Page 19 of The Wolf Duke
She hesitated for one second, staring up at the man. She’d never imagined the first time she truly danced the waltz it was to be with a man she wasn’t in love with—and of all things, the man that was currently holding her captive.
She glanced at Vicky. The girl was looking at her—her wide blue eyes pleading as she nodded her head.
Wrong. This was wrong for so many reasons.
But she lifted her right hand and set it in his.
His free hand slid around her side, settling just below her shoulder blade, and he pulled her a step closer than she ever would have dared to be near the man on her own.
Her head bowed, looking at the scant slice of floor between them.
“No, your eyes must be up,” Reiner said. “Watching in my face where I am to lead you next—not staring at my feet. By the time my feet are moving it’s too late. You have to see it in my eyes.”
Of course. Of course he’d have her looking at him. All the better to pin his cold skeptical stare on her.
Her gloved left hand moved to sit along his shoulder and Sloane lifted her look to meet his.
His light brown eyes weren’t the slightest bit wary. Warm even, the brown turning into a warm golden honey. Nothing like she’d seen in him before and it gave her pause—sent suspicion deep intoherlook.
“Flip it in your mind. You’re going backwards now.” He looked to Vicky. “You can begin.”
He let Vicky get through four measures before his look centered on Sloane and he started forth.
The first steps went fine, but at the point she was to switch starting feet, her gaze dropped between them.
“Up. Eyes up.”
The order made her jump and her gaze lifted and locked onto his.
She moved into the steps, letting his grip along her back guide her body, his hand covering hers dictate direction. One, two, three. One, two, three.
He shifted her around the cleared space of the floor three times before it felt natural, before she could read in his eyes exactly what his intention was for the direction of the steps.
His eyes had relaxed even more. Golden brown eyes. She studied them. Almost amber in the warm light of the library. Yet still eyes that would unnerve her if she wasn’t so intent on concentrating where her feet were moving.
She was waltzing. For the first time in her life, she was sweeping across the floor in the scandalous, beautiful dance.
She cleared her throat as he shifted her around a turn. “You dance well.”
“You expected I could not?”
“You aren’t married, so I assumed you hadn’t yet gone through your paces in the marriage mart, which would have honed your prowess on your feet.”
His lips pursed for a moment. “Who said I wasn’t married?”
Her head snapped back. “But Vicky said—you are?”
“No. I’m not.” A grin came to his lips. “I was just curious how you get your information.”
Her fingers on his shoulder lifted and she tapped him. “That was unfair.”
“Convenient.” The grin didn’t leave his face. “To be honest, I haven’t participated in the marriage mart because it’s tedious and I have no need to go trolling for an heiress.”
“Don’t you have to produce an heir?”
His shoulders lifted slightly. “Eventually. Though it’s not a priority for me.”
Sloane nodded, a smile playing about the corners of her lips. “So you will just order a random, irreproachable lady from London when it comes to it?”