The Wedding Party And Holiday Escapes Ultimate Collection. Кейт Хьюит

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СКАЧАТЬ the dance on a loop on the sound system—a flute melody that changed from jaunty to rousing to haunting as it told the story of the two lovers credited with founding the nation of San Philippe and the battles fought between and because of them.

      “You know the basic steps?” he asked.

      “I learned them as a child, and I found a tutorial on the Internet, but it’s not the same as actually dancing it with a partner.”

      “It’s not the same, but it’s a simple dance. This won’t take long.”

      She was standing in the center of the ballroom. Sunlight slanted in from the high windows, seeking her out, burnishing her hair. His chosen one.

      Rafe banished the thought as he approached her. She stood taller and her hands flexed and clenched at her sides, as though this was some kind of test for her, too.

      “And you know the story that the music and the dance tell.”

      “It used to be my favorite bedtime reading.”

      He allowed himself a secret sigh of relief. He didn’t want to speak to her of the man and woman, at first distrustful of each other, who ended up as lovers meeting clandestinely against their family’s wishes, and of how as their families fought, they ran away together, escaping over the Alps and journeying to this land.

      “We begin the usual way.” Rafe circled her while she stood still, looking straight ahead. The second time he circled her she followed him with her eyes, and the third time, as his shoulder drew level with hers, he held up his palm in a stop gesture and she did the same, touching her palm to his.

      That simple touch ricocheted through him. Only, he told himself, because touching her from now on, in any way other than the most formal, was forbidden. Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, he repeated the mantra as they moved through the steps, Rafe instructing her, giving her pointers where necessary, keeping his touch as brief as possible.

      “You’ve pretty much got it,” he said after ten torturous minutes. “Let’s run through it one more time.” Just once. He could do that. Sister-in-law, sister-in-law. Once and then they’d leave. Then he wouldn’t see her or the image of the two of them together reflected in the mirrors on the ballroom walls.

      They began again. Holding eye contact they turned together. Rafe shut down his mind. He just had to get through this. It was a simple dance. Get through it and then get out of here.

      Maybe asking him to teach Lexie the dance was neither a test nor a sign of trust, but a punishment. Adam knew Rafe would let nothing happen and he wanted to rub his nose in it.

      As the beat of the music changed, they lowered their arms and turned to each other, and he took both of Lexie’s hands in his, leaning out, relying on each other for a full rotation. He pulled her closer and then they each stepped back out again. She moved so well, she was so in control of her body. The pale vee of skin at her neckline looked so soft. The curve of her waist, the flare of her hip so tempting. Sister-in-law, sister-in-law. He would not be tempted. For a second she closed her eyes, and she could have no idea how that affected him. He’d imagined her, eyes closed, moving with him in a very different way. Sister-in-law, sister-in-law. This had to pass. Either that or he’d have to leave the country. Maybe New York? Somewhere he could lose himself. Speculation be dammed.

      “Both hands on my shoulders now. And look at me as we step to your left.”

      He placed his hands at the curve of her waist. Her eyes flew open again and a flush bloomed in her cheeks.

      She had eyes of the deepest green. He could lose himself there if he wasn’t careful. Two steps to the left. Or Vienna? He could go there. He’d always liked the Austrian capital.

      Her foot caught on his as she moved right instead of left and she stumbled. He tightened his hold reflexively, and for a breath-stealing second the length of her was pressed against him.

      They jumped apart and, gazes averted, came warily back together again.

      “Sorry,” she said, “I wasn’t thinking.”

      “An easy mistake. You’ve done perfectly otherwise.”

      “Thank you,” she said, her voice as strained and formal as his sounded.

      Then silence, except for the delicate teasing music. He could do this—dance with her and not hold her properly, dance with her and not kiss her, dance with her and not want to make love with her.

      They were almost finished. Thirty seconds and he’d made it.

      He twirled her out and back again so that she finished at his side within the shelter of his arm. As they made the small, courtly bow that signaled the end he sent up a prayer of thanks that this was over.

      “We’re done?” she asked, her relief palpable.

      “Yes. The old soldiers will love you.” He stepped away from her, headed for the door.

      She passed by him as he held the door for her. This is where he’d say goodbye. And if he could get himself on a plane in a few hours’ time, it would be best for all. But if he was leaving, then he only had these few minutes with her.

      Being with her was torture, and yet it was better than being without her. And so he walked with her through the palace. Too soon they reached the door to her suite. All he had to do now was walk away. And he would; he was strong enough for that.

      He looked down at her. She was so beautiful it unnerved him. Which was why he was leaving.

      A small smile, almost sad, played about her lips, but her eyes drank him in. He recognized that hunger—it was the echo of his own. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m only human, Lexie.”

      She backed away, crossed her arms as she shook her head. “I wasn’t looking at you…like that.”

      “Yes, you were. You want me.”

      Her jaw dropped open.

      “It’s nothing more than the truth. And if you’re looking at me like that, why are you marrying my brother?” The brother who liked and respected her, but who didn’t love her, not with the kind of love she deserved, the love she’d dreamed of for so many years.

      She paused, didn’t quite meet his gaze. “Adam is a good, kind, honorable man,” she said, not quite answering his question.

      “You forgot noble and sweet.”

      “You’re right. Noble and sweet.”

      “And nice.”

      “Yes. Nice.”

      “So, why do you think about me?”

      “I don’t.”

      “Yes, you do. You watch me and you think about me. You think about me touching you.” He lifted his hand, touched fingertips to her jaw. A tremor shivered over his skin and her eyelids fluttered closed. With a gasp, she turned her head and stepped away from his touch.

      “You’re the last man on earth I’d think about.”

      Who did she think СКАЧАТЬ