Page 4 of Dance with the Devil

He sighs. “Did you happen to look in a mirror before you snuck out of your bedroom earlier?”

I was in my studio which is wall-to-wall mirror from floor to ceiling. “Obviously.”

Christopher opens his mouth, thinks about it for a moment, then shakes his head. “Never mind. Just… dance by yourself, okay? Until I’m back with the drinks. Can you do that?”

“Be careful,” is the answer I give him. “You’re starting to sound like Damien.”

“I mean it. Just because there’s a truce?—”

I wave him off. The entire ride over to the West Side of Springfield earlier tonight, I had to hear Christopher’s lecture about how dangerous it would be if anyone from the Sinners Syndicate realized that Damien Libellula’s sister was on their territory. I heard that before the recent truce. I’ve heard it after.

It’s just a nightclub. I’ll be fine.

Christopher hesitates, as though he wants to push the subject, but a quick glance over his shoulder reveals that Jessie has moved behind the bar now.

He’s my best friend—but he’s also a guy.

“Behave,” is the last thing he says before he starts pushing his way through the crowd, moving like a great white shark who has its prey in sight.

Behave?

I scoff.

Now why would I do that?

TWO

BUTTERFLY

GENEVIEVE

The Devil’s Playground is packed tonight. Not so surprising considering its rep, though this is only the second time I’ve been inside; as daring as I am, even I couldn’t risk it before, back when the Sinners were my brother’s enemies. Hell, it took months after the Dragonflies and the Sinners Syndicate agreed to a truce last summer to convince Christopher to let me check it out the first time a few weeks ago.

I’d heard rumors about the girls who service customers upstairs, and the money that passes hands in the casino at the back of the club. Christopher didn’t think it was the place for me, but I wore him down, and proved that I came him for one reason: to dance.

And if I found someone I wanted to dance with…

I didn’t that night. After Christopher’s warning, I doubt I will tonight, either, but as a dancer to my core, it was inevitable that I’d find my way to the dance floor eventually after I spent the last few minutes watching the club-goers dance and grind and sway and, okay, I’m pretty sure those two over there might actually be screwing each other…

I pause in the middle of the throng of people dancing around me and, yup, that’s exactly what they’re doing. The woman moans in time to the beat of the techno song blaring through the speakers, while the guy moves his hips completely out of sync to the music.

She seems to be enjoying herself, though I can’t help but shake my head. If you’re going to fuck in public like that, at least do it with a little rhythm.

Now, I like to think that I’m not a prude. Between my dad bringing home hookers when I was too young to really get it to spending my pre-teen years with a Damien in his mid-twenties, I knew about sex early on. And, true, my dad died before he could try to pimp me out—as if Dame would let him—and Damien started bringing his dates to hotels once he realized that curious Gen was eavesdropping outside his bedroom door, but, once again, I can blame two things for my virgin-at-twenty-five state: ballet, and my brother.

So preoccupied with my dance career, there was no time for boyfriends. And even when I found a dancer who filled out his tightsandactually liked pussy, there was Damien, effectively cockblocking me. Same thing happened whenever he brought me out of the manor for Family events. If anyone in the East End so much as looked at me like a woman and not a little girl, he was standing between me and them, fingering the hilt of his stiletto in a not-so-subtle warning.

No one wanted to fuck me bad enough to test Damien. Dragonflies knew that, in the Family, to betray him was a death sentence. Going after his beloved baby sister? That clearly counted.

I’d hoped that settling down with Savannah would make him realize that he has his own life to live, and so do I. I mean, the first time I met my new sister-in-law, he already had her on herknees. He doesn’t shy away from sex, and he has to realize that, by now, I’m really fucking curious about it.

Even if I did threaten to have to wash my eyes out with bleach to forget what I walked in on, but can you blame me? I’ve seen dicks before. From porn to changing in the same room as Christopher and a couple of other male dancers, but when it’s yourbrother’s?

Ew. Gross.

No, thanks.

Since I’m not so curious that watching someone thrust on one-and-threes instead of two-and-fours sounds appealing, I do actually what I came out on the floor to do: I dance. As soon as I noticed that Christopher took a seat at the bar, leaning in to flirt with the redhead, I knew it would be a while until he came back with my piña colada. Might as well work up a thirst for it.

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