Okay, so this chapter completes the dancing. Things are going to change in a big way...again for these two. Life can never be easy, right? There's a lot more going on here than only dancing. If you want more let me know! Reviews are always helpful to any author on here, positive welcome, negative critique-okay, flames NO NO'S.

** ON ANOTHER NOTE CHECK OUT FAXalltheway-she has two fanfictions going I want to give a shout out for, one on Maximum Ride and another crossover...check them out :)

CHAPTER 6

WINNING OR LOSING IT ALL HURTS THE SAME

He wasn't immune to her physically at least, Nora knew that for sure now, but that was all she was afraid it would ever be with them. She tried harder to protect her heart a little more, as much as she possible could with how she felt about him now. It made her very very nervous. He could never know unless she was absolutely sure he felt the same way. If this was all she ever got she was going to take full advantage of it, even if she did have a contest yet to win, and she knew he was going to continue to push her harder and harder. She just hoped her heart was up to it.

When Nora came home from school, she raced up the stairs to her room. She'd received a text from Patch, telling her that he was back in town after a week away (not a moment too soon) and that he'd left her a little present in her room. Of course he had to send that text during first period, so she'd be on edge all day.

Nora found a dress, hidden in a nest of crackling tissue paper in a long white cardboard box that was laying on her bed with a ruby-red rose tucked into the ribbon. She hurried to the bed to untie the ribbon and lift the lid from the box. The dress was black as midnight, made of a velvety fabric, and strewn with tiny glittering stones, as if it had been sprinkled with fairy dust. There were also two combs for her hair, set with bigger sparkling stones. Nora fell in love with it instantly.

When she grabbed her phone to call Patch, it had already started buzzing, Patch's name came up on the display, as if she'd conjured his attention just by thinking of him. She picked up the phone and cooed with a smile, "Honey, you're home! And you brought me a present!"

Patch chuckled, amused, "You like it?"

"Oh, yes! It's perfect! Simply divine!" She exclaimed, fingering the soft material of the dress. "What are you going to wear? We'll be color coordinated, I hope?"

"You'll just have to wait and see!" Came his answer, she could practically hear the mischievous gleam she was sure he was wearing in his eyes knowing how she hated to wait.

The contest would be held outside the Mayor's Mansion, the venue of most Coldwater Creek events. The garden looked beautiful in the falling dusk; and soon it would be romantically lit by countless paper lanterns in many shapes and hues that were scattered throughout the trees. A big dance floor had been laid out on the lawn, and next to it was a raised daïs that held some chairs for the musicians; two men were already there, tuning their instruments. When Nora arrived with her mom and dad, she passed right by them, and she thought she recognized some of the musicians from the salsa café she'd visited with Patch, Vee and Scott.

Mr. Grey was already there, his hair sticking on end, and looking hounded as he ran around with a clipboard and fussed with the numbers that would be worn by the men. Looking at him one would never guess he was a day over twenty-five. Her mom headed over to him immediately, and Nora made for the house, toting her dress in a garment bag over her shoulder and her shoes in another bag over her arm.

She slipped into her dress, taking care not to mess up her hairdo. Vee had helped her to style it, almost frying her hair with the curling iron in the process. The curls had been swept up, and fixed with the combs, leaving her long neck tantalizingly bare. One single curl had been left out of the pinned up mass to frame her face.

She stepped in front of the mirror. The dress was lovely. The dark color complemented her now sun-kissed skin to perfection, and the shimmering little stones caught the light, relieving the stark black of the dress and giving off sparks when she moved, almost as if the fabric dotted with tiny twinkling stars. The neckline was heart-shaped and plunged very deep, revealing the tops of her breasts and hinting at the valley between them. It was held up by a halter that tied at the back of her neck.

