Cruel Steps

Chapter 1

CHAPTER

ONE

EMERSON

Two years ago, I never would have imagined I’d be dancing in a club with my hands in the air, swaying to the beat with my classmates. It wasn’t the club that was the oddity, but that I was with peers and not hiding in a corner. Instead, I was in the center of the dance floor and the bass thumped through my bones, pounding out a rhythm my body refused to ignore. And despite the sweat covering me and my feet aching, I was happy. Not about the sweaty club, per se, but the dancing.

On the dance floor, I came alive, and it was the only time I felt comfortable in my skin. With each step, my body communicated without using words that my quiet, unsure, and overthinking self lacked. It was my freedom.

The difference was so startling that my roommate joked I was a dancepire. Instead of blood, I needed dance to fuel my soul.

Random people pressed into me from every direction, and hands ran over my curves. I didn’t know who it was, nor did I care. I wasn’t going to hook-up with them, I just wanted to dance; there was no other intent needed for me. Their body was an extension of the steps—nothing more, nothing less. I leaned into them, loving the feel of a close body, and lost myself in the sensations: the music, the dance, the atmosphere. Every part of it was magic.

The music changed, and I opened my eyes, taking in the crowd. Orchid was packed tonight as the students of Brighton University celebrated the end of finals. Summer break was on the horizon, and with it came three months of freedom.

Or, in my case, three months of hell.

I attended school two states away from home, and it wasn’t because of Brighton’s stellar academic programs or job placement ratio. Those were outstanding, but I’d come here solely to escape my bully. Hope Adler—the person who’d made me fear my own shadow.

Sadly, in this day and age, having a bully wasn’t uncommon. It didn’t make me unique, just another statistic. Maybe that was why I hated math.

So, while my fellow Wildcats celebrated the end of a semester, I mourned the loss of my sanctuary. Tonight was my last hurrah before I shut myself indoors all summer to avoid Hope and her minions.

Nowhere in Oak Hills was safe.

I pushed thoughts of tomorrow away, along with the guilt that clawed up my throat for ignoring the five missed calls from my dad. I’d deal with it later. I didn’t have the capacity for anything else tonight. I lost myself in the music again and danced my heart out, forgetting all about home and Hope.

Tonight was about me. Everything else could wait.

“Emmy, hot guy alert. He’s been staring at you for the past two songs,” Taylor, my roommate, shouted. She draped her arm over my shoulder, tugging me down to her.

The guy she’d been dating this week clung to her like an octopus, kissing her neck, oblivious to the dancing bodies around us. Snorting, I shook my head at him and she shrugged. Taylor often had guys be into her more than she was into them, which meant she had a rotating door of suitors. I had the opposite problem.

Surveying the crowd, I gaped at how crowded it had become since I’d been dancing in my own world. Taylor and I were regular visitors to Orchid, making it easy to spot new faces. Tonight, there were a lot of them. It had to be locals returning home for the summer.

When I didn’t find anyone staring, Taylor motioned with her eyes to the side. I followed, curious to who was checking me out. Outside Orchid, I never knew if a guy was interested. I over-thought every interaction, mixing up if they were flirting or only being nice. Too many scars from high school prevented me from trusting guys’ intentions unless it was specifically spelled out. So, by the time I did, most had given up and moved on to someone easier.

Inside Orchid, it was the opposite. I could gauge interest by reading their body language, feel the heat of their stare, or the press of their arousal against me. These were things I didn’t question. They only wanted me for the night, but I was good with that. Completely fine, actually. Any more and I’d grow attached. I wasn’t great at the whole ‘no feelings’ with sex thing.

Hookups kept it simple. The lines were drawn, and there were no questioning motives or feelings—something I did far too often in the daylight.

Huh. Guess I was a dancepire.

I peered in the direction she’d motioned, my eyes scanning the faces highlighted by the strobe lights. It was a sea of people, and I didn’t spot anyone looking at me. I was about to tell her to get her eyes checked when I felt him. Heat seared into me from across the floor, ramping up my internal temperature that had nothing to do with dancing. Dark hair swept over his brow, highlighting aquamarine eyes that were pinned to me .

A line of electricity raced across the floor, connecting his eyes to mine. It felt so powerful; I wasn’t convinced it wasn’t tangible. Despite all the bodies between us, it felt like only the two of us were in this moment, and everyone else faded away.

“Ask him to dance,” Taylor encouraged, breaking the connection and plunging me back to reality. My senses returned, and I sucked in a breath from the overwhelming intensity of the encounter.

“I...” I trailed off, words scrambling over one another, but none forming in my mouth.

No! This didn’t happen here. Everywhere else, yes. But not here.

So I did what she suggested and beckoned him with my finger.

At first, it didn’t seem like he would respond, but the song changed, and Teddy Swims’ baritone voice filled Orchid, and he moved. His eyes held mine the entire distance, and the crowd naturally parted for him. With each step closer, it became obvious why.

This guy wasn’t just hot; he was scorching!

I’d been so consumed by his eyes that I hadn’t looked at the rest of him. He was tall and muscular, and every head turned when he passed. His dark hair was longer on top, just messy enough to fall into his eyes, and made his stare all the more brooding.

It wasn’t just that he was good looking that had people staring, but his confidence. It oozed out of him like a mating call, and my nipples pebbled with each inch he grew nearer. This guy— no, man —was someone who knew what he wanted and went after it.

Shock smacked me in the face that he’d chosen me. Out of all the girls dancing, I was the one he couldn’t drop his gaze from. If our eyes hadn’t remained locked, I would’ve assumed he was walking toward someone else.

But he wasn’t. He was coming for me .

