Various States of Undress: Virginia by Laura Simcox

breasts every time he attempted to turn her—but she knew, and the longer they danced, the shorter her breath became. When he finally relaxed enough to look into her eyes, she couldn’t stop her lips from parting. He looked at those too.
    The music ended and she belatedly realized that people were applauding, so she did as well, loudly, and right into the following silence. Her sharp claps echoed in the large space, and she dropped her hands self-consciously. With a quick smile, she nodded up at Dex and turned to leave the dance floor, forcing herself to walk slowly but not stopping until she reached a fairly deserted area near the windows.
    This situation wasn’t good. Like, at all. She needed to be able to think straight, and how could she even entertain the idea of working with him if she couldn’t quit looking at him and fantasizing that . . . no. No . Why would she turn down a job in fashion just because she’d danced with the man and liked it a little bit too much? Why would she throw away an opportunity just because she might be uncomfortable? Out of her element? That was it—out of her element, her comfort zone. And into her coward zone.
    â€œCome on , Virginia,” she muttered.
    â€œYou okay?” Dex caught her arm gently. “Did I step on your feet?”
    â€œNo, of course not. You—” She looked up at him, her gaze skimming over his firm lips. You set my body on fire . “Really, you did just fine.”
    He smiled down at her. “Thanks for saving my ass back there. I’d like to say my ass was underrated . . .” He paused. “You know, like I joked that yours was overrated . . . Never mind.”
    â€œDex?”
    â€œYes?”
    â€œThere isn’t any type of rating that could be assigned to your ass or your dancing.”
    â€œI don’t think I have any choice but to take that as a compliment,” he said.
    â€œAgreed.” She paused. “So . . .”
    â€œHmm?” He leaned down.
    â€œI accept your offer, contingent upon taking a look at Lilah’s. If I feel like I can do the job, I’ll be your consultant.” She paused again. “I feel positive about the opportunity, though.”
    He went very still for a moment, his eyes riveted on her, and then everything about him relaxed. “I choose to take that as a compliment as well. A very high one. Thank you.”
    Pleasure rushed through her, and she relaxed too. “You’re welcome.” It was the right decision. As far as Owlton was concerned, she needed to take some time and form a plan anyway. She couldn’t rush in, and if she really was turning over a new leaf, she needed to wait until the paparazzi quit trailing her constantly. With any luck, once she quit going to the clubs, they would lose some interest. It was the wise thing to do. She wasn’t avoiding dealing with Owlton. She was being wise . “I’ll stop by Lilah’s on Monday morning, if you don’t mind.”
    â€œNot a bit.”
    She grinned. “Hey. You want to go tell your sister that I’m probably going to work for you and see what she does?”
    â€œGod, no.” Dex’s eyes widened. “That is, she’s already on edge.”
    â€œAww, come on.” She put her hands on his arms.
    Dex shook his head quickly and leaned close to whisper. “Let’s leave Ariel out of this, okay? Right now we’re being stared at like we both have two heads. Let’s just go before anyone—”
    A couple of feet away, flashes of light bounced off the windows and Dex turned to look. Three or four people with cameras stood on the sidewalk outside, and when Virginia smiled automatically, the flashes increased.
    â€œToo late, Dex. We’ll be in the New York Post tomorrow morning.”
    Dex paused for a moment and then took a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll wrap my head around that later, but for now, why