Free Worth Waiting For by Delaney Diamond

noise, but she could read his lips. He clinked his bottle against her glass.
    Julia took a sip of the fruity wine. Freddie motioned behind her, where the woman sitting on the stool had gotten down and walked away. Seizing the opportunity, she climbed up onto the empty seat.
    For a few minutes they watched the dancers. After awhile, she could feel Freddie’s hot gaze on her. Turning to face him, she raised a brow.
    He leaned toward her. “You’re not going to sit there all night, are you?” he asked. His breath tickled the delicate skin of her ear. Her fingers tightened on the stem of the glass.
    He didn’t move back, so she whispered in his ear. What she really wanted to do was turn and press her mouth against his neck and let her fingers travel down the front of his shirt, releasing each button so her hand could glide across his strong chest.
      “No. I have to get used to the place first before I jump in. You can ask someone else to dance if you like.” The instructional salsa videos she’d studied on YouTube were a poor preparation for what she was seeing.
    “I want to dance with you,” he said. He pulled back and looked into her eyes.
    Julia was caught, hypnotized by his dark gaze. He held out his hand to her. She covered his palm with hers, and there was an immediate fluttering in the pit of her stomach. Before following him, she tossed back the rest of her wine. No point in letting it go to waste. Besides, she needed a little liquid courage. Then, with her hand clasped firmly in Freddie’s, she followed him through the thicket of bodies into the middle of the dance floor.

CHAPTER EIGHT
     
    Out in the middle of the club, Julia became intimidated by the fluid movements of the dancers around her. The men moved their partners around without effort, dipping and twirling them with the expertise grown from years of practice.
      “I don’t know if I can do this,” Julia whispered to Freddie. She stood stiffly in the center of the dancers. “I don’t want to embarrass you. Everybody will be looking at us.”
      “No one will be looking at us. They’re too busy dancing.” His teeth flashed an encouraging smile. He rested his hand lightly on her waist and lifted her other hand in his. “Relax, and let the music guide you. Listen to the beat.”
      Good heavens, could he get any sexier, moving his hips slowly from side to side as he tried to encourage her to relax her rigid stance and get into the music.
      Julia closed her eyes against the painful memories of some of the last words her ex had said to her. You’re not any fun, Julia. I need someone who’s fun and exciting. He said those words right after he’d told her about his pregnant girlfriend. After she’d spent eight years of her life with him.
      “What’s wrong?”
      She stifled a laugh. What’s wrong was that she was standing in the middle of a Latin club with an attractive man trying to be something she wasn’t. She was Julia Newman, venture capitalist, future youngest female partner in the firm. She was not Julia Newman, salsa dancer.
      “I can’t,” she whispered painfully, trying to pull away. She didn’t want to humiliate herself. She should have never come. This was unfamiliar territory. There were no numbers to analyze and no reports to review.
    He didn’t release her. Instead, his arm curved around her waist like a heavy belt, and his dark brows lowered over his eyes in concern. “It’s not that hard. I promise. I’ll guide you all the way.”
    His gaze softened on her, and it encouraged her to make a tentative movement. He tried to guide her backward, but she practically tripped over her feet and stiffened against him.
    “You have to let me lead. The man is in control in salsa.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she rewarded him with a wan smile. Looking down into her eyes, he said, “Move your left foot forward . . . one, two, three . . . step back . . . right leg backward . . . one, two, three . . .” He