Several days later, Jack walked through the main floor with the intention of finding his brother, when he heard music. Following it down the hallway, he paused in front of the ballroom doorway. Caroline sat at the pianoforte playing while Vivian danced what looked like an Allemande with a thin, elegant-looking man. Or rather attempted to dance with him.
The man kept scolding her as they moved through the dance. “Head up. Arms should be rigid. And for goodness’ sake, let me lead!”
“I am letting you lead.” Vivian retorted. “I cannot concentrate on my feet and look up at the same time. If I look up, then…”
“Ouch.” The man cried out as Vivian stepped on his foot.
“See what I mean? I am hopeless.” She stopped dead in her tracks. Her partner, still in forward motion, crashed into Vivian. This sent her slight frame flying several feet, ending with her landing on her derriere. “Bloody hell!” Her curse rang out in the empty ballroom.
“Miss Jamieson, I am so sorry.” The man looked appalled.
Jack strode over to her, reaching down to take hold of her hands and pull her to her feet. Vivian appeared surprised to see him, her cheeks turning a fetching pink.
“I don’t believe you are hopeless.” He turned to glare at the man who was supposed to be a dance instructor. “Perhaps you merely need the right partner.”
He nodded for Caroline to begin playing again. Vivian raised one arm gracefully above her head, and he took her hand. Placing his other hand at Vivian’s waist, in one fluid motion, he pulled her body right up against his. Her gaze flew up to meet his.
“Dancing this close in public would not be appropriate. This is for you to get a feel for how the steps should take you. Is this all right?” She nodded her assent. “Do not think about your feet, just follow my lead.”
Jack realized his mistake the minute he pulled her into his arms. His body responded immediately to having her so close. The top of her head came right to his chin. As he turned her under his arm, a curl teased his mouth, tempting him with its sweet scent.
“Focus on my eyes,” he commanded gruffly.
They stepped back and forward in time to the music. With a hand at her waist, he subtly guided her down an imaginary row. His gaze remained locked on her beautiful eyes. The green irises were rimmed in blue, giving them a luminescent glow. Her eyes bewitched him. Despite the difference in their height, she fit perfectly in his arms. With each turn, he could feel her relax. Slowly, she let him lead her down the room.
Each time Jack turned her in a tight circle under his arm her breasts brushed his chest and his groin tightened in response. His instincts screamed for him to lead her right out the French doors to the terrace. Where they could be away from their audience of two. There he could slowly pull all the pins from her hair, letting it cascade down around her delicate shoulders. His mind whirled with the desire to run his hands through the silken tresses and kiss her senseless.
Lord, he was in deep waters now.
****
Vivian couldn’t think about her feet or anything at all from the moment Jack pulled her close. With only a few inches between them, she could feel the heat of his body, and his strong muscular arm around her. His eyes commanded her attention. She looked up at his face, and for the first time ever, she forgot to think about the steps. She simply flowed with the music, flowed with Jack.
This frisson of heat, this rapid beating of her heart, this is what she remembered from the night when he had kissed her onboard his ship. She briefly closed her eyes and drank in the feeling of being in his arms again before he could step back behind his polite façade.
Just as she predicted, he soon adjusted their positions so he could hold her at a respectable distance. “You are dancing beautifully. You only needed to stop thinking so much,” he said.
He twirled her once more before he stopped and stepped back to give her a bow. She curtsied in return. As she looked back up at Jack, she found herself trapped by his intense gaze.
“Bravo, Vivian. I knew you could do it!” Caroline burst their reverie.
“Yes,bellissima, Miss Jamieson. You did it.” Her dance instructor clapped exuberantly.
“Thank you, Jack. That felt…wonderful. Usually, dancing is such a chore. I am always so worried about my feet I never am able to have fun.” She smiled at him.
“It was my pleasure.” He gave another small bow and turned to leave.
“Wait, will you be at Lady Downing’s ball?”
“Yes, I will. I have promised to escort Caroline.”
“Good. Will you promise to dance with me? I think if I could start off with you, it would give me the confidence to dance well the rest of the night.”
“All right, but you must promise in return to sit next to me at supper. I can’t be left alone to make small talk with some simpering miss or, worse yet, some scheming mama.” He put on an expression of mock horror.
She grinned. “Deal.”
****