She turned, craning her neck to look over her shoulder and blushed a little. Wearing a bra underneath was out of the question: there was no back to the dress whatsoever and it dipped very low, baring her back as far as the curve of her bottom, where the skirt flared out. There was just a bit of skirt in front, but it was longer in the back, not quite reaching the back of her knees. The dress fit her body like a glove, the stretchy fabric accentuating her curvy figure – trust her best friend to know her measurements better than she knew them herself!

She was just putting on her dancing shoes when her sister walked into the dressing room. Her hair was a mass of little curls, bouncing loosely about her face, and she was wearing a glittering emerald bustier-style dress held up by threads crisscrossing her back and a short, multi-layered skirt. And matching green shoes, of course. Vee was nothing if not thorough when it came to color-coordinating.

"You look lovely, Vee." Nora said honestly, admiring her sister's sexy outfit. Vee might be a few pounds past curvy, but she knew how to dress them right to accent them so they didn't look anything less than sensual.

Vee twirled around and smiled as she sat down in front of the mirror to put the last touches on her make-up. "You look gorgeous too, Nora. I guess I should compliment Patch on his excellent taste," she commented with a teasing smile, "Trust him to pick a dress that will fall straight off your body when you pull just the one ribbon!"

Nora ignored her little jibe. She was ready by now, having checked her lipstick and mascara, and the nerves struck with a vengeance. She suddenly realized that she and Patch hadn't danced in almost a week! Horrific images started dancing through her mind, of her falling on her face on these shoes, of forgetting the steps…

"Nora! Stop with the pacing already! You're making my head spin," Vee commented, watching Nora in the mirror as she rummaged through her bag for her lipstick.

"I'm nervous, Vee. I can't help it!" Nora replied, hearing the tremor in her own voice that was a sure sign of her inner turmoil. "My body's as tense as-"

"Why didn't you get rid of that tension before coming here?" Vee interrupted, pursing her lips to apply her lipstick.

"Huh?" Nora stopped wearing out the carpet long enough to cast an inquiring glance at her sister, not picking up on the wicked gleam in Vee's eyes.

"S-e-x, Nora! How long has it been since you did the bump and grind?" Vee wiped the excess lipstick on a tissue and critically regarded herself in the mirror, pretending to be serious with her naïve little sister who still hadn't picked up on the underlying humor in her voice.

Finally Nora caught on to the teasing and rolled her eyes at her sister's back, "You really have a one-track mind, Vee!"

"Hello? Teenager here. This pretty exterior". Vee indicated her body with a flick of her hand, "-is just a facade for something that's essentially a raging sea of hormones!" She cautiously applied another layer of mascara.

Nora snorted, "Well, I think my sex life is none of your business!" Thinking if Vee only knew she was saving herself for Patch even though she knew he hadn't reached the point that he saw her as more than a sibling who had just developed a body he admired like art...not as a girlfriend...yet...she still had hope.

"Oh, it so is my business if you're gonna make me all nervous with your pacing. I'll have you know that I was completely Zen when I got here, all my chakra's aligned, or whatever they call it, and now you're messing them up!"

"You and Scott are an item, then? Good for you!" Nora said, glad to get her sister off her own case. The last she had known Scott and her had fought over something to do with Rixon.

She'd forgotten how persistent Vee could be, "Oh, yes! Nothing like hot make-up sex after a good fight. You should try it sometime!"

Nora was saved from receiving any more of Vee's wisdom by the Mayor's wife, who'd walked into the dressing room, and was now looking at Vee with a frown. She'd probably overheard her big sister's last statement, but she wisely didn't comment on it. She made a shooing motion with her hand and said, "Come on, girls! Don't dawdle. The others are waiting. We're about to start. Your dance partners are already downstairs, but we're going to let you come down from up here. I think it's prettier that way. When I call your name, you walk down the stairs, and your partner will lead you out onto the floor, okay?" Like their parents, it was all about appearance.

Vee and Nora nodded and joined the rest of the women at the top of the stairs. Nora recognized some other girls from their school and some outsiders. All in all there were about 20 women milling about at the top of the stairs. One by one the names were called, and they went downstairs, all of them teetering dangerously on high heels.

