Yep, definitely changing the subject.
Dane watched her, slender and sexy in her dance clothes, and knew—without question—that the class numbers were about to go up. Teenage boys weren’t subtle; the word would’ve spread about the hot dance teacher in approximately seven seconds. Hell, evenhisattention span short-circuited around her, and he was a grown man.
She dug into her bag and pulled out another loose top, cream this time, and tugged it over her head, smoothing it down her torso and covering her toned stomach.
Then she pulled out her hair tie, bent down, and shook her hair loose. Dane swallowed hard, as her special scent hit him in a wave. Since it was at its strongest, he decided it had to be from her hair, courtesy of her shampoo.
“You smell great,” he told her, his voice cracking.
“I do?”
“Mmm,” he’d lost the ability to use words, “I can smell citrus.”
She remained bent over, her butt in the air. God help him. “Ah, I bought a new bodywash from the superstore outside town that’s citrusy.” She straightened, gathered the waves with deft fingers, and twisted them back into a ponytail.
The door opened, and Penn, Colt’s dad, poked his head into the studio. He scanned the interior, and when his gaze landed on Dane, he lifted his hand and moved it in a desultory wave. “Still here, dude,” Dane told him.
Penn, scowled, shook his head, and pulled the door shut with an emphatic bang. Dane shrugged and looked at Wren. “You’ve got to give him points for consistency.”
The clatter of teenage footsteps told him the studio was about to be invaded. Wren glanced at him, her expression softening as she handed him a small smile. “Shall we dance?”
Well, she would. He’d do … something else.
* * *
“Dr. Tragic and the dancer…” Lila said, inspecting her nails in the corner of the dance studio.
Silas, leaning on his good leg—mostly a habit because he didn’t, being dead and all, need to worry about balancing his weight—scowled at the writhing, sweaty crowd of dancing teenagers.
“More bare flesh than in a house of ill repute,” he muttered.
Lila adjusted the feather in her hat and cocked an eyebrow. “Tell me about brothels in your day. I’d wager the essence didn’t vary much from my time to yours.”
He kept his gaze fixed forward. “Mechanics of the transaction … unchanged,” he muttered, feeling the burn in his cheeks.
Silas watched The Reverend looking like he was about to pop a vein. “All that hip thrusting! Why are they on the floor looking like … looking like they are…”
Lila just cocked her head and laughed as the teenagers scooted their chests an inch to the floor, dipping their backs and pointing their bottoms to the ceiling. Silas watched the interaction between Wren and Dr. Tragic, and Silas noticed, as Wren did, the quick shake of his head. Wren pulled a face, clapped her hands, and vetoed the move.
“As a dancer myself, I understand the thrill of shaping a routine, of bending it to one’s will.”
Silas heard the jealousy in Lila’s tone and watched her hummingbird gaze skipping over the room. Unable to help herself and obviously envious of their energy, needing eyes onher, she dropped into a split and lifted her arms above her head. “I used to be as good a dancer in my day. I was definitely better than Wren.”
Silas shook his head, annoyed at her attention-demanding ways when there was a much bigger issue at stake. When was Dane going to return his attention to work and what he needed to do?
Lila pulled herself up and sighed. “What is upsetting you, dear heart?” she asked.
Silas spared her a glance. “He’s here, dancing, wasting time.” He pointed at the door. “He should be out there, saving people. He’s neglecting his duty.”
Lila sniffed. “Lord, you are so dutiful, and so boring.”
Yes, he was sober, thinking,principled. “As a man of medicine myself, he offends me. He took an oath to save people.”
“Blah, blah, blah,” Lila said, rolling her eyes. “What do these young people say?Lighten up, dude.”
He had no idea what that meant.
“I do so enjoy the storm brewing in your normally stoic eyes, Captain.”
