LIBERTINES AND LIBERATION – A SECOND NON-DATE – CHAPTER 28
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any Stargate characters, ideas or themes. As a matter of fact, Stargate can have my ideas if they want them (wouldn't that be great). All standard applicable disclaimers apply to this piece. I have tried to source any materials quoted in furtherance of this story.
Spoilers: Probably some for Season 10 and beyond
Summary: Vala and Daniel centered storyline adventure (hopefully); relationship (okay yes); angst (yup); comfort; etc.
Rating: R to NC-17 in some parts.
Author's Note: This is my first Stargate fiction. My beta is an actual fish. Thanks E, for the beta assist. This chapter was difficult to perfect. So I'm hoping I did perfect it and that you all will enjoy it and then let me know your comments. Namaste.
This story will have multiple chapters.
I took inspiration from Milena D's Misappropriation of Lives and a short story called Believe by Random. I really wish those two authors would write more on those two story lines.
Indian Food
Daniel was running very late. It was Saturday and he had plans to take Vala out to dinner -- a make up dinner for the one interrupted by Vala's kidnapping. Distracted by his work, Daniel lost track of time, left the Mountain late to run some errands, and then had a flat tire. By the time the flat was fixed, he was a sweaty mess and it was nearly time to pick up Vala.
To make the dinner reservation, he'd decided to call Sam and ask her to bring Vala into Colorado Springs on her way off the Mountain. Sam could drop her off at the restaurant and even stay for a drink with them. Daniel had been clear with Vala that tonight was dinner between friends and co-workers – not a date.
Daniel thought he had just enough time to shower at his house, change and make it to the restaurant before Vala was due to arrive. He was on his way to the restaurant when a little old lady on Grove Street plowed into the rear bumper of his truck. The accident was little more than a fender bender, but the nervous woman insisted on calling the police. That's when Daniel realized that he'd left his cell phone sitting on the kitchen counter at his house. Now, he was almost an hour late getting to the restaurant.
Throughout the day, Daniel denied that he was a little nervous thinking about an evening alone with Vala. As the appointed time for his "non-date" came and went, Daniel freaked out at the thought that Vala might be sitting alone at the restaurant; Athena had stolen Vala on his watch. As he pulled into a parking space down the street from the restaurant, Daniel felt himself calm and tense simultaneously.
Daniel looked through the window of Namaste, the best Indian restaurant in Colorado Springs. He'd hoped Sam had stayed with Vala. His heart gave a start when he didn't see either of them in Namaste's little bar. The bar looked crowded and lively, especially one large group of three couples. The men were all standing effectively blocking Daniel's view of the women who were all seated at the bar. It barely registered with Daniel that he was admiring a very nice pair of bare, shapely legs clad in casual gold, high heeled sandals. The tantalizing legs were the only thing of the woman Daniel could see in the gap between two of the men. Shaking the distraction from his mind, Daniel continued searching the crowd for Vala and Sam. He entered the restaurant and headed into the bar to make a more thorough search.
Then he heard a familiar alien accent coming from an area he'd already scanned, "I'm not giving up on him yet," Vala said.
"Hey, the guy's a no show. You're free to have dinner with me and my friends." A husky voice said in a persuasive tone.
"No, my Daniel wouldn't just leave me stranded. There's an explanation; but you are so very kind to offer Mark." Vala said calmly.
Then the back identified as Mark shifted, and Daniel saw that the set of fine legs that had distracted him earlier belonged to none other than Vala Mal Doran, his date, well his non-date.
Vala was sitting between two women, one blond and one red head, both in their early 40s and both dressed in expensive jeans and diamonds. Their men were standing with their backs to Daniel, bookends to the one identified as Mark, apparently this foursome's fifth wheel friend.
Mark turned his athletic body slightly, revealing handsome, dark features and expensive taste in his clothing. "I don't know Vala; a beautiful woman like you and this guy doesn't pick you up; then he's not here when you arrive and now he's an hour late without so much as a telephone call, I think you deserve better. Come on; have dinner with me and my friends instead?" Mark said seductively.