Then her sister's name was called. "Miss Vee Grey and Mr. Parnell". Nora told Vee sincerely, "Good luck, Vee!" and her sister gave her a thumbs up in return, carefully going down to a waiting Scott.

And finally it was Nora's turn. She wasn't just nervous for the contest, but also because she hadn't seen Patch for five days now. Would everything still feel the same? Would he look at her any differently than he'd done last week? She squared her shoulders and walked to the top of the stairs. Only one way to find out.

When the mayor called out the last names on her list, "Miss Nora Grey and Mr. Cipriano". Nora gripped the banister tightly, descending gingerly on her high heels. She rounded the curve of the stairs and her eyes alighted on Patch immediately, standing at the bottom step. The only thing she really saw were his eyes, a glittering midnight black, never wavering from her face as he stood looking up at her solemnly.

Suddenly one corner of his lips quirked up in that sexy half-smile that always made her knees weak. It immediately dispelled all her fears that anything might have changed for the worse between them, and she returned it with a broader smile of her own. Only then did his eyes drift down to take in her dress, and when he extended his arm so she could put her hand on it, there was open admiration in his gaze. Admiration she reminded herself, not a wedding proposal.

"You look absolutely stunning, Miss Grey." He murmured, as he gave her a courteous little bow. His voice was a little deeper than usual, as if it was fraught with some emotion she couldn't immediately put a name to.

"You don't look too bad yourself, Mr. Cipriano. You dress to impress." She whispered back with a wink, taking in his scandalously tight black pants and close-fitting silk shirt as she came down the last steps.

She smiled when she saw that the black shirt didn't have any buttons. The deep V left a wide expanse of his bronze skin bare, displaying the rippling muscles of his chest. It was tucked into a broad black sash that tied around his waist and dusted with the same sparkling fairy powder as her dress. The sash, the casually rolled up shirtsleeves and his ruffled hair that fell rakishly over his forehead gave him the appearance of a dashing pirate out on the town. Nora closed her mouth before she drooled all over him.

"No, Nora, I UNdress to impress." Patch said in a seductive voice with a smirk on his face.

When no one was looking Nora slapped him on the arm, telling him to behave, something she knew was impossible for him to do.

They walked onto the terrace, and joined the couples spread out on the dance floor, listening as Mrs. 'Mayor' welcomed everyone, and then presented the jury. It consisted of herself as the president (of course! She'd never pass up on an opportunity to stand in the spotlight, Nora thought), a smiling couple who were the reigning regional Latin champions, and finally… Nora started when her eyes fell on the petite, curvaceous figure of Karlotta.

The Latin dancer was garbed much like the last time, during their dancing lesson in town, in a mini skirt and a halter-top, and wearing impossibly high heels. She was smiling broadly, and blatantly ogling Patch. Nora's grip on Patch's arm tightened a little, and only when he looked down at her with a question in his eyes, did she realize that her nails were digging into his skin, leaving half-moon imprints that vanished as soon as she raised her hand.

"Everything all right?" He mouthed, watching her intently.

"Just nerves," She replied, and he put his other hand reassuringly on top of hers, his thumb massaging her palm in lazy circles.

"Remember what I told you? Just imagine the jury without any clothes," He cast a sideways glance at the four members of the jury, and frowned, "On second thought, scratch that. Just picture me naked and you'll do fine!"

Nora half turned to curiously look at the jury again. That was when she saw the gorgeous guy who was the regional Latin champion. He was candidly examining the scantily dressed women on the dance floor, and she smiled in amusement at Patch's sudden change of heart (he wasn't jealous, surely?), thereby drawing the man's gaze. He noticed her looking at him and boldly raked his eyes over her figure, sending her an appreciative smile. Nora felt Patch stiffen next to her, his arm under her fingers going rock hard as his muscles tensed, and a menacing growl rumbled deep in his chest.

