Yet again, she was frustrated by the ease with which he seemed to unnerve her. “ I would kindly request that you keep your opinions of me to yourself .” She said curtly as she stared him straight in the eye. “ What if I told you that I thought you were gorgeous? And smart? And funny ?” His list made her heart skip a beat. Alessa was at a loss for words. She reminded herself that he could n’ t have her reporting to Khi that she had an unhappy time. She supposed he was trying to save his skin by throwing in a little flirting. “ You can keep those to yourself as well .” She said, but her words lacked the bite she was trying for and she could not keep her eyes on his. They stood in silence for a moment as they watched the couples dance on the stage. The song was fast and the dancing was intense. Some couples looked as if they might start kissing there on the dance floor. It made her wonder what it would be like to kiss Camden. Then, as usual, she chastised herself for thinking such. She reminded herself of his earlier comments, but the compliments that followed snuck in to soften the blow. She heard the band begin a slower song and watched as the intensity flowed out of the dance floor to be replaced by an easy flow of affection. She longed to be a part of it. “ Let me make it up to you. Dance with me .” Camden whispered in her ear. This time he had to have felt her shiver because he had his hands on her back and arm propelling her towards the floor. “ No, no. Cam, I ca n’ t. I do n’ t know how to dance .” Alessa protested. She certainly could not let Camden see her ineptitude at this skill. She had never truly danced in all her life. “ It will be fine. I t’ s much like your combat lessons. You follow my lead. The only difference is that instead of moving away from me ,” he paused where they were on the edge of the dance floor to pull her close to the front of his body ,“ you move with me and closer to me .” The whisper of his last words caused another spike in her heart rate. Before she knew it, Alessa was swaying to the music encapsulated by Camde n’ s arms. She placed her hands tentatively on his shoulders at first and, when he pulled her closer, she wrapped them around the back of his neck. She could not understand all of the emotions flowing through her, but she was certain that joy was among them, along with curiosity. She was n’ t sure when her unease had given way to simple wonder, but it had. His body was hard yet his touch was gentle. She felt all of the muscles in his upper arms and shoulders as they turned around their little corner of the dance floor. She glanced up at him and caught him staring at her with an intensity to his face that she could not possibly comprehend. She heard him sigh and then he pulled her closer until their bodies were flush against each other and her head rested on his chest. Alessa imagined that she could stay like this forever, but all too soon the music ended. The band announced that they were taking a break and another song, this one faster than the last, had started up before Camden pulled away from Alessa. He kept her hand in his and pulled her away from the dance floor with him. “ This way ,” Alessa noticed that his voice was slightly deeper and raspier ,“ There is one more ride you have n’ t tried . ” Alessa knew that he was guiding her to the giant wheel that seemed to disappear at the top of the sky. Camden had said the whole day that you must go on this ride after the sun had set and promised her that it would be worth the wait. They stood silently in line. Camden never dropped her hand, and he occasionally rubbed circles on the back of it with his thumb. Every time he did, Alessa swore she stopped breathing. She no longer cared about her appearance or proving her dominance over Camden. She wanted only to remain this close to him. The rapid shift in her feelings towards him gave her pause, but she reminded herself that