Dance for Me (Fenbrook Academy #1) - New Adult Romance by Helena Newbury Page A

should have been.
    I sank down into a grand plié, and instead of just watching he crouched, his movements so harsh and cumbersome compared to my own, like watching a giant made of stone. He settled there, huge and hulking, and we stared at each another.
    I rose, turned, feeling his eyes burning into my back. I pushed off into a pas de chat, airborne for just a second as both legs folded under me, then flowing into a turn as I landed. He was still watching me just as intensely, and he’d taken a step forward. I started to move towards him and something flickered down my body, like darkly sparkling starbursts that set every nerve humming. The dance called for me to take just a single step forward.
    I took two.
    I stopped no more than six inches from his body, close enough that he must have been able to feel the heat coming off me, my whole body glowing from the inside. My chest was heaving, my legs trembling. The leotard and tights felt like they were barely there, as if my body was throbbing nude before him.
    The music stopped.
    We stood there staring at each other. His eyes were just as clear and striking as before, but they’d lost that innocence, now. They were burning with something even more powerful: lust.
    I thought I saw his shoulders twitch, as if his hands were moving, and I caught my breath, keeping my gaze fixed on his eyes. My lips parted just a little, my eyes closing. He’s going to kiss me! He’s going to—
    He stepped back.
    My eyes opened and I sort of swallowed and stepped back myself, turning away to hide my blush. For a few seconds neither of us said anything. I didn’t know if he was looking at me and I didn’t want to risk looking.
    “Was that okay?” I asked, without turning.
    “Beautiful.” There was pain in his voice, as if he was sorry it was over. “ Could you come back again...tomorrow?” he asked.
    I nodded. “Sure.” I retrieved my clothes and started pulling them on. It took me three tries to get my foot into the leg of my jeans. My hands were shaking as I picked up my bag.
    When I turned, he was much closer than I expected. I almost walked right into the broad wall of his chest. We both froze, and I looked up at him again. His eyes brightly blue and—
    And suddenly we were kissing. His palms were on my cheeks, thumbs brushing along the tightly-bound hair at my temples. His lips met mine and they were as gorgeously full and hard-soft as I’d imagined. They felt so right, so like the thing I’d been missing, that I let out a tiny shriek of astonished relief, and that opened my lips. His tongue was between them instantly, searching and pressing, a hot shudder travelling the length of me. I grabbed his arms to keep from falling.
    As quickly as it started, it was over. He pulled back and we were both gasping. I felt like I was standing on a ledge no bigger than my feet, with plunging cliffs on every side.
    He tried to say something, but no words came out. It was all too fast, too much. Being underground hadn’t bothered me before, but suddenly the thought of all those floors above us, pressing down...
    “I—I need some air,” I told him.
    He nodded, and led me to the lift. For three whole floors, we stood in silence, only a foot apart, neither of us daring to look at the other.
    Just as the doors opened, he turned to speak to me. “Nat—”
    The sound of a full-on screaming match hit us and we both snapped back to front.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Eight
     
    Natasha
     
    The shouting was coming from the kitchen. Even before I was close enough to make out the words, I could recognize Clarissa’s sharp, high voice. I’d heard her wield it like a scalpel to shred opponents—male and female—plenty of times. I was hearing it clash against the low rumble of a male voice, as solid and unyielding as a tank.
    When I rounded the corner and saw him, I froze. Clearly, this was a home invasion.
    The man was almost as big as Darrell, but with