Patch already regretted directing Nora's attention to the jury. That posturing douche-bag better watch out where he put his eyes! Okay, so he'd gifted Nora with a rather daring dress, but that didn't mean that pompous asshat had the right to mentally strip her even of that barely there garment! Reflexively he pulled her in closer, one hand sliding behind her to rest on the velvety skin at the small of her back. She was HIS Angel.

Nora was all too aware of his hand caressing her naked back, and she turned towards him, her warm hand making contact with his bare chest. For a second she was lost in contemplating the contrast of her ivory skin against his golden one, transfixed by the temperature difference between them as her body heat was absorbed by his cool flesh.

But when she looked up to meet his eyes, his gaze was hot and possessive, almost melting her into a puddle on the floor. She swallowed under his intense look: the heat in his eyes was almost tangible, a warm glow that nevertheless made her break out in goose bumps. God, she hoped she wasn't imagining all of this, that it wasn't just her mind playing tricks on her that he really was looking at her like that.

Patch fought the urge to drag Nora away from the dance floor and into the first room he could find that had a lock on the door to keep everyone out. He hadn't realized that it'd be this hard to keep himself under control after five days of not seeing her. Sparks would most definitely be flying once they got dancing! He forced his attention back to the stage, and sent the country oaf that had dared to ogle Nora in such a lewd way a scathing look. If he wasn't allowed to look at her that way no one else could either.

Nora's dad passed the microphone to Karlotta, who was explaining the contest rules in her lilting, accented English. The participants would all start dancing at once, and the jury would walk around and observe. After a while they would start eliminating couples from the contest, while the others kept dancing. The couple that was still dancing in the end would be the winner, and would be invited to attend the regional finals for professional dancers in the fall and get a year's free access to a salsa club of their choice.

"And remember," she ended her little speech, a lascivious note entering her throaty voice, "This is a Latin dance, which means that it is all about the sex. So please, use your bodies and this wonderful music to the best of your ability to make us enjoy the show!"

Mr. Grey scowled and bent sideways to whisper something in Karlotta's ear that was probably something along the lines of that last statement being totally inappropriate, because many of the participants were still minors. Karlotta just shrugged it off in a very Latin gesture of indifference, and Nora found herself liking the salsa teacher for her outspoken candor (only a very little bit, mind!).

The audience had gathered around the dance floor by now, and Nora spotted her mom who was joined now by her dad, standing right at the edge of the floor, together with Angelo and Bella. She smiled at them, and Bella raised her two thumbs to wish her luck.

Patch then turned Nora with her back to him, and locked one arm around her waist, pulling her pliant body flush against his own. She leaned her head back, and tried to relax her tense muscles as he guided her free arm slowly upwards so her hand was behind his neck.

Patch's lips brushed the shell of her ear, easily accessible with her hair up like that, and he whispered, "You'll do fine, Nora. Trust me. We're going to win this thing!" He paused and added dryly, "Otherwise I can always just chain the jury in hell!"

Nora's lips curled in a little smile. Patch always knew how to make her feel less stressed out. On her heels, she was almost of a height with him, and she turned her head to rub her cheek against his jaw, inhaling the mix of expensive cologne and Patch's own spicy scent.

Then the music started and the on looking crowd fell silent.

Only a single musician was playing at first, a mesmerizing, haunting melody that wove its magic around the couples on the dance floor, their movements slow and sensual in response to the compelling tune. Patch slid his fingertips down Nora's raised arm, and further down the side of her breast, and Nora exhaled slowly, feeling his languid touch settle in her bones.

Then his hands settled on her waist in a firm grip, guiding her hips into slow gyrations, moving his own in sync with her for a few beats. She slowly sank down, bending her knees, rotating her bottom so she was almost but not quite touching his pants. She put her hands behind her, splaying her fingers on his thighs as she slid them downwards.

As she slowly rose up again, her hands were rubbing the fabric snugly spanning his thighs. He raised her arms in the air and slowly spun her around, turning her to face him, and their eyes locked. Her nerves were gone at that point, and she lost herself in the dance as more musicians started playing and the music was swelling in intensity.

