Page 85 of Texas Splendor
He slipped her shoe under the chair, and when she would have brought her foot to the floor, he held it in place on his thigh, rubbing his thumbs in a circle over the balls of her foot. “Oh, Lord, that feels good,” she said. “You have such nice hands.”
“Wait until you see how nice they’re gonna be later on.”
She didn’t know if the gleam in his eyes spoke of teasing or seriousness, and she wasn’t certain she wanted to know. He placed her foot on the floor, brought her other foot up, and removed her shoe. He rubbed her foot until every little pain vanished.
“How does that feel?” he asked.
“Wonderful.”
“Good.” He stood and held out his hand. “Will you honor me with this dance?”
Loree widened her eyes. “I don’t have shoes on.”
He smiled warmly. “I know that, Sugar. I just took ‘em off.”
“I can’t dance without shoes.”
“Sure you can.”
She thought of being held within his arms, her stockinged feet gliding over the smooth hardwood floor….
“Cameron said that you never learned how to dance.”
“He doesn’t know everything.”
The music stilled. “So you have danced before.”
“Once … with Amelia.”
She scooted up in the chair, hope flaring within her. “Only with Amelia?”
“Only with Amelia. I was sharing her with a dozen cowboys at the time, and all we knew how to do was swing her around, stomp our feet, and clap our hands.”
“Have you ever waltzed with anyone?”
“Never.”
Slowly, she rose to her feet. “What else have you never done?”
She knew from the darkening of his eyes that he understood what he was asking.
“Never danced with a woman I love.”
Jealousy was a petty thing, but she’d never known such gladness. She smiled warmly. “I wouldn’t want to miss this opportunity to be your first.”
“Sugar, it’s more important that I intend for you to be my last.”
Before she had the chance to respond, he’d placed his hand on her waist and swept her onto the dance floor. The room contained two hearths, but neither fire burned as brightly as his eyes. Her stockinged feet glided over the floor and she wondered why women bothered to wear shoes at all.
When the music drifted into silence, she slipped her arm through his and allowed him to lead her from the dance floor.
Cameron and Becky caught up with them. “I’ve never seen you dance before,” Cameron said. “Didn’t know you could.”
Austin shrugged. “Now, you know.”
“I guess it’s because you were always playing the music.”
Austin started to walk away, but Loree stood fast, staring at Cameron, her heart thundering in her ears. “What … what do you mean he played the music?”