Butterflies awoke in my belly as the stupidly gorgeous man stopped before me. The electrical current crackled hotter between us as we stared at one another. Neither of us said anything, our eyes locked in an unspoken conversation I didn’t know the words to. He finally lifted his eyes, narrowing them behind me, and gave me a reprieve. Hands dropped away, and I realized what he’d done—scared off the competition.

Geez oh Pete, that was sexy. He’d gotten rid of someone with a look. One fucking look.

“You forgot he was there, didn’t you?” He smirked, and I shuddered at the sound of his voice. It was smooth and commanding. The things he could get me to do with that voice were endless.

Shrugging one shoulder, I didn’t speak. Mostly because I was unsure if I could form words. His eyes sparkled, his smirk growing, and he closed the last bit of space between us. Large hands wrapped around my back and he pulled me into him. His eyes returned to mine, and our bodies fell into a natural rhythm that shouldn’t be possible.

Running my palms up his chest, I bit my lip at the muscles I felt beneath. Holy hotness! This man was stacked. Insecurity threatened to seep in, and I wondered why someone as hot as him would look at me. But his hand caressed me, and I forgot to be ashamed of my body.

That was another reason I loved dancing. Dance didn’t care if my hips were wider than other girls, my stomach pudgier, or my ass plumper. Dance valued the beauty your body created as it bent in time to the music to tell a story.

Dancing gave me the freedom to be me without the weight of judgment.

His head lowered and touched my forehead, allowing my fingers to thread through his hair. I lost track of songs as we entwined ourselves around one another. His thigh pressed perfectly between my legs and offered the slightest friction, and when he dropped his lips to my neck, goosebumps erupted. My skin was so sensitive and on high alert to exactly where his lips traveled, making my pussy throb in tandem with my heartbeat. I’d never been this turned on before.

My sexy dance partner lifted his head and his eyes found mine. The question was clear in his dark blue-green orbs. I nodded, but before I could suggest a place, I was tugged out of his arms.

“What?” I shouted, my brain slow to register Taylor’s words.

“It’s showtime, Emmy.”

“Show…time,” I repeated, the word not computing. She dragged me to the center of the dance floor and my brain cleared.

Oh, right, that showtime.

Taylor shoved me into position next to Sydney, with Matt behind me. Brook and Chris were on the right, finishing out our six-person crew. The music changed, and the notes blared over the speakers and we fell into our routine effortlessly.

When I arrived at Brighton, I’d tried out for the Wildcat dance team. I figured it was my shot, with Hope not here to bully me. But it didn’t seem to matter if she was here or not. Her cruelty lived forever on the internet. When I arrived at tryouts, I was reminded why I’d quit competition dance in the first place—mean girls.

Thankfully, I’d been given a roommate who had a passion for dancing as much as me and had dragged me to a dance crew meeting. Dance crew incorporated hip-hop and contemporary and was made up of people who danced because they loved it. On Friday nights, we showcased our routines at Orchid to close it down. It was a nice perk of the owner’s daughter being part of our crew.

Usually, I loved this part of the evening.

But tonight, I just wanted to be back in his arms.

Thankfully, the steps were muscle memory at this point, and I effortlessly fell into it with my crew members. The crowd cheered and chanted, spurring us on. It was bittersweet in a way since it was our last performance until the fall. So I put fawning over hot boys aside and gave it my all. My crew would be here for me after tonight, but the gorgeous guy wouldn’t. I was only a pit stop on his way to something greater. As long as I recognized that, I couldn’t be sad when he never called me afterward.

Hitting the last pose, cheers broke out as the crowd converged. Arms wrapped around me as Sydney and Brooke gushed about how much they would miss me and couldn’t wait to see what crazy routines I had for them next year. Matt and Chris gave me a sweaty hug and cheek kiss before moving on to their conquests for the night. Last was Taylor, who wrapped her arm in mine and leaned her head against my shoulder.

“It’s not too late to spend the summer with me,” she whispered.

“I wish, but you know the rules. My dad lets me go out-of-state for school as long as I come home for the summer.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Are you sure you don’t live under the stairs? Because that feels a little too Harry Potter to me.”

I laughed and pulled her closer. Taylor was a great friend, and I was lucky to have met her. “I’ll miss you too, Tay.” We both laughed-cried, hiding tears that wanted to fall at our separation. Last summer hadn’t been this hard, but we’d grown closer this year, and now it felt torturous.

“Fine, fine. Go and have hot sex with dark and brooding, and tell me all about it tomorrow,” she whispered.

“He’s still here?” I asked, looking around. Tay smirked, kissed my cheek, and spun me to where my sexy dance partner leaned against the bar, watching.

“He hasn’t taken his eyes off you all night. He’s ignored every other girl who’s tried to talk to him, too. ”

“He’s a little too hot, though, isn’t he?” I asked. “What if he has a weird toe or third nipple? What if his dick is small?” I gasped, my eyes wide. Now that the main lights were on, I lost my dancepire confidence and reverted back to my awkward and shy self.

“Don’t make me smack your hot ass. Go! Do the rest of us a favor and enjoy that fine specimen. As your bestie, I expect full details. It’s my right, so take good notes!”

She shoved me in his direction, my feet stumbling as nerves appeared in my belly, but I made it to him before I could chicken out.

“You’re still here,” I said, wanting to smack myself at the obvious statement. This was why I didn’t talk to strangers. I always sounded dumb.

He reached out, pulling me into his body. “You’re here, so I am.” He said it so simply, like it was the easiest answer in the world. But to me, it was groundbreaking.

Tomorrow I returned to Oak Hills, where I would spend three months hiding. So, if I embarrassed myself, I had all the time in the world to get over it.

It was one night. I could handle this.