"My God, what is she doing out there?" Bella whispered furiously to Angelo who was standing next to her. Both of them had their eyes glued to just one couple on the dance floor.

"She's dancing, Bella. You know, when people move their bodies to the music?" Angelo answered with a wry smile.

Nora's mom who was standing with them rolled her eyes, without taking them off the dance floor. "No need to be sarcastic, Angelo. You've definitely been spending too much time around Patch. You're beginning to sound like him," she huffed. "Besides, that isn't dancing. That's-" She hesitated, looking for a strong enough word, "It's making out in public! When did they get so cozy? In fact, why is she doing this with Patch of all people?"

Angelo sighed, silently cursing Nora for not clueing her parents in on her change in romantic feelings. He didn't feel like explaining the new couple dynamics in the strange relation that Nora had with the Cipriano brothers, so he just said, "Rixon didn't feel like it, I guess."

"So of course Patch is game for it," Mr. Grey scowled. "God, he's all over her! He's worse than a rash!"

"Fair's fair, Mr. Grey She's all over him too!" Angelo felt like he owed it to Patch to defend his friend, though the lord knew why he would want to. Patch could take care of himself, after all. His eyes returned to the dance floor as the drums joined in and the rhythm changed, suddenly picking up speed and whipping the dancers into a frenzy.

Complying with the tempo change in the music, Patch took a firm hold on Nora's hand and twirled her faster. Her skirt flared out to brush his legs and she laughed, pure joy coursing through her veins with her heated blood.

Nora was very aware of Patch, of his body, more than she ever had been before, following his directions almost intuitively, as if she knew what he intended to do before he adroitly steered her into a spin, a turn, a dip. When a full turn forced her to break eye contact with him, she immediately sought it again afterwards, her eyes like iron filing drawn by his magnetic gaze, to excluding all else.

They danced like they had just one mind, smoothly and effortlessly gliding from one movement into the other, their bodies completely attuned to one another.

The members of the jury slowly circled the dance floor, attentively observing the dancing couples. When all of them had made a full circuit around the floor, they came together and whispered for a few moments, agreeing on the couples they would remove from the contest. They quickly agreed, and Karlotta elegantly weaved her way through the dancers to carefully tap five men on the shoulder. They stopped dancing and left the floor. Then the jury started on another round.

Vee and Scott were dancing next to Patch and Nora, and Vee smiled to Scott as she noticed they were still on the floor. Yay! They'd survived the first elimination! She concentrated on swaying her hips and on guiding Scott through one of the more complex moves that they had practiced last week. Her poor baby was having a little trouble following, but it was a good thing that Vee didn't mind taking the lead (and not just on the dance floor, she added with a mental chuckle).

When she stole a quick glance at Patch and Nora next to her, she couldn't help but grin at her little sister.

Her eyes strayed to Karlotta, who was observing them with a tiny furrow between her brows, as if she too noticed something different there. Or perhaps she just wanted to dance with Patch herself, Vee thought gleefully. Instead she was stuck here as a jury member, forced to observe and not take part in something she obviously loved. Her benevolent feelings towards the salsa teacher evaporated quickly as the woman turned her sharp-eyed gaze on her and Scott. Vee forgot all about Patch and Nora, trying her best to keep them in the contest just a little longer.

The second round was soon finished, and again the jury conferred, selecting five more couples that were asked to abandon the contest. Nora and Patch didn't pay these proceedings any attention at all, wrapped up as they were in each other.

Nora's face was radiant as Patch spun her out in a flurry of fast movement. It felt so incredibly good to be dancing like this with the man you loved. She resolved then and there to tell Patch she loved him as soon as possible. It wasn't fair to keep him hanging like this, especially when she was in absolutely no doubt about her own feelings anymore! Now if only he felt the same…

When Nora looked at him with the certainty of her new resolution in her mind, Patch had the indefinable feeling that something had changed between them. Granted, he hadn't seen her for a few days, but if anything, she seemed even more susceptible to him than she had before. Perhaps it was that absence, she was still growing up. But her eyes were shining with something he didn't dare put a name to.

