The Dance

He smiled at her as he stepped forward, still keeping himself in front of her only means of escape. "You know, my dear, you do make things rather difficult."





He continued stepping forward so that Amberle had to put a hand up to warn him to stop. She knew her strength was no match for his. The strength of elves was within their magic which Amberle had never been properly taught. What little she had known she had forgotten over time.

"I think I'm going to wait downstairs." Amberle had no way to be sure that the manager was even on his way. She wished that she had called the manager herself and then left as she had first thought, but her emotions seemed to conflict with the ideas her mind believed good.



Henry looked at her with one eyebrow raised. "I do not mean you harm."

It was as if he had read her mind. She suddenly felt horribly foolish for all of the thoughts she had thought within the last few minutes.



He stepped forward, seeing his chance, with one of his ever so tiny smiles. His warm hands slipped around hers as he spun her slowly so that her back was now facing the door. "It's as if we are doing a dance, don't you think?"

The knot in her stomach tightened painfully. Amberle ignored it and instead focused on his large and warm hands which held hers. "I don't dance. I don't even know how."



"It's not hard. I could teach you." As he pulled her closer, she could feel his deep voice vibrating within his chest. All of her focus was on his warm breath on her neck so that she hardly noticed the last stab of the knot in her stomach before it dissipated.

So close to him she could smell his soft musk scent which warmed her from the inside out. She wanted to gently press her cheek against the prickly hairs on his cheek if only to dare to be so close to his soft lips. Out of the corner of her eye, she spied his partially open mouth. His lips were so close that she only had to turn her head to reach them.



At the thought, the knot reappeared, tightening again. "Oh look, the fire is dying," she said as she gently pulled herself away. For a moment, she worried that his arms would tighten around her and not let her go, but she slipped away easily to poke at the fire in the fireplace while at the same time dowsing the warmth in the rest of the room with a cold pail of water. Henry did not say a word. She would not blame him if her were perturbed with her.

Thankfully, the awkward silence was broken by the ringing of the doorbell.

"That must be him," Amberle said as the knot within her stomach was untied by a wave of relief that she was no longer alone with Henry. "Uh, well, thank you."

"My pleasure," he said softly.

"I'll see you," she said for lack of a better good bye, but silently she kicked herself for suggesting that they meet again. Would she not learn? Would this dance not end?

"I hope so." The corners of his mouth turned up once more as he silently shut the door behind her.