace.
“Oh God, I’m sorry.”
With a grimace, he shook his head. “It’s okay.”
“You sure?”
“Mia, I’d be a real * if a little high heel to toe action took me out, don’t you think?”
I laughed. “I guess.”
“Let’s go again.” His arms came around me, and I clasped my palm in his. “Remember, step back.”
“Got it.”
The next time I managed to execute the entire step perfectly. “Nice job, cari?o,” he complimented.
“Thanks.”
“Think we can try it with music now?” When I bobbed my head, AJ took the remote out of his pocket and reset the song. “Ready. Five, six, seven, eight…Slow, quick, quick slow.” I managed to keep up with him, even when he turned us side to side as we waltzed around the room.
“See, you’ve got it in the bag.”
“Miraculously,” I replied, still concentrating on steps that seemed so effortless to AJ.
“I am a good teacher.” When I glanced up at him, he wagged his eyebrows.
“Do you ever stop?”
“Nope.” He leaned in closer to me. “And trust me, once I get started, you’ll be begging me not to.”
A burning fire rippled through my lower-half, but I quickly played it off. “We’ll see about that.”
“Okay, now, I want to teach you the rumba.”
I grimaced. “You mean the whole waltzing shit wasn’t painful enough?”
AJ shook his head with a smile. “The waltz is the stepping stone—a traditional and formal dance, but the rumba is more a dance of passion and desire.” At my hesitation, AJ added, “I’m just going to show you the American style for tonight. I don’t want to make it too complicated for you.”
“I think we passed complicated the minute you suggested it,” I groaned.
Grasping my chin in his fingers, he replied, “Quit whining and let me teach you.”
“Fine.”
“Like before, I’m going to show you the steps first.” AJ stepped closer to the mirror. “So you step out on one foot, and then when you bring the other together, you’re going to kinda pump around on your feet and then slide the other foot away again to repeat the process.”
As he moved, my eyes honed in on the flourishing movements of his hips. With his blazer off, I could see his back muscles flexing through his shirt. Moist heat burned between my legs from watching the way the rhythm moved so effortlessly through every inch of him. My mind couldn’t help wandering from the dance steps to what those hips and shoulders might feel like moving above me, my hands running up and down his corded back muscles as he thrust in and out of me…
AJ’s voice brought me out of my fantasy. “Got it?”
“Huh?”
He laughed. “Come on, Mia. This is the easiest part I could show you without blowing your mind with the complications.”
“It wouldn’t take much.”
“Let’s try it together.” Once again, he took the remote out of his pocket. He flipped through several songs. When a sultry, Latin beat came from the speakers, he shoved the remote back inside his pocket. He then slid his arm around my back while the other went to clasp my hand. He waited for the music to pick up at the right place. “Slow. Quick, quick, slow,” he instructed, his breath fanning across my cheek.
While the rhythm rippled easily through AJ’s body, I wasn’t quite getting the upper body flow or the swishing of the hips.
“Keep your frame locked, don’t slouch.”
I rolled my eyes. “Jesus, I feel like I stepped into Dirty Dancing.”