Excerpt:
As CJ stepped
onto the floor to dance with his sister, Phoenix couldn't tear her gaze away
from his leanly muscled frame in a white tuxedo. Longish hair brushed his
shoulders, bringing to mind a gentleman of the Old West, fitting perfectly with
the mood of this celebration.
Phoenix started
out playing it cool, thinking CJ would immediately ask her to dance. When yet
another dance started and he passed her by with no more than a wink, she began
to feel a bit perturbed.
I'm a wallflower. Standing by a beautifully inlaid wood wall
of the ballroom in Waring House, but a wallflower nonetheless.
Had she grown
warts on her nose since the waltzing started? Missed a piece of salad between
her teeth from dinner? Had her deodorant given out?
Discreetly,
Phoenix checked out the possible offenses. She took a quick glance in one of
the gilded mirrors placed strategically around the room to reflect the twirling
dancers. Stretched her arms upward with quick sniff to the side.
Nope. Everything
seemed normal.
"What are
you doing?" CJ stood in front of her, curiosity in his eyes.
"Ah...practicing
my dance moves," Phoenix said. "I used to be a disco queen."
CJ lifted an
eyebrow. "Unless my math is really bad, you're too young to be a disco
queen. But would you like to waltz?"
Phoenix almost
refused just to be contrary. But she so wanted CJ to hold her in his arms. So
with what she hoped was casual indifference, she said, "I believe I have
room on my dance card for perhaps one waltz."
CJ grinned and
twirled Phoenix onto the dance floor. After a few basic box steps, he turned
and swept her into a graceful swirl. Phoenix followed as if drawn by a magnet.
Staring into her
eyes, he back-stepped and turned. She followed flawlessly. Another turn and a
swoop. A swirl and another. A backstep and CJ twirled Phoenix away from him and
under his arm. Swirls and dips round and round left her breathless. Wanting
more than a dance. Wanting...
Applause jerked
Phoenix back to reality. CJ continued to grin as he spun her away to arm's
length once more and bowed to the crowd, who had moved to the edges of the room
to watch their dance.
CJ turned to
Phoenix and kissed her hand. "Thank you for the dance, my beautiful
lady."
And he left her. Standing by the wall where she had been
before the dance began.
Check out the first book in the Halo Legacy Series:
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