Daniel hung back a moment, waiting to hear Vala's reply.
"Well Mark, I think I'll take my chances with my Daniel; he may be a bit late, but the man really is the best. I'm sorry Mark." Vala smiled.
Daniel smiled at Vala's loyal complement. He looked between Mark and his friend to see Vala. She stood out among all the jeans in a casual purple halter dress with gold bands of color at the straps, bodice and skirt edge. The fitted bodice of her dress kissed at a hint of cleavage that was sophisticated and seductive. Her bare shoulders were shown off in contrast to her straight black hair, which she had pulled off her face with a purple scarf. She wore simple gold hoops in her ears and an exotic charm bracelet that Daniel made a note to ask her about.
The short dress hit Vala mid-thigh. Daniel had already enjoyed the view of her bare legs in the gold sandals. I'm not used to seeing her in a dress Daniel thought. That's probably why I didn't recognize her. Vala looked dangerously sensual – frankly she looked hot. Daniel knew that his eyes had gone a bit wide taking in the sight of her.
"There's my Daniel," Vala exclaimed as she caught sight of him. Five pairs of stranger's eyes turned to stare at him. Daniel registered the eyes upon him, but mostly he saw Vala's face light up with a brilliant smile and some relief.
"Hello Daniel," she said taking in his gelled hair, jeans and white button down shirt, "you look lovely."
"Hey. Men look handsome or nice, not lovely," Daniel corrected, "and thank you." Daniel did not return the complement, though he was certainly thinking she looked stunning.
Twin scowls appeared on the faces of the blond and red head sitting next to Vala as they noted Daniel's failure to pay Vala a reciprocal complement and provide an explanation for his poor punctuality. Daniel took in this sisterly concern the women were giving Vala. She'd managed to befriend five people in the course of less than an hour. Now these women were evaluating her tardy date's lack of manners. Vala herself merely smiled at Daniel apparently without expectation of any words of complement or explanation.
"Umm, I'm sorry I'm so late; I got in a fender bender." Daniel apologized.
"Are you alright?" The concern was evident in Vala's voice.
"Yeah, I just dented the fender." Daniel said annoyed that Vala's new entourage looked skeptical.
"What about a telephone call?" The red head blurted out looking at Daniel.
"Huh, sorry I didn't call; I left my cell phone at my house," Daniel stammered.
Vala merely shrugged.
"Where's Sam?' Daniel asked.
"She couldn't wait; Jack's in town. But Mary and Dave; Carl and Karin and Mark have all been keeping me company." Vala explained as she waved her hand in an identifying gesture listing off the names of her new friends.
"Hi, nice to meet you all," Daniel said politely.
"Listen Daniel," Mark smiled amiably, "Vala tells me that you don't consider this a date. So buddy, if you're not interested, mind if I get her number?"
Daniel furrowed his brow at the impertinent question. Ignoring Mark, Daniel moved towards Vala taking her hand and assisting her off the bar stool, as he steered Vala toward the Maitre D', Daniel said, "Excuse us."
Vala just smirked at Daniel waving goodbye to her new friends but saying nothing.
They were seated at a quiet table overlooking the small park across the street. Vala, looking around and breathing in deeply, exclaimed excitedly to Daniel, "spicy!" She gave Daniel an "I'm impressed" nod of her head.
"Yes." Daniel laughed in agreement, but he was thinking of her, not the smell of the spicy Indian food.
The walls of the restaurant were covered in bright Indian silks of blue, green and spicy orange. All the fabric glittered with hundreds of little mirrors sewn into it. Statues of the multi-armed god, Vishnu, the preserver of the universe, and the elephant god Ganesh, the remover of obstacles, stood in the corner.
Vala's eyes took it all in as Daniel explained it.
"I'm starving Daniel." Vala told him, her only comment about his lateness.
The waiter approached and without even asking Vala, Daniel ordered for them. "We'll each have a Bengal beer; we'll have an order of samosas, chicken tikka massala, rice and naan." Daniel laughed enjoying Vala's wide eyed excitement and eagerness as she listened to him order.
