Page 54 of Lust

As he pulls me around the dance floor, I have no chance but to follow him, but I can sense our feet aren’t where they are supposed to be. I feel claustrophobic in the dress and now I can add dizzy to everything else that I feel.

“I’ve got it!” Dade says loudly.

It’s such a shock to hear his voice after how quiet he’s been hiding in the shadows. Remy lets go of me immediately, clearly irritated by the interruption.

The atmosphere is charged and I’m just waiting for these two to punch each other.

“Would you permit me to try to see if I understood?”

My eyes flick over to Remy, who clearly doesn’t want to allow him to do anything of the sort.

“Fine.” He pulls him to the side and whispers something in his ear. As Dade returns to me, he positions himself exactly as I had demonstrated to Remy earlier with the exception of the sheer amount of space between us. His hand rests on my waist, but there's a deliberate five-inch gap between us. It’s both respectable and ridiculous, but it tells me everything I need to know about what Remy said to him.

“Music!” I say out loud. I expect the same song to play again, but the marks on the floor have changed, and the music has changed tempo. Once again, I’m forced to look at the ground to follow the steps, but it’s easier than last time and within a few minutes Dade and I are dancing. I don’t look up at Dade the whole time I’m dancing with him. I know that if I do, Remy will be able to sense something between us. Instead, I keep my eyes on a point just above his collar. His energy is muted. The dance is some kind of box step and the way we are dancing, so far apart from each other with barely a touch between us, we may as well both be dancing with our grandmothers. From the outside it must look as sexy as a brother and sister dancing at a family wedding, but what Remy won’t be able to see are the lighting pulses shooting up my hand and down my arm from the brief touches of Dade’s hand in mine and the way my blood is pulsing with arousal.

My body must look rigid as we follow the steps. Dade is breathing in a steady Cadence and there’s a low guttural hum emanating from his throat that’s sexy as hell. Remy is watching us through narrowed eyes. I feel like I’m being critiqued for a test and I know that one wrong move and I’ll fail.

Dade’s fingers are barely touching mine. He’s gone so far to hold his hand a couple of millimeters above mine, and yet with the movements we are making, it’s impossible for them not to keep touching, and each touch is like an electric shock to my system. His hand is hovering next to my waist, not even on it. I can’t look up to see if he’s watching me because I’m scared of what will happen if our eyes lock. My body is responding more to Dade’s non-touch than it did to Remy, crushing our groins together. It’s not even a sexy dance. It’s ridiculous.

“I think that’s enough,” I say, breathlessly, stepping back and twisting so I’m not facing either of them. I’m scared that both men will be able to read the arousal on my face. I take a deep breath, or at least as deep a breath as I can, in the corset and plaster a fake smile on my face before turning back to face them.

“I think we’ve had enough ballroom dancing. Let’s expend some real energy and get me out of this bloody awful corset.” I try to ignore the look on Dade’s face that tells me that I’m not the only one who wants to get me out of the corset.

“Both of you let your minds go blank,” I instruct them. “I’m choosing something much more fun!”

I close my eyes before either of them can complain and picture a nightclub I used to go to in the days before my parents died and I became a single parent to my five-year-old sister.

Below my feet, the floor pulses with the beat of music and a song I used to love booms through hidden speakers.

Before my eyes are even open, I feel someone slam right into me. I already know it’s Dade by the feel of his body and his sheer size. I let out a sharp cry as he lifts me from my feet and practically carries me to the edge of the club.

Remy charges after us, pushing other dancers aside. “Get your fucking hands off her!” With a swift motion, he seizes Dade and lands a punch square on his jaw. Dade staggers backward, crashing into the nightclub wall with a thud.

“Stop!” I yell out, barely making a sound over the loud music. People are watching us and even though I know they aren’t real, just generated by the Earthery, I still feel self conscious.

Dade holds his hand to his cheek where a red bruise is already beginning to form. There’s a manic look in his eyes. All around us, lights flash and lasers cut through the darkness. Hundreds of sweaty bodies press against each other on the crowded dance floor. He rushes toward me again, but Remy barrels him back into the wall. “We need to get her out of this place,” he shouts above the noise.

Suddenly I understand. Dade has never seen anything like this before. Fuck. I should have thought. “Remy, let me handle this,” I insist as I grasp Remy's shoulder and coax him to step back. He gives me a look indicating that he's far from comfortable with the situation.

Without thinking, I take both of Dade’s hands in mine. “This is a nightclub. It’s a place to dance. Like Infernos.” My plan was to sound comforting like a mother would to a child, but it’s not motherly thoughts I’m having as I rub my thumbs over the back of his hands to calm him. His crazed look tells me he doesn’t understand at all. This is nothing like the bar back in Purgatory and I’m not sure he’s ever stepped foot in there anyway, but it’s the closest thing I can think of to what he’ll understand.

“This isn’t music!” he bellows over the boom of the bass. “It is war.”

My mouth curls up at the edges. It’s loud, and the bass is pumping loud enough for me to feel the vibrations. I guess it might feel like a war zone to someone who’s never experienced something like this before.

“It’s okay.” I reply calmly. “It’s just a modern ballroom. Look at the people dancing.” I nod my head toward the dance floor. There are so many people pushed together that it’s hard to tell where one person stops and the other begins.

“That is dancing?” he asks incredulously. “Why do they look like they are having a collective seizure?”

I can’t help the laugh that escapes my mouth. “It’s fun. Come on. I’ll show you.”

Here, I’m in my element. There are no steps to adhere to. No marks on the floor. I can just feel the beat and move to it. I decide it might be safer to not go out onto the dance floor, so I start jumping to the beat, letting my body move instinctively. Without the corset restricting my movements, I can breathe much easier, although the stench of smoke and stale alcohol fills my nostrils.

Remy jumps up to join me, pulling me close to him again. This time, it feels more natural. I feel so alive and carefree. This is what I’ve missed. I wave Dade over, but he looks reluctant to join us. As is his way, he stands at the wall, blending into the darkness, watching us. I spin on the spot, pulling myself from Remy’s grip and close my eyes. I don’t need to see other people dancing to feel the music. I let myself get lost in the bass, moving to the rhythm until I’m part of it. I might not know the steps of a waltz, but this is natural. It’s exhausting but at the same time it’s effortless and thrilling and I’ve not let loose like this in a long time. I’m aware that Dade is watching me again. It seems to be a theme, but this time I keep the focus on myself. Remy dances up close to me, but we’re both jumping around too madly to stay close. It’s just the release I need and I’m sad when the song comes to an end. The sudden silence is a shock. The scene around us changes again, and I find myself in what looks like a dance studio. It’s bright and airy and a far cry from the nightclub. On the floor are the same foot shapes that marked out the waltz. On one wall is a long mirror and a barre in front of it.

“Ballet?” Remy huffs out as he bends to put his hands onto his knees. Sweat drenches his face, dripping down to the hardwood floor beneath him. “That was great, but I’m not performing pirouettes. What made you think of this place?”

“I didn’t.” I look around, equally confused. “I guess the Earthery is teaching us all the dances.”

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