He felt suddenly light-headed, almost as if he was drunk on her presence alone (because he sure as hell hadn't been drinking!). It was a balmy night, and Nora was starting to sweat with the exertion, a fine sheen of perspiration appearing on her forehead. His nostrils flared as he inhaled the scent that made him think of their bodies moving as one in an altogether different dance. NO! You can't think of her like that, being with her like that! She's too young, too innocent, too pure...too...She's your BEST FRIEND for Christ sakes! Pull yourself together Patch! He was going to have to do something about this, get them back on track, his emotions and urges in check.

God, but he needed to touch her, if only to remind himself that she was real, and that she was really there in his arms. He would allow himself this one last sin before putting a stop to everything. As he had done at the salsa club, Patch adjusted his movements, using their momentum of spinning her out and pulling her back, twisting and turning, to caress her, preferably where her skin wasn't covered by fabric. To his delight, the backless dress offered him plenty of opportunity for that. One of the reasons he'd figured that the dress would look very good on her was her gracefully curved backside. So he surreptitiously skimmed his fingers down her spine as Nora swiveled her hips, and she gave him a teasing, come-hither smile, as if she knew exactly what he was doing there, her hands slipping off his shoulder to rest on his half-bared chest instead. Lost in the dance, Patch and Nora were blissfully unaware of anything surrounding their private little island of happiness. The audience might as well not have been present, and the jury that had just eliminated another five couples was the farthest thing from their minds. There was just them and the music, the music that was slowing down again, gradually morphing into a more dreamy melody. The atmosphere changed, turning sultry and almost brooding as the last five couples left on the dance floor adjusted their rhythm accordingly and clung to each other, grinding together as the melody seemed to dictate.

Patch slowly pulled Nora's body closer to his, fitting their hips together and keeping her motionless for an instant, one hand pressed into the small of her back, the other caressing her neck. She put her hands flat against his chest, balancing herself on her toes. They were almost nose-to-nose now, their bodies only inches apart, with Nora still panting after the fast salsa tempo. When Patch parted his lips to share her breath, Nora made a tiny sound deep in her throat and inhaled deeply, all of a sudden craving air desperately. His eyes dipped automatically in response, following the long line of her throat down to her heaving chest, taking in the sheen of perspiration coating her skin.

Nora found that air was still in short supply as his eyes lingered there, making a spike of longing shoot through her body. She moistened her lips by running her tongue over them as she breathlessly awaited his next move. He rolled his hips against hers, his hands firm on her waist, and she moved with him. Then he gave her a wicked grin, and she felt one of his hands slip further down, following the curve of her hips down to her leg. He gripped her thigh and raised it a little ways. She lifted one eyebrow in reply to his dare, and hooked her leg behind his, leaning back a little while keeping a firm hold on his upper arms.

Patch's smile widened as he slid one leg in between hers so she was almost sitting on his thigh, and bent her over backwards, one hand supporting her lower back to keep her from falling over. She leaned back into his hand, fully trusting him to keep her up, even when he let go of her leg and brought his free hand up to lightly drag his fingers down her throat. Although the action didn't take long at all, Nora felt suspended in time as he splayed his fingers wide, brushing his hand over her cleavage, and smoothing it down her belly. His fingers stroked down her raised leg a little ways, and then returned to her waist to bring her back up again.

When she was standing upright, their eyes met. The air between them almost crackled as if it was charged with electricity and Nora bit her lip. He sent her a heated look full of promise, and then raised her arm to send her in a slow spin before locking one arm around her, pulling her back against him, almost going back to the way they had stood when the dance had begun. His timing was impeccable, because that's when the drums gave a last roll and the music stopped...

In the sudden silence, you could hear a pin drop. Then a thunderous applause broke loose, intruding on their intimacy and startling Nora out of her imaginary bubble.