Watching Vala experience new things is great fun, Daniel thought smiling to himself. He didn't want to think about how much Vala's wide eyed excitement at new things sometimes reminded him of Sha're. Of course in Vala's case, she could easily turn the tables and introduce him to ideas and new worlds that he had yet to experience. Vala was well traveled. She'd been to many parts of the galaxy that Daniel had yet to explore. And that excited Daniel too.
He inwardly shrugged at his Alpha male enjoyment of ordering their food. He liked that Vala had no preconceived notions against allowing a man to order for her. Daniel suspected Vala was stroking his ego allowing him to order for her, but perhaps she wanted his expertise – maybe a little of both he decided.
"Very good sir" the waiter nodded. Vala was amused as she watched Daniel's obvious thought process. Natives were the best source of knowledge on local cuisine, but it wasn't lost on her that men seemed to enjoy this little ritual of deciding what she should eat. It cost her nothing to indulge Daniel on this small matter.
"Namaste means 'I bow to the divine within you.' It is a traditional Hindu greeting," Daniel explained to Vala as they waited for their food.
"Hmmm, that's lovely," Vala said with a contemplative smile.
The waiter sat down a plate of samosas with plum sauce. Picking up one of the golden and crispy triangular dumplings, Daniel described the potato and pea mixture wrapped in dough, fried and then served with a plum sauce. "Like this," Daniel said dipping the samosa into the red plum sauce. He held the crispy triangle up to Vala's mouth so that she could take a bite. Vala opened her mouth ready to bite into the crispy, pointy end. But, Daniel pulled his hand back at the last minute. "Uhh, Uhh, blow on it first; it's going to be very hot," Daniel admonished with a grin as he watched Vala's face.
Vala had a sparkle in her eye as she asked in a sultry way that made Daniel wonder whether she was still talking about the food, "Very hot?"
Vala's mouth formed a small "o" and she blew onto the triangular morsel as Daniel held it between his fingers. The hair on the back of Daniel's neck stood up at the feel of Vala's breath blowing past his fingertips.
Keeping her eyes on Daniel's, Vala opened her mouth, curved her tongue slightly and waited for him to bring the savory, triangular tip to her lips; then she gently bit down before flicking her tongue quickly over the side of Daniel's finger where plum sauce had dripped.
Daniel's eyes involuntarily closed at the feel of Vala's tongue --silk and sand-- but they flew back open as Vala began fanning her mouth saying, "Hot but good. Hmm, Daniel, that's wonderful."
"Yeah," Daniel smiled at her as he placed the rest of her samosa on the plate in front of her.
"When I visited Cameron's parents in Kansas, Wendy told me that when Cameron was a little boy he used to play fight as a cowboy in games of 'cowboys and Indians.' Was she is referring to a game where he fought with people of this culture?" Vala asked.
Daniel laughed, acknowledging it was a logical conclusion. "Uhh, no. These people are from a country called India across the planet on a continent called Asia. The native populations of North America, that's where we are, used to be called Indians due to some confusion caused by explorers looking for India's spice and silk routes. But, they found this continent and its native populations by accident."
Vala looked confused. "Why can't you just stick to calling each thing one name and not doubling up?" She said in obvious frustration about this annoying Tau'ri habit of using the same word to mean more than one thing. Vala groaned holding up her hand up. "I'm not going there tonight Professor. I'm just going to enjoy the food – no matter which Indians cooked it."
As she spoke, Daniel thought she looked adorable and felt a strong desire to put his mouth over hers and draw her into a kiss.
Instead, Daniel grinned and patted her hand saying in that prim and proper tone, "Yes Vala, tonight you may just enjoy." He found himself holding her hand, but covered by pulling it across the table to examine her charm bracelet. Vala raised a surprised eyebrow.
"I was noticing your bracelet earlier, may I?" Daniel asked Vala already starting to examine it. The charm bracelet was gold and looked very old. The charms included several depictions of circles and smaller squares. In the center was a small gold charm that appeared to be a woman wearing a long skirt. The woman was barefoot and bare breasted. She was flexing both arms and appeared to hold a snake in each hand.
