“Let me know if you’re up for a reel or two. If not, we can sit them out in a dark corner somewhere.” His eyes twinkled. He wiggled his brows, and then he was gone.

She tracked his broad, scarlet-clad back as he disappeared into the corridor. That man was going to be the death of her. How could she turn Harry down, especially when she didn’t want to?

Chapter 21

Elise faced Harry down the line of dancers. For the briefest second, they came together in the middle of the floor. Harry’s hand touched hers. Sparks fizzed between them and bathed the air with shimmering light. Elise caught her breath, and her heart fluttered like a bevy of trapped butterflies.

His gray gaze held hers as they circled each other, each time passing closer than the last, like two planets orbiting the sun. Her legs trembled, but for once, it had nothing to do with the weakness in her hips.

At the onset, she had known her and Harry’s trajectory could not last. Even the most stable celestial orbits broke down after time, either flinging a body out or colliding with a resounding crash. And tonight, like a moth attracted to torchlight, she drew nearer still, despite the danger and inevitable pain.

Her heart, in the past such an obedient organ to her admonitions, turned deaf ears and strode forward with outstretched hands.

The last notes of the reel faded away. As though standing apart from herself and looking on, Elise joined in the applause. A fast number started, and the rock beat filled the ballroom.

Harry’s hand clasped hers. “I think you’ve had enough for a while. I know I have.” With a dare in his eyes, he led her toward a rattan screen surrounded by ferns, potted trees, and a trickling fountain. The promised dark corner.

Her heart skittered. Here? Now? In the middle of a ball? Elise stiffened, but she refused to create a scene on the dance floor as he towed her along. Nor could she step back from that challenge in his eyes.

“Harry, everyone will speculate on what we’re doing back here,” she hissed when they slipped behind the screen, the potted plants and ferns surrounding them in a grotto of textured greenery. The trickle of a fountain noised from somewhere buried in their depths.

“I’m certain most everyone who attends these functions has a fairly good idea what goes on behind these screens.” Harry’s eyes twinkled.

He indicated a chair, and Elise sank onto it. Taking hold of another, he shoved it next to hers, then took his seat and slipped an arm around her shoulders, his knee bumping against her thigh.

“Cold?” Harry asked.

“No.” Elise’s stomach dropped, the sensation like a plunge down a steep hill.

“If someone comes looking, we don’t want to disappoint them, do we?” His breath stirred the hair on her temple.