Colter/Reenie Shipper. Fluffy-puppy approved.

“Noodling,” he finally responded, and she could hear the smirk hidden in his tone.

Reenie’s eyebrows shot up, a bemused look on her face. “Hand fishing?” she confirmed, and he nodded.

She put a hand on her hip and gave him a pointed look. “Hardly,” she scoffed. “I’ve seen you do at least 17 things stranger than that. What’s the real answer?”

She asked gently, but he knew the relentless questioning would never end if he didn’t tell the truth. She knew him too well for him to get away with anything else.

Colter dropped his head slightly and sighed before looking up at her. Her blue jeans hugged her in all the right places, places he wanted to touch: the flare of her hips, the curve of her butt, the dip in her waist. She was busty for her petite frame, and her dark green sweater highlighted her figure, a beautiful distraction he’d witnessed all evening.

“Salsa,” he finally admitted.

She nearly choked on her mouthful of beer. “Like...making it to dip your tortilla chips in?” she asked, slightly confused.

“No, like fancy footwork to lively music.”

One eyebrow and one side of Reenie’s mouth quirked up in disbelief. “Dancing…?”

Colter gave her a defeated look and nodded.

“And how exactly did your dad think that’d help with survival deep in the woods?”

He huffed a laugh. “No, it, uh...it was my aunt who taught us. She came up to stay with us for several weeks the summer before my dad died. Things were tense between my parents; between all of us, actually. She wanted to help my mom out and lighten up the mood for us, so she took us swimming, brought up some board games. Dory only ever wanted to play Monopoly...which Russell and I hated. He’d bargain with her and make her agree to do his chores to get him to play.” Colter chuckled, shaking his head. “Then he’d cheat to end the game early—with him as the winner, of course. So I’d help her with the extra chores while Russell gloated.” He smiled at the memory, then realized he’d gotten off track. “Anyway, she was a part-time dance instructor and decided teaching us to dance would help round out some of the...harsher aspects of our education. And that it’d be fun.”

Reenie face softened as she stood riveted listening to Colter talk about his childhood, especially something that seemed so lighthearted compared to everything else he’d shared—and lots more she knew he hadn’t. She treasured these moments, the glimpses into young Colter, before his dad died and his world shifted into something unrecognizable and even more isolated than the life his father had created for them.

“Was it?”

He smirked humorlessly. “What do you think? Learning to dance with your little sister?”

She chuckled. “Sounds like a party.”

“For teenage boys? More like a death sentence.”

“Hmm. I’m guessing it’s a skill you haven’t had to use much.”

“No, thankfully not.”

“Well, it’s high time.”

Colter stared blankly at her. “What do you mean?”

“We could make it a party,” she suggested, an inviting smile lighting up her face. “And you can teach me to salsa.”

“What?”

“Teach me. To salsa with you.”

“I…” He shook his head, the idea absurd—though the temptation to sway the night away with her, hands on her, teaching her sexy dance moves held an overwhelming appeal he couldn’t deny. “I don’t remember how.”

“Sure, you do.”

“Not gonna happen, Reenie,” he held his ground with a slight shake of his head.

He said it so assuredly, Reenie took it as a challenge. She put her beer down and closed the space between them, standing between his knees, looking down at him for once, and set her hands on his shoulders before sliding them to the nape of his neck.

“Colter Shaw,” she purred his name, a teasing spark in her gaze.

He usually towered over her, even in the death heels she wore, so her leaning over him made for an intriguing angle. Her long wavy hair framed her face, darkening her gaze seductively, and he stared up at her, besotted.

“Counselor.”

Reenie indulged him with a smile. He only called her that when he knew she was preparing to turn on her powers of persuasion.

Her thumbs brushed the short hair tapered at the back of his neck. “Teach me to dance with you?”

He pretended to consider her request, enjoying this curious, enticing, pleading side of her. He set his hands on her hips, then barely shook his head. “I don’t think I will.”

She gazed at him for a moment, the flash of defiance in his eyes, the barely-there quirk at the corner of his mouth, the challenge in his tone. “I think…” she drawled out, then gave him a quick peck on the lips. “You…” Another peck. “Can be…” She lingered this time. “Motivated.”

“Hmm.” His gaze flicked to her lips, then back up to her eyes. “You may be right,” he agreed. “But I don’t think your evidence has been persuasive. You’re going to need to present more for me to reach a verdict.”