"Vala, where did you get this bracelet?" Daniel asked with a great deal of curiosity. It was obviously a very old artifact of some nature. And truth be known, he was disturbed to see it on Vala's wrist; it should be in a museum. Daniel thought it was obvious that she'd stolen it.
"It was my mother's bracelet. It's one of the only things I still have of my mother's so I rarely wear it." Vala answered.
Daniel was pretty good at reading Vala now, and it had been some time since she had lied to him successfully. Come to think of it, it had been a long time since Vala had even tried to lie to him about something like this. Daniel looked in her eyes, measuring her answer, and was surprised that he found no deception in her response.
"Do you know anything about the charm depicting the woman holding the snakes?" Daniel quizzed.
Vala's eyes glazed and she looked confused, and then she shrugged.
Daniel raised a puzzled eyebrow and made a note to investigate the matter further.
"Did your mother ever say where she got the bracelet?" Daniel asked.
"I think the bracelet was her mother's when she was a little girl." Vala responded trying to be helpful.
"Vala, you never talk much about your mother, what was her name?" Daniel asked.
Once again Vala's eyes glazed and she looked confused, "my mother was very busy." Vala responded.
Daniel looked at Vala with concern. He was about to ask her some more questions when the waiter appeared with the rest of their dinner. So Daniel let the matter drop.
Vala ate with the appreciation and approval of a well traveled galaxy wanderer. Vala's admiration was not lost on Daniel, who beamed just a bit as he ate his food.
"This is very good Daniel." Vala nodded and smiled.
After dinner, Daniel suggested, "Let's take a walk and grab coffee and dessert later." Daniel motioned to the waiter for the check.
Vala stood and said, "I'm going to use the bathroom."
For a moment Daniel's eyes registered panic. But then he relaxed and nodded his head. He watched as Vala reached over the table to pat the side of his face. Then she turned and headed to the back of the restaurant.
Daniel calmed himself thinking, no other exits -- one of the reasons you picked this place; got to let that Athena stuff go.
Pet Store
Daniel held the door of the restaurant open for Vala, placing his hand on the small of her back to guide her through the door.
Vala hooked an arm through Daniel's, leaned her head onto his shoulder and said, "That was worth the wait Daniel."
"Well I know you don't get off base much." Daniel gave her a shy smile.
"What's that?" Vala asked pointing to a bat eared French bulldog puppy as they passed by a pet store with puppies playing in the window.
"They're all baby dogs, puppies." Daniel explained.
"All of them are dogs? Do they serve different functions?" Vala quizzed.
"Not really, they're all supposed to be pets. All the animals in this store are being sold as pets. Come on," Daniel smiled pulling Vala into the pet store.
The first pen in the store contained a miniature pot belly pig and a pigmy goat that stamped its hoof.
"Daniel, can I have the goat thingie?" Vala looked at him hopefully.
"No. Vala you don't have any place that a goat would be happy." Daniel told her softly.
"Oh," Vala said looking disappointed.
"Those are more exotic in the pet department," Daniel said. "Most people opt for a dog or cat." Daniel motioned to the capering puppies. "What about a goldfish? That's an easy pet to take care of at the base." Daniel suggested.
"What does it do?" Vala asked.
"Well it lives in a bowl filled with water; it swims around; you feed them and keep the bowl clean. Watching a fish swim around is supposed to be calming. Yeah, we should definitely get you a goldfish," Daniel said grinning at her.
"Sounds kind of dull," Vala pouted.
The next pen they came to had twenty or thirty baby chicks.
Vala's arm was still entwined in Daniel's when all of a sudden he felt her go stiff as she yelled, "Entasko!" Vala was looking around quickly as she tried to pull Daniel away from the chicks."
Daniel put his hand on Vala's hand, which was now clutching his arm. He looked at her with amused eyes, but refrained from laughing to protect Vala's dignity. "These are chicks, as in baby chickens, Vala. They're harmless. They grow into chickens and we use them for eggs and meat," Daniel told her reassuringly.
