Her hands clasped in front of her so she wouldn’t fidget, Tory stood in the unfamiliar space, with strangers looking at her expectantly. They knew nothing about her, which was somewhat liberating, but Tory still felt like she had been thrown into unknown waters.

What did she know about teaching? She wasn’t exactly patient, and these people weren’t professionals waiting to be trained. They just wanted the basics, so they wouldn’t embarrass themselves on the dance floor.

“Hello, everyone. My name is Tory Jones, and I’ll be your teacher today,” she announced, putting on a smile.

A pretty blonde immediately stepped forward, looking immaculate and more than a little excited.

“I’m Joanne,” the woman said, stepping up to shake Tory’s hand. “I’m getting married to that guy over there,” she pointed behind her.

“Will,” the man waved.

Joanne barely paid her future husband any mind as she carried on.

“Those lumberjacks flanking him are the groomsmen, and I’d rather not have them trampling other guests on the dance floor. Oh, and the beautiful ladies over there are my bridesmaids, Cindy and Tina,” Joanne finished.

“It’s very nice to meet you all,” Tory replied, looking from Joanne to her wedding party.

Lumberjacks was an apt term, Tory decided, studying the rugged men in front of her. One of them in particular caught her eye, though. And it wasn’t just because the guy was openly staring at her, an intense look in his eye.

Built like a linebacker, with a mop of messy brown hair, the man had a sharp nose and pronounced cheekbones. Those features were softened by his full lips and round eyes, though. All in all, he looked too good to be true, and Tory glanced away as soon as she could tear her eyes away.

Ogling at her students certainly wasn’t professional behavior, and she needed to focus on the class, not the handsome stranger. But it seemed the man himself had other ideas.

“I’m Pierce,” he said, stepping closer, until he was side by side with Joanne.

He stretched out his hand as well, and Tory clasped it, a shiver running down her spine when her skin met his. It was entirely inappropriate, and entirely involuntary, but the reaction was undeniable nonetheless.

Has it really been that long since I’ve been touched by a man? Tory mused, locking eyes with Pierce.

“Nice to meet you,” she replied, quickly pulling her hand away.

“I don’t have a partner, I’m afraid,” Pierce added, giving her a not-so-subtle once-over.

Even in her heels, Tory felt small in his presence. Squaring her shoulders, she looked from Pierce to Joanne, suddenly unsure of what to say.

“Oh, maybe Ms. Jones can use you to demonstrate some steps?” Joanne offered, making Tory’s stomach drop. “Sorry about the uneven number,” Joanne added, giving her an apologetic look. “Forever single, this one,” she patted Pierce on the shoulder.

“Hopefully not forever,” he added, throwing Tory a quick grin.

Now what the hell was that supposed to mean? Tory couldn’t help but wonder.

Not that it mattered. Flirting wasn’t on the agenda, and she needed to focus on the class. This was her first day, after all. And she had no plans on fucking it up. Turning to Joanne, she decided to ignore Pierce as much as possible.

Even though she had a feeling that was going to be easier said than done.

“Congratulations on the wedding,” Tory said. “We’ll get your lumberjacks ready for the big day, don’t worry.”

Joanne nodded, smiling.

“And I’ll partner up with Pierce here, for now. We can switch later on when everyone has the basics down,” Tory added.

With that, everyone took their places, with Tory giving them the steps for a simple waltz, to practice by themselves. She walked around the room, correcting posture where needed, and giving tips.

The men, who she got to know as Will the groom, Jason the brother and Gage the rancher, were doing relatively well. They were a little stiff, a little off-beat, but nothing that a little work wouldn’t fix. The ladies had no problems with the steps or putting them to music, so they were left to wait until they could try their moves out with their respective partners.

Then, there was Pierce. The man might have been beautiful, but he had lead feet and the grace of a tractor. Not to mention it seemed he had some difficulty telling his left and right foot apart.

“Shoulders,” Tory remarked, tapping a finger on Gage’s shoulder as the man attempted to glide across the floor.

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied.

Ah, small-town politeness, Tory smiled to herself. I can get used to that.

Turning her attention to Pierce, still struggling with putting one foot in front of the other, she sighed softly. It wasn’t that she minded putting in extra effort with those who needed it, but did it have to be Pierce of all people who needed a helping hand?

“All right, everyone, find your partners,” Tory announced, clapping her hands. “Remember, boys, look over your lady’s right shoulder. And keep your steps long. Get up on your toes.”

