I don't spend much time watching TV unless my husband has rented a movie for our pizza night, or he pops in a tape of one of our favorite sci-fi shows, like Dr. Who, Torchwood, or that old vampire series from Canada, Forever Knight. But I know that lots of people enjoy watching the dancers on Dancing With the Stars. I do Jazzercise, and one of the professional dancers is a spokesperson for my favorite exercise class.

But I do enjoy doing the dancing, particularly the cha-cha and other Latin dances. I have taken a belly-dancing lesson or two, and did some research into it as an art form when I was writing my most recent book, Undercover Lovers. The heroine, Ameena, is of Arabic descent. She was a top spy but left the agency after she helped capture a serial killer. Unfortunately the plan had snags and he was able to torture her first, so she lost her taste for excitement and adventure and became a choreographer for music videos.

In this excerpt, she is trying to get the dancers to understand how to do the moves she has designed for them, and she reluctantly decides that showing them is the only way to teach them.

Ameena was so exasperated she strode impatiently into the center of the dancing area. She turned slowly in a circle, trying to talk to all of the dancers at once.

“Haven't any of you ever learned how to belly dance? You all know how to jump around and shimmy, but you don't know how to move your hips to this kind of music? It's a world-music kind of beat...it has Arabic influences and some salsa and meringue overtones. You can't just hop around like you're doing jumping jacks in gym class! You do know how and why belly dancing was invented as an art form, right?”

As she looked around, she realized that no one seemed to know what she was talking about. She let out a heavy sigh.

“Don't they teach you anything about dances from other cultures anymore? Belly dancing was invented way before the people of the western world had gotten around to becoming civilized. Harem girls had to find some way to convince their master that he was still capable of performing as a man, long after he was too old to do so. They'd dance around, simulating the motions of sex, then climb on top of his chubby aging body, and by their movements convince him and the eunuchs who were watching that he was having sex with them.”

Ameena looked around at the assembled listeners, meeting the eyes of many of them in turn.

“Now do you understand? You're having sex with an imaginary lover onstage, with everyone watching you. If you weren't an exhibitionist you wouldn't be a dancer. Now watch me while I show you what the hell I've been trying to explain to you!”

She shaded her eyes to look up at the sound crew sitting beyond the lights.

“George? Start the music from where it changes to that heavy rolling rhythm.”

She turned to the dancers as the music started to blare from the speakers.

“Now watch what I do, and remember that this is supposed to be a seduction song. Think hot sex. Think horizontal moves...”

With that she thrust her hands over her head and began to wiggle her hips. She moved them from side-to-side, then back and forth, then in a circle. As she moved her lower torso, she walked slowly, each footstep emphasized by the corresponding hip thrust that made it appear that even her bones were flexible. The music continued to inspire her, as she closed her eyes and seemed to be lost in it, her entire body in fluid motion.

No one could look away. No one even noticed that three men had entered the room. They strode purposefully in then stopped, as the woman dancing in the center of the soundstage captivated their attention as completely as she had everyone else's.

Ameena really was lost in the music, and for a time it was the only thing that existed for her. She was using the moves she'd learned as a young girl, enhanced by years of experience seducing men all over the world. She was doing the sequences she'd been trying to teach the dancers, but also embellishing it as she went along. With a flourish, she ended up collapsing on the floor as the music ended abruptly. There was silence for a moment. As she began to pick herself up off of the floor the room exploded in applause.

She smiled as she looked around the room.

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Now for something completely different: a contest!

Since I've been working so much lately, I haven't had much time to work on my current books, or think up ideas for my blogs. So instead this month I'm offering 2 autographed copies of my spy novel, Secret Love. I'm interested in knowing if readers prefer eBooks or paperbacks and why.
Just leave me a comment below with your reply, and I'll pick the winners on Sunday, my only day off from both of my jobs! (Husband and I are going to continue our Valentine's Day week of celebrating by seeing one of our favorite blues bands, Howard and the White Boys, at a local "Booze, Blues and Barbecues" joint on Saturday night after I get off of work. I plan to sleep extra late on Sunday!)

And here's an excerpt to whet your appetite!
Scene: Sheena is forbidden by the unofficial terms of her contract with the agency she works for from becoming involved with anyone while she is on active duty. Technically she is on vacation for a few days, so not "on" active duty. She seduces the hottest man she has ever seen, recognizing him from the action movies he has starred in for years. But she knows she will have to leave him abruptly once she gets the summons back onto an active case.

Hours went by, then days, unnoticed by them both as they learned the intimate secrets of each other’s bodies. They took breaks to get new drinks, to prepare and eat food, to take quick naps. They took long soaks in the Jacuzzi before returning to the bed to once again seek pleasure in each other. They had sex in the kitchen, in the bathroom, on the comfortable cushions of the sunken living room furniture, and repeatedly in the bedroom.

And somewhere along the line, Sheena realized she was developing real feelings for this man. Once that thought presented itself to her, she ran to hide in the bathroom, terrified of what it might mean. She took some time in there, trying to slow her racing heartbeat. She knew that having a real relationship was forbidden while she was still under contract. That had never bothered her before.

Now as she stared at her reflection in the mirror, she saw the marks of their passion all over her nude body: bruises on her neck and breasts were reminders of the love bites he’d given her while he was in the throes of his own orgasms—she’d never felt any pain, just pleasure from feeling him come inside of her. There were imprints of his fingers on her hips where he’d held her tightly, pulling her so close to him that their bodies had felt fused into one. Her eyes were glassy from lack of sleep; her lips were puffy from being roughly kissed and bitten. One night they’d shaved each other’s pubic hair to see how that would affect their pleasure. She shook her head, marveling at how many unique ways they’d found to give each other mind-blowing pleasure. And yet she’d always known in the back of her mind that this wouldn’t last…it couldn’t.

So why do I suddenly feel panic, combined with a sense of impending loss?

When she got back out of the bathroom Cory was lounging on the cushions in the living room, a cup of coffee in his hand and a fresh pot of coffee on the table in front of him, along with some pastries she’d ordered sent up earlier… Or was it yesterday? She couldn’t remember, and that was another new source of anxiety for her.

What day is it?

She looked closely at him and saw that his body also bore the signs of their passionate lovemaking. There were marks on his shoulders where she’d bitten him while her orgasms made her gnash her teeth. His eyelids drooped lazily, as if he was a man almost totally satisfied, while his face had a beard growth of… How many days?

Trying not to be distracted by his nudity and his extreme good looks, she walked slowly over to sit facing him, on the same cushion but sideways, her feet the only thing close enough for him to touch.

“What’s wrong, darlin’?” he drawled lazily.

The fact that he was so attuned to her emotions only emphasized to her the danger she’d put them both into.
***************
Comment below for a chance to win an autographed copy of Secret Love!
And to read about all of my books, visit me at: www.fionamcgier.com