"Chicken?" Vala said tentatively. "It looks a lot like the Entasko, and they are extremely dangerous. Entasko makes a delicious dinner and some hunt them; but they are a cunning predator and often hunt the hunter. No one would keep one as a pet." Vala said with a shiver, "They are very smart and some believe they have organized thought. You never turn your back on an Entasko."
"Vala you must have seen a chick on television or in a magazine – they're everywhere at Easter time. Why didn't you ask me about it then?" Daniel asked her trying not to grin.
"Well I thought I knew what it was; it's a baby Entasko. I thought it was odd that the Tau'ri would use a symbol of cunning predation in your fertility rites of spring. But, I just thought it was supposed to symbolize death in the renewed cycle of life and death." Vala explained, shivering a bit as she looked at the baby chicks.
Daniel could see the logic of her assumption. He pulled Vala a little closer to reassure her as he smiled into her hair. "I'll protect you from the Tau'ri Entasko, Vala." Daniel teased.
Vala nuzzled into him -- she was not one to pass up a snuggle with Daniel -- but said, "If we do encounter an actual Entasko, I'LL be the one protecting YOU my Daniel; they are treacherous and not to trifled with if you have no experience with them."
"Are you messen' with me; you expect me to believe in killer chickens?" Daniel smirked.
"Believe what you want Daniel, but I will always protect you from the wiles of the Entasko," Vala said earnestly with a little huff of indignation at Daniel's increasingly amused expression.
"And I will always protect you from the wiles of the Tau'ri chicken," Daniel couldn't quite suppress a smile as he placed a kiss on her forehead. "Come on I have a surprise for you."
"I love surprises!"
Daniel rolled his eyes with a grin, "I know."
Back on the street, Daniel took Vala's arm and walked her a few doors down to the Emerson Dance Studio where he ushered Vala in with a smile.
Vala smiled back at him with a puzzled look; Daniel didn't seem like a dancer.
"Daniel this isn't about that ballet evaluation you've been bugging me take is it?" Vala looked at him suspiciously.
"Well Vala you did enjoy dancing at Liquid 14th," Daniel said sheepishly not wanting to admit she'd called him on his ulterior motives.
Daniel found the issue of whether Vala had any ballet, or similar dance training, fascinating especially in light of the inscriptions on the beautiful combs he'd found in her room. He'd been trying to convince Vala to go to the University for an evaluation of her dance training. Vala had been strangely reluctant in Daniel's opinion. And whenever Daniel asked Vala about ballet, she'd shrug her shoulders with a blank look on her face; she insisted she had no formal training.
And tonight, for the second time, Vala had been unable to tell him her mother's name when he had asked. He planned to ask Dr. Lam for another assessment of Vala's memory. He needed to know whether the device Athena used to dig up Vala's suppressed Goa'uld genetic memories could have wiped out her childhood memories. Daniel feared Vala had large memory gaps from damage Athena had caused. It frightened Daniel, and made any information he could find in Qetesh's journals all the more important.
Since Vala was reticent to go to the University, he had been considering using the Emerson Dance Studio. Professor Chalone, a UCS dance anthropologist, taught a couple of classes at Emerson. After his dinner conversation with Vala about her mother, Daniel decided no time like the present. The dance studio teachers could do an initial evaluation of her skill set. Professor Chalone could quietly evaluate Vala's dance background. Daniel planned on arranging private ballet classes for Vala and presenting them as a little gift in hopes that she would find the idea more palatable that way.
"Daniel I already said no! Besides you shouldn't be using our date for an ulterior motive. That's devious and sneaky! I'm . . . I'm shocked!" Vala complained with a bit of resentment in her voice.
Daniel rolled his eyes, "Oh, you're shocked. Well Vala what comes around goes around. And this is not a date!" Daniel said as he continued to march Vala up the small staircase that led to the second floor studio space.
As they reached the top of the stairs, Vala saw a sign, "It Takes Two to Tango" on an easel sitting outside of a studio; people were milling about, talking about tango and clearly waiting for a tango class to start.