Across the room, Will nodded, grabbing Joanne close and making the woman giggle. Joanne’s brother, a young man with the same kind features as his sister, paired up with Cindy. They both flushed a little when Jason placed his hand on her back.

That left Gage and Tina, and it wasn’t difficult to see Tina was a lot more into the idea of getting closer to Gage than Gage was. He remained stiff and stand-offish, putting as much room between himself and Tina as he could.

Tory guessed the spark just wasn’t there. She could always tell. Dancing said a lot about a person, and about people’s compatibility. It was surprising, though. Tina was just the kind of voluptuous, redheaded bombshell men tended to drool over.

“Just you and me, then,” Pierce said, coming up behind her.

Pursing her lips, Tory turned around to look up at him, only to get caught in those warm brown eyes of his. Grinning, he held her gaze.

Confident, cocky even, was Tory’s assessment of the man.

“All right, show me your hold,” she replied, holding out her hand for him to grasp.

“Of course, teacher,” Pierce smiled back at her, giving her an exaggerated bow.

Tory resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the man. Yet, as he stepped closer, her heart started to race. It was totally stupid. She didn’t even like the man. Sure, he was handsome, but he was also arrogant, and shameless in the way he was clearly trying to hit on her.

Still, Tory nearly held her breath when he took her hand, and placed his palm on her back. She placed hers to lay on Pierce’s shoulder, but as soon as she did, he pulled her close, his broad chest firm against her body.

“Like that?” he asked innocently, while Tory cleared her throat, flustered.

“Uh,” she stammered. “No, not exactly. I need room for my elbow,” she replied.

Yet neither of them made a move to pull apart, standing there staring at each other instead.

“We’re doing it!” Joanne’s excited voice echoed out from the other side of the room. “I think we’re doing it!”

Taking a step back from Pierce, Tory craned her neck to look at Will and Joanne, smoothly twirling their way through the steps.

“Good, good,” she praised, the smile on her lips feeling strained.

Pierce’s large, warm hand was still pressed against her upper back, and being so close, she was overwhelmed by his scent. It didn’t smell like cologne, or aftershave, but something distinctly Pierce.

Musky and hot, with notes of something that reminded her of a walk in the woods right after it had rained.

Stop sniffing your clients! something inside her chided, and Tory pulled herself back into the present moment.

“Okay, let’s start with the left foot change,” she said, looking down at Pierce’s feet so she wouldn’t get distracted by his face. “One, two, three,” she counted aloud, letting him take the lead.

He was pretty terrible, of course, but once it was time to go and show the other couple’s some personal attention, she was still a little slow in letting go. Pierce’s hand lingered on her back for just a moment too long, sliding down to her waist as they disentangled.

Tory had to fight the flush rising to her cheeks, left to hope she wore enough make-up to mask the redness.

“Thank you for trying,” Pierce said with another bow. “I know I’m hopeless.”

“No one’s hopeless,” Tory argued. “Some people just need a little more time to get it down, is all.”

Something glinted in Pierce’s eyes as he studied her, an infuriatingly sexy quirk to his full lips.

“I wouldn’t mind more time with you,” he replied.

Hand flying to her hip, Tory felt her carefully practiced teacher role slipping. Here she was, just trying to start over like she had foolishly announced she would. And this charmer thought he could make it about his urge to get into her pants?

Nope. Not gonna happen.

So what if the anger rising inside her was a little misplaced. Pierce still needed to be made aware that being new in town didn’t make her naïve. She knew his type. Charm a girl, show her a good time, and then move onto the next.

Tory wasn’t having that. She wasn’t some shiny new toy the men of Black Oak could line up to play with. And she definitely wasn’t in the mood for romance. Even if her body kept stubbornly disagreeing with her on that when it came to Pierce.

“You think you’re leaving here with my number, don’t you?” she said, arching a brow at him, keeping her voice low enough so that the others wouldn’t hear.

Music still flowed out of the speakers, and Will was counting out loud in tune with the steps. If anyone was paying special attention to her conversation with Pierce, they certainly didn’t show it.

A grin spread across Pierce’s face, despite him clearly picking up on the not-so-friendly tone of Tory’s voice. It only served to annoy her further. Even though her gaze did stop on his lips for just a moment too long.

“I wouldn’t dare presume such a thing,” Pierce replied. “Besides, I don’t really need to get your number. I can just ask you out right now.”

Dumbfounded, Tory stared at the man opposite her, not knowing whether she wanted to punch him or kiss him. Both seemed perfectly viable options at that moment. Yet in the end, she did neither.