I gasped as he pulled me close to his chest. His hand held mine firmly and his arm was around my waist tightly. My hand on his shoulder shook a little as my breath caught in my throat. He began turning quickly, pulling me with him. Then he began walking backwards toward the bed with long strides. It was all I could to do keep up with his gliding movements. The entire time we moved, his mouth was fixed in a small smile, a sly smile. His eyes held mine in a trance-like stare. I wanted to look down at my feet to watch them as we twirled across the floor, but I couldn’t break that gaze. He stopped suddenly near the bed and released his hold around my waist but not my hand. Using his hand and his momentum, he spun me in place before deftly twirling me back into his arms. He grabbed my left hand now and slid the right one around my waist, pulling me sideways but also pushing me backwards so now I was the one unable to see where I was going.

      I caught a flicker of light in his eyes as we neared the door across the room. Upon reaching it, he suddenly leaned forward, pulling me back into a backbend, his strong arm supporting me as I arched back seeing first the ceiling and then the wooden door. My hair trailed on the floor in bouncing curls like springs for a mere second before I was pulled upward once more, coming to rest against his chest and my eyes on his again.

      My heart pounded. I swore that he had to have been able to feel it as close as we were. I could feel his muscles in his arms move as we twisted and turned. I could feel his heat in every place our bodies made contact. My palm against his shoulder was sweaty, and the hand clasped in his was the same. I was breathing quickly yet shallowly as my body labored under the fast-paced movements. Occasionally, when I was twirled or dipped, I would gasp as I came back into contact with his body, gasp as his deep blue eyes caught mine. This frenzy couldn’t continue, it could not go on much longer before the excitement and movement and spinning caused me to faint.

      And just as I thought that I could not go on, the music stopped, and I found myself looking at an upside-down version of our room before being pulled slowly back to an upright position.

      “So, that was the tango,” O said as I put both feet on the floor and stood up straight.

      Blowing out a puff of air, I was suddenly aware of how sweaty my face and hands were, my whole body very warm and not just from the effort of keeping up with the Devil. The pale moonlight trickled in through the window behind him, and I could see the same, casual smile playing on his lips. I forced a grin back though I was now breathing hard.

      “Tango, huh? Is, uh, is this dance legal? I mean, it’s um, quite–” I fought with all the thoughts racing through my head to find an appropriate word, skipping over the first half dozen that came to mind. “Um, it’s quite an exertion. Like exercise . . . or something.”

      O laughed as he crossed the room to shut off the music box. No longer in contact with him, I felt my heart trying in vain to resume a normal pace.