Dazed, she looked around, only now noticing that she and Patch were the only two people left on the big wooden floor. He unclasped his arms and released her, and she turned around to stare at him in wide-eyed wonder.

Patch gave her his lopsided smile and raised one eyebrow, "I don't have to cast the jury out, it seems. Congratulations, Miss Grey. You won the salsa contest!"

"No, Patch, we won the salsa contest," Nora protested. Then the reality of their victory finally got through to her, and she giddily wound her arms around his neck to hug him tight, "We did it, Patch!"

"There's a 'we' now?" He asked, sounding almost breathless.

She looked into his eyes, as crystal clear and azure as the ocean, and smiled softly, "Oh, there is, Mr. Cipriano. There most definitely is!" If you only knew...Nora smiled to herself. There was no way she would give up now. She'd go to hell and back for Patch. He'd have to wait for her to grow up a little more, mature a little more, but she'd make it worth it.

Patch just laughed joyfully, lifting her off the floor to spin them around, making her giggle merrily as the applause wound down. He let her down by sliding her body down his own only when the Mayor's wife approached them, holding a pristine, white envelope in one hand.

She congratulated them, a speculative in her eyes that didn't escape Patch's notice. A tight knot formed in his stomach. Shit was going to hit the fan if anything happened between him and Nora and he couldn't let Nora go through that...

Mr. Grey had prepared a lengthy speech about the importance of these kinds of events for their little town, that neither Patch nor Nora (or anybody else in the audience for that matter) really paid any attention. Afterwards, the musicians started playing again, and the floor quickly filled up with people who felt like trying their hand at some of those moves they'd just seen.

As soon as Nora left the dance floor, a smiling Vee intercepted her. There was a little edge to her voice however when she said, "Congratulations, Nora! Even though you had a totally unfair advantage with a dance partner like that! Still, Scott and me ended in the last five, so I'm not mad at you."

Nora laughed at her sister. "Thank you, Vee. I knew that you and Scott would do great! You'll have to dance another one to show me, because I didn't see you during the contest."

"That's certainly true," Vee winked, "I daresay you didn't see anything during the contest. At least, you didn't see anything that wasn't a gorgeous, sharp-eyed devil all in black who goes bump in the night!

Nora blushed a little, and Vee went on, "Yes, I'd be blushing too. Unlike you, I snuck a look at the competition during the contest. You two made my ears turn red, and that's saying something!"

"We were just dancing, Vee!" Nora defended herself weakly.

"I'm sure you were." Her sister loved Nora's reactions when she poked fun at her, "But let me tell you, that was the kind of dancing you have to get married after!"

Vee snickered at Nora's startled expression. "Just don't be surprised if everybody now thinks that you and Patch are an item for sure..." She looked over Nora's shoulder, and saw Bella and Shadow approaching them, along with their parents and Patch's with a couple she didn't recognize who had a woman Patch and her age with them who had to be their daughter.

She was the most beautiful woman Nora had ever seen. Suddenly she was very insecure and on guard, she had a bad bad feeling about this new woman something about her spelled TROUBLE she mused to herself before going back to listening to Vee."And maybe not all of them are quite ready to wish you a happy ever after with him..."

"That was downright scandalous, Nora! Do you know the kind of reputation a girl will get dancing with a man like that! And with Patch! That should have come with a NC-17 rating! I can't have you becoming the talk of the town like this...Rixon never would have allowed you to flaunt yourself like that, that wasn't dancing, that was foreplay!" Mrs. Grey ranted.

"You're the one's who helped organize this contest, the one's who came up with the idea!" Nora bit back. "Who cares about my reputation? Oh, yeah, YOU do!" Nora hated the way she sounded like a spoiled kid throwing a fit, but dammit she had worked hard for this moment.

"Oh you'll care plenty when you end up pregnant, knocked up by some no good worthless piece of...do I need to go over the birds and bee's with you, Nora, do I?" Her mom continued.