With a flirtatious glint in her eyes, Reenie kissed him proper this time, her mouth moving agonizingly slow on his. He let her set the pace, her full lips tantalizing him with sweet, easy kisses. His tongue dipped into her mouth, tender and teasing but hungry.

She withdrew slowly, and he chased her lips. Reenie smiled knowingly.

“Keep talkin’” he encouraged, his voice low and gruff.

She kissed the corner of his mouth, then nipped kisses along his cheek to his jaw. “Please,” she breathed near his ear.

Her whisper sent shivers down his spine. “I do like it when you ask nicely.”

Reenie felt his breath against her neck, and she trailed kisses back to his mouth. His stubble lightly scratched her face, a delicious contrast to the soft hunger of his kiss. His fingertips griped her hips tightly, and she knew he was losing the battle.

She eased away from him, biting her bottom lip coyly, trying to hold in a pleased smile.

Colter knew she knew she’d won, but he didn’t care. Reenie slowly seducing him, her fingers in his hair, begging him to spend the evening dancing with her….he wasn’t exactly losing here.

He slowly slid his hands up and down along the swell of her hips. “You know...there’s a lot of hip movement required.”

“Is there, now?” Her nails still scraped erotic tingles along the back of his scalp. “Verdict’s in then, hmm?”

Goosebumps shivered down his neck, and he nodded. “I know it goes against everything you stand for, but you’ll need to take direction from me. It might have be one of these...new things...we’re trying.”

Reenie recalled that moment at the winery when he’d asked if she spent her free time with Elliott doing wine tastings and yoga. She hadn’t meant for her counter remark—that her plus-one enjoyed trying new things with her—to get under Colter’s skin, but he’d assured her he loved doing new things, his jealousy writ large.

She’d have forgotten all about it except a few weeks later he’d toasted to “new things” after she’d landed her first large client following the opening of her firm. Though his tone had been genuine and without a hint of jealousy, it told her how much her comment had bothered him. She loved vexing him, but that was one thing she wouldn’t tease him about.

So when they’d finally come to their senses, when he’d finally kissed her until she thought she’d melt into a puddle on the floor, she’d brought it back around to let him know she wanted New Things with him. “This is a helluva new thing,” she’d murmured, pleased, smiling up at him. “The first of many,” he’d promised, not missing a beat. And they reminded each other of their New Things as often as possible.

Now they could add salsa—and Colter teaching her, at that—to the list. Reenie smiled more at the live hunger in his eyes than his teasing words. “I’m up for it if you are,” she rejoined, letting the double entendre linger with a provocative smile.

“Yeah?”

She leaned into him, humming a kiss against his lips. “Mmmhmm.”

Colter slid his hands to her lower back, then slowly, sensuously up her spine, urging her closer to him. “I’m definitely up for it.” He said it without a hint of suggestion, but she knew better. Sometimes he played the game better than she did. “Maybe we just skip the dancing all together then.”

Reenie set her hands against his shoulders and pulled back a bit, refusing to let him get off that easily, and his hands slid back to set loosely on her hip. “Let’s start with salsa first. Before we...move on to tango?”

Colter growled deep in his throat at her powers of word-play and seduction. “I’m much better at tango than salsa,” he promised in a low voice, the corners of his mouth tipping up into a hint of a smile, his gaze heated. “But you already know that.”

“You should probably let me be the judge of that, big guy.”

Her breath fanned over his lips, her coy remark doing nothing to cool the heat she’d started in his blood, and Colter’s gaze turned dangerously dark.

With a knowing smile, Reenie took his hands off of her and clasped them, stepping back and tugging him to his feet. He came willingly and slipped his arms around her, nuzzling her neck.

“Ah-ah-ah,” she reprimanded, pulling away from him, though it pained her to do so. “Salsa first. New things, remember?”

His eyes slowly roamed down her body and up again, and she flushed under the heat of his gaze. “So many new things,” he murmured before his attention snapped back to her face.

“In time,” she promised. “For now, vertical dancing.” She smiled cheekily, and Colter cleared his throat, mentally shaking himself out of the bedroom for now.

She was a damn tease, and though he preferred more direct action, he could play her game. He was a master of control. He’d wanted her for years before they’d arrived at this moment; he was sure he could spend a while dancing her into a furious state of desire.

If she wanted salsa, he’d give her salsa. Give her whispered touches to thrumming tempos, those hip directions she was sure she could take, and flirtatious, sensual body waves, close but not close enough, until she was as mad with need as she made him feel now.

Colter nodded once. “Vertical dancing,” he agreed, pulling himself together.