Just then, Liam put his hands on my waist.
I shrieked and squirmed out of his grasp, much to the surprise of my partner, and the dismay of the teacher.
"What are you doing?" The teacher looked as if I'd just insulted her.
"Ticklish," I gasped, putting my hands on my sides.
Liam chuckled and wiggled his fingers at me. "Can you hold it in for this challenge?"
"I'll try." I exhaled, trying to compose myself, and then assumed the dance position I'd been shown.
When his hands went on my waist again, I laughed once more, but held, my lips twitching. I could do this. I could. I—
Liam's fingers brushed over my sides in what had to be a deliberate tickle.
I squealed and darted away again.
The dancer rolled her eyes, but Liam actually laughed. Laughed aloud. Like I'd just done the funniest thing ever. And that warm, hearty laugh? Made my insides go all gooey with warmth. Liam had an aloof sort of attractiveness to him normally, but when he laughed? I quivered. All over.
It was going to be really hard to concentrate now.
"He's going to have to put his hands on you," the dancer said in a displeased voice. "You need to concentrate."
I nodded and forced myself to loosen up, giving Liam a mock-warning look. This time, when he put his hands on my waist, I felt his thumbs caress my sides, as if he couldn't help but give me little additional touches.
And instead of getting ticklish, I was instantly aroused.
Oh, damn. I blinked rapidly, forcing myself to pay attention to the dance moves and the cameraman that hovered nearby, taping everything. I could feel my nipples getting hard and prayed they weren't sticking out against my leotard enough that the camera would catch it. Our ballet dancer made us go over the waist move, over and over again, until we could do it without me breaking down in a fit of giggles or getting all flustered.
This challenge was taking a long time, but I didn't care. We were making good TV like Liam had said…and he was touching me. And I couldn't quite bring myself to suggest that we go and screw some light bulbs instead.
"Now to practice the lift," the dancer informed us. "The female partner must get into the modified arabesque I showed you."
I grimaced and raised my arm into the air, raising my leg as high as I could. I ignored the amused snorts of the other ballet dancers, knowing my form was terrible.
"Now," the teacher said. "The man should place his hand on her thigh to begin the lift."
I felt Liam's hand curve along the inside of my thigh, and I jerked in surprise at how his fingers had felt, skimming along my flesh. A hot pulse of desire raced through me, and I felt my face flush.
"Keep form," the dancer snapped.
"Sorry." I pressed my lips together and lifted my leg in the air again, wobbly.
"Ready?" Liam asked. At my nod, his hands slid to the inside of my thighs again and I shuddered, feeling the heat rock through me again. Okay, I shouldn't have been turned on during a challenge, but I was.
Because Liam's hands were strong, and they were between my thighs. How could I not get all hot and bothered from that?
"Keep your body stiff," the dancer snapped at me as Liam lifted me with a little grunt, about a foot into the air, and then dropped me back down again. Our goal was to have him lift me from his right side and move me to his left in an extended hop while I held my form. Judging from the ballet dancer's near-sneer, it wasn't a real move at all, but we'd probably pull something if we tried a real pas de deux. Heck, we weren't exactly good with this one.
She made us practice the lift. Over and over, I'd hold form as Liam's hands slid against my inner thighs. And I quivered each time.
"Close enough," our teacher told us. "You can perform once the stage is free."
It took us three tries to get through the dance. On the first try, the ballerina judging us stopped me halfway through and informed me that my posture was horrendous. We had to go to the back of the stage and wait as Hal and Stefan attempted to dance their routine again. They were stopped by the ballerina as soon as the music started, since Stefan's timing was off.
On our second try, Liam flubbed the lift and I didn't help by giggling when he touched me.
The third time, though? We nailed it. As we finished the Coda, we held our positions, waiting for the ballerina's verdict. She scrutinized us, then gave a sharp nod and held out the disk for our clue.
I gave a happy cry of delight, and turned and leapt into Liam's arms. He grabbed me and twirled me around, and my legs automatically went around his waist as I clung to him, cheering. When we slowed, I was reminded of the fact that we were both wearing skimpy ballet leotards that allowed you to feel every curve of your partner's body, and he was wearing a belt that gave him a massive bulge.