Daniel saw a wicked look cross Vala's face as she hatched a plan. She smiled at him seductively and placed a finger in the crook where his shirt exposed the top of his collarbone. "Darling, I have a proposition for you." Vala purred.
"Vala you always have a proposition for me." Daniel furrowed his brows at her.
"This is a different proposition." Vala nodded and made her eyes wide and innocent.
"Okay Vala, proposition me," Daniel reddened as he realized his double entendre.
Vala either ignored or didn't seem to understand the nuance of Daniel's comment. "Well, I will do one hour of ballet for every hour of Tango class we do together."
"Oh no way; no way; absolutely not!" Daniel protested.
"Fine, let's go," Vala spun on her heel and headed back down the stairs.
It was the closest Daniel had ever been to getting her to agree to the ballet evaluation.
Vala had made it down the first three stairs before Daniel held out an arm and said with a big sigh, "Wait!"
Vala turned and folded her arms over her chest, "I'll want a REAL effort from you Daniel, understand?"
"Fine, but no inappropriate groping!" Daniel fumed at being manipulated into this.
"Daniel, you have free will here, you can say NO. So if this is a deal, then lose the attitude, I want to dance with the sweet Daniel, not the grump." Vala arched an eyebrow and grinned at him – he was so trapped.
Daniel let out a big rush of air. How did this happen? But then he said, "Okay, no attitude, but then there will be no excuses or weaseling out of ballet. You got that?"
"I'll even behave," Vala smirked.
Daniel just shook his head, "not buying that" his body language seemed to say.
It Takes Two to Tango
Ten minutes later, Daniel was lacing up some ridiculous looking dance shoes that the teacher had insisted on; Vala's sandals had been replaced with a high heeled gold dance shoe that would hold her foot in, unlike the backless sandals.
"Welcome to It Takes Two to Tango." A graceful and striking woman of about 45 told them. The woman had dark hair, skin and eyes. She was wearing a black body suit and tango skirt with worn in dance shoes. "I am Maria Consuelo Theresa Strauss, I am from Argentina, and this is my partner, Luis Antonio Fernando Obergon, also direct from Argentina. We will be teaching you the dance of seduction, the dance of passion, the dance of love; the Tango.
Vala's arched an eyebrow and gave Daniel a wide grin as she watched him squirm at the erotic description of the Tango he had just agreed to learn with her.
"This is a partner class, and I see you have all brought your selected partner." Maria said. "Now everyone face your partner."
Daniel and Vala stood facing each other a good arm's length apart. "Now hold your partner so that your bodies are touching like so," Maria said demonstrating a close press of torsos with the attractive Argentinean Luis.
Daniel blanched momentarily.
"Oh come on Daniel am I really that repulsive! Man up." Vala taunted him, pissing him off so that he grabbed Vala and pressed her into his body far harder and closer than the instructor had demonstrated.
Vala gasped with surprise and pleasure.
"You sir, in the glasses, that is certainly the correct attitude, but for the beginning of the dance perhaps a little less force and contact." Maria instructed Daniel, "We'll work our way to that point in the dance certainly." Maria encouraged Daniel.
Daniel shook his head as he reddened a bit and eased back to the demonstrated level of torso touching as demonstrated by Maria and Luis.
"Now men, place your hands in the center of your partner's back." Luis called the instruction, "Left hand out, elbow bent and loosely grab your partner's hand, like so."
The couples all obeyed the instruction, which brought Daniel and Vala face to face in close contact. He could smell the wonderful scent of her. She could feel his hand on her back and the warm press of his body through the thin fabric of her dress.
"Women, please place the left hand on the man's shoulder." Maria instructed. As Vala complied, Daniel saw the charm bracelet dangle enticingly.
"Men, left foot steps forward; remember heel down first and then the toes." Luis called out.
"Women you will follow, a mirror image of your man, when this class is done you will think as one when it comes to the tango and where the tango goes love follows." Maria said seductively.
Vala suppressed a smirk and, biting her lower lip, looked at Daniel. She had a hint of challenge in her eyes as if she were reminding him that the bargain was dancing with sweet Daniel and not the grump.
