Their fingers barely brushed, but it lingered. The touch stayed with her, humming beneath her skin.
She closed her hand around the glass and held on.
Neither of them broke the silence right away.
The space between them was saying enough.
“Special occasion?” she asked, giving the wine a slow swirl.
“Something like that.” He looked at her over his glass, his expression giving nothing away. “Figured we’d end the night on something slower.”
She tasted the wine—deep, full-bodied, with a whisper of spice—and gave a small nod.
“It’s good,” she said, surprised at how soft her voice had gone.
He didn’t respond. He watched her as if listening for something else entirely. He studied her for a moment longer, then reached out.
“Dance with me.”
She blinked. It wasn’t a question.
“Are you serious?”
“Do I seem like I’m not?”
No smirk. Just a flicker of something unguarded beneath his usual polish.
She hesitated, the base of her glass warm in her hand.
Then she set it down.
He didn’t push. He didn’t plead. He waited.
“I won’t bite,” he added, quieter now. Almost teasing. Almost not.
As the song deepened around them, she didn’t wait for permission, just reached for his hand.
He took it, guiding her forward. The silence between them tightened, strung with unspoken words.
His other hand found her waist, fingers grazing the inside of her wrist with a touch that felt both new and familiar.
She became acutely aware of every detail—the way his palm settled at herhip, the pull of his cologne, the rhythm her pulse had taken on without her permission.
“Relax,” he said, low, near her ear. The words weren’t instruction. They were invitation.
She wanted to say something sarcastic. Wanted to knock the moment off its axis before it could get dangerous.
But the words didn’t come.
Instead, she fell into the rhythm of learning a new language through movement; as if each step taught her how to speak again—with her body, not her mouth.
He led with effortless control, nothing forced.
He wasn’t performing.
He was present.
“You’re full of surprises, Blackwell.”
