As promised, here is the excerpt from
The Shameless Hour by
Sarina Bowen. I can't wait to read the whole book. See yesterday's post for ordering information
I
heard the band start to play the classic one-two Merengue rhythm that I’d heard
my whole life. On the dance floor, the energy picked up as the geezers began to
move to the faster beat.
“Let’s
go,” I said, standing up. I offered Bella my hand.
But
Bella shook her head. Even worse, she scooted her chair toward the wall.
“Don’t
leave me hanging,” I said, my hand still waiting in the air. “Come on now.
Nobody puts Bella in a corner.”
On
the other side of the table, Bella’s sister snorted into her white wine.
Bella
rolled her eyes. Hard. “You did not just quote Dirty Dancing.”
I
leaned down near Bella’s ear. “I did. Now get your ass out of that chair, like
the girl in the movie, or I’ll have to put you in a fireman’s hold.”
Her
mouth tight, Bella stood up. Not one to waste an opportunity, I clasped her
hand, tugging her onto the dance floor. When we were right in the center, I put
one hand onto Bella’s waist and took her opposite hand in mine. She was as
stiff as a piece of wood. “Shake it off, chica. This is supposed to be fun.”
“Your
job tonight was to make my life less embarrassing. Not more.”
“I
am doing that. We’re going to be the best looking dancers on this floor, and
everyone in this mausoleum is going to wonder how I got so lucky as to be here
with you. Now listen to this rhythm, okay? Just step to the beat. And let your
hips absorb the motion.” I began to move to the music. The merengue is a
Dominican dance, and every kid in my neighborhood can merengue before his fifth
birthday. It’s just not that complicated.
With
nervous eyes, Bella began to move.
“Use
these hips,” I prompted, touching the silky fabric of her dress. As I watched,
she loosened up a tiny fraction. “Yes! But even more. You look great. I
wouldn’t steer you wrong. And think of pressing the balls of your feet into the
floor.”
Biting
her lip, Bella moved with me.
“That’s
it! See? Nothing to it.” Just like that, we had a proper merengue going on.
“Can
I sit down yet?” Bella asked.
“Not
even close,” I laughed. “See, I knew you could move.”
Bella
pouted. “We’ve seen each other’s moves, Rafe.”
She
lifted her eyes, and the heat in them went straight to my dick.
Jesucristo.
That was the trouble with getting so close to Bella. I was always going to be
susceptible to her. Anything she did to remind me of that night was always
going to knock me right over.
“Ha.”
She said. “I finally found a way to shut you up.” Bella put a little more
effort into her merengue then, looking smug.
Copyright ©2015 Zee from A Tea Stained Page. This post was originally posted by Zee from A Tea Stained Page. It should not be reproduced without express written permission
Love it! And the cover is just gorgeous.
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