"Next the right foot takes a step and passes the left foot," Luis instructed, embracing Maria for a demonstration, "Like so. Notice our bent legs and how we lean and arch towards one another as if I will at any moment bend the beautiful Maria into a searing kiss. We are looking for passion people, passion. It is in you all and we are here to bring it out."
Daniel started to roll his eyes; he was uncomfortable as hell, but then he thought better of it and instead made an awkward attempt to follow Maria and Luis' example. Vala could feel the tension in Daniel's arms and body, clearly heralding his extreme discomfort. Vala let Daniel struggle and waited for him to decide whether he would bolt or try the suggested position. Then Daniel committed to the position. Daniel's movement was awkward at first, but he soon got the posture down.
"Left foot forward quickly and then slide the right foot quickly to the right side, and shift your weight." Maria called, "Like thus."
Vala followed Daniel, matching his level. She was certainly enjoying having his hand in the small of her back; her hand in his hand; his breath on her face; his body pressed into her.
Luis took over, "And now people, your left foot comes slowly to your right, but notice the left leg remains slightly bent as you bring feet together. Weight is still on the right foot. Like thus. Now, shift your weight to the other foot; right foot goes forward with a rock step like thus. And follow our lead."
Luis and Maria did a half-turn clockwise and then stepped quickly onto the right foot, shifting their weight back to the left foot. Then they made a half turn.
"Now feet together people," Maria instructed. "And you now have the basic tango."
Daniel, a man of his word made no grumbles, but earnestly followed instructions. Vala followed him and the instructions perfectly, expertly really.
Maria and Luis were walking among the couples making corrections to the form, holds and moves.
Luis walked over to Daniel, "Sir may I?" Luis asked permission as he held out his arms for Vala. "Less tension, more arch, more lean into your beautiful partner. Like so." Luis demonstrated with Vala, leaning and slouching towards her as an example to Daniel. Daniel raised both eyebrows and put his hands in his pockets, taking them out again only when Luis returned Vala to Daniel's hands. "Now you try it," Luis commanded.
Daniel complied with Luis' instructions. He leaned into Vala so that they were pressed even closer together. Vala's eyes got a little wider as she tried not to smirk at Daniel.
"Enjoying yourself?" Daniel asked her in a slightly annoyed tone.
"Of course darling; you're holding me." Vala said in a sultry voice, testing Daniel's resolve.
Soon Daniel and Vala had a basic tango that looked decent if not precisely smooth.
"Good, good!" Maria and Luis called.
As Daniel mastered the basic technique and his tango with Vala became smoother, he started enjoying the sultry Latin rhythm; the concentration required to learn the skill; the feel of the movement; not to mention the closeness of Vala; the smell of Vala; the feel of Vala.
"Now tighten the hold," Luis instructed the men.
Daniel pressed Vala into him even closer. He wanted to close his eyes and feel her body next to his but forced himself not to. He was fully present to see Vala close her eyes slowly; he heard her slight intake of air, a seductive siren call.
The classic tango music changed to a slightly faster beat. So Daniel began to move Vala through the basic tango steps at a faster pace. He was rewarded with an explosive smile across Vala's face as they moved more quickly in the tightened hold.
"Now the dip," Luis instructed and demonstrated a low sensual dip with Maria. Luis bent Maria over almost to the floor as Maria arched her back. Then Luis brought her halfway back before coming out of the dip by dragging his hand along Maria's rib cage, passed her breast then all the way up her arm to her fingertips.
"Alright men, dip your partners," Luis said forcefully as if he had been affected by the passion of his dip with Maria. Daniel dipped Vala, leaning into her as she expertly arched her back; his face and lips were close to hers. All either of them would need to do was lean forward in order to kiss; an option several other couples had chosen.
"Daniel," Vala gasped with eyes looking at him in half question, half desire.
Daniel began to lean forward towards Vala's lips, until his lips were almost touching her lips, but then he stiffened almost imperceptibly as he opted to maintain their frame. On the beat, Daniel began dragging his fingers up Vala's rib cage, over the side of her breast and up her naked arm. He felt every inch of the journey up her body.