Read Eye of the Tiger for Free Online Page A

in self-defense.
    “Shall we dance?” Wade asked. He put their glasses aside and moved her into the ballroom, where a small orchestra was playing Strauss waltzes. She moved across the floor with him like thistledown, and he grinned.
    “You dance gloriously!” he said.
    “Not what you expected of a nurse?” she teased. “Actually, I took dancing for three years. Ballroom dancing was part of the course. I do love a waltz.”
    “Then let’s show them how a waltz should beperformed,” he murmured, and drew her around and around in the center of the floor.
    Soon people were standing back to watch, because they moved as one person. He was an excellent dancer, and she followed him without a single missed step. She laughed up into his face, loving the music, feeling young again, full of life. It had been a long, bleak year, and now she was coming to life again. She closed her eyes and drifted, giving herself up to the joyous, seductive rhythm. It would have been perfect, she thought dreamily, if the arms holding her were wiry and strong, if the body against hers were lithe and lean and hard-muscled. And if the face above hers were surrounded by red hair, and if there were horrible freckles all over it….
    She bit her lip. If. How long did it take a dream to die? she wondered sadly. Hers had lasted too long already.
    Eleanor returned to the reality of applause all around as Wade bowed to her and led her off the dance floor. She held tight to his hand, vaguely aware of Keegan’s blue eyes watching. Always watching. Why did he stare at her so? she wondered. Was it guilt?
    “That was nice,” she told Wade.
    “I thought so, too. You’re magic.” He bent and brushed a kiss across her forehead. Across the room, a redheaded man clenched his fists and looked as if he could do murder.
    When some of the other guests discovered that Eleanor was a nurse, she found herself much in demand to answer medical questions, none of which she felt qualified to address. She learned to excuse herself beforethings got too complex, and she never lacked for partners. But inevitably Keegan claimed her for a dance, and the evening turned dark.
    “Having fun?” he asked dryly. “You do seem to be the center of attention.”
    “I’m having a lovely time,” she replied. “Are you?” she added with a glance at his young partner, who was dancing with an older man and smiling at him radiantly.
    “Yes, I am, as a matter of fact,” he replied. “She’s a sweet girl. Generous and kind and beautiful.”
    “Not your usual choice, but we all like a change, don’t we?” she taunted.
    He looked down at her possessively, his eyes charming hers as he pulled her closer, letting her feel his strength as he turned her expertly to a slow box step. “What do you know about my usual choices?” he asked. “You make a science out of trying to avoid me.”
    “Do I?” she asked with a carefully blank expression. “I hadn’t noticed.”
    His eyes searched her body possessively, and the strong hand holding hers contracted a little; subtly his fingers eased between hers so that his palm meshed with her own. Her heart jumped, and his other hand felt it because it had snaked around her waist and was resting just underneath her breast.
    “Not quite immune yet, Eleanor?” he asked, searching her dark eyes, her parted lips.
    “I’ve been dancing, haven’t you noticed?” she hedged.
    “I’ve noticed you all night, and you know it. This dress is pure witchery. Where did you get it?”
    She smiled. “From the Salvation Army. Isn’t it nice?”
    He drew in an irritated breath and turned her quickly, so she almost lost her balance. She felt his body intimately in the turn and put a little distance between them.
    “Stop fighting me,” he muttered.
    “Am I?” She looked up into his eyes lazily. “I thought you were reminding me of my place. Do you think this scene is a little too grand for your carpenter’s daughter, Mr. Taber, sir?”
    “Have you