"No, you don't because SOMEONE ELSE took care of that little talk a LONG time ago when you were too busy to do it yourself, too occupied with yourselves to do it!" Nora's voice took on a dangerous edge even though her cheeks were turning bright red at the memory of that particular talk. She'd been on a weekend trip tagging along with Patch and her grandma when she'd started to bleed. She panicked, thinking she was dying. She'd gone to Patch asking if he had a band-aid to put on it...Oh God...the humiliation when he'd explained to her what was happening, what was causing the bleeding which led to how babies are created since her parents hadn't taken the time to teach her, Patch did. Her mom could have prevented her panic and embarrassment by taking fifteen minutes to explain things BEFORE they happened, but no, she probably hadn't even noticed that Nora had grown and was developing. Grandma Clista had arrived back at the hotel room just in time to catch the last part of Patch's talk with her granddaughter. She'd eavesdropped to make sure he covered all the bases and kept it appropriate. As always he'd done just that, proving once again that Clista could trust her wild-child surrogate grandson. Stud or not when it came to Nora he would do the right thing every time.

Nora had enough of listening to her mom's judgments about Patch and she was in no mood for the second part of the lecture which was sure to involve how much better his brother was, how respectable he was, what a good couple they would make...blah blah blah

She looked around for Patch but he was nowhere to be found...until she started scanning the dance floor. It was easy to spot him then, because he was dancing... and there was a wide circle around him and his current dance partner.

Nora wasn't all that surprised to see it was the wily Karlotta. Every charitable feeling she'd had for the Cuban dancer disappeared as soon as she saw her twining her curvaceous body around Patch, clinging to him like a vine as they executed the now familiar salsa moves. Patch did seem to make an effort to keep her at arms' length, but she of course would have none of it!

Nora's eyes narrowed as she observed them, silently simmering for a minute, until she suddenly had enough. Remembering how Patch had once interrupted her dance with Scott, she marched onto the dance floor, wending her way through the dancing couples, and tapped Karlotta on the shoulder.

When the woman looked up in surprise, Nora smiled sweetly, and said, "I'm so sorry for cutting in here, but this is our song…" She looked at Patch as if daring him to comment. He raised an eyebrow, but wisely refrained from saying anything.

Karlotta raised one eyebrow knowingly, but she did back off, though she couldn't help a sly remark, "The kitten has grown herself some claws, it seems…"

Nora raised one brow haughtily, "Yes, and she's not afraid to show them either!"

Karlotta surprised Nora by smiling and winking, "Good for you, niña! You should fight for what you want!"

When Nora's jaw dropped, she added in a whisper, "Take good care of him, niña. This one is a keeper…" She blew Patch a kiss, and then she turned on her heel and sashayed off the dance floor, a good number of admiring male glances openly following her progress.

Patch was looking at Nora with an odd expression on his face, but she didn't have time to interpret it before it was gone, replaced by his familiar smirk, "The kitten has grown into a tiger, more like."

His arms came around her, pulling her closer as he gave her a wolfish grin, "Did you just do the equivalent of pissing on me to mark your territory?"

As they started swaying to the music, Nora tried her best to look censorious at the expression he'd used, but her twitching mouth betrayed her true feelings.

"What if I did?" She replied saucily.

"Don't get me wrong, I like you like this," Patch drawled. "I'm just surprised to discover the unexpected wild side of my innocent Nora…"

There is hope after all, Nora mused, looking at the sexy smirk he was giving her that she was sure was making all kinds of naughty promises to her, promises he hadn't covered in his birds and bee's talk. They hadn't had the 'are we an official couple/where do we go from here' talk yet, but she was sure they were on the same page headed down the same path together.

Then her eyes broke from his just long enough for her to witness the end of her perfect bubble sashaying her way. She'd completely forgotten about the new girl she had spotted with their parents, the one that gave her that sense of evil darkness and doom. The one that sent off flares warning of danger on the horizon...