Dance for Me
Page 34
“Yes, Sir, I’ll bring them right over.”
“And one for yourself. You’re done for the night.” Braun kept the crutches in his hand, hooking his arm around Bodie’s waist and letting her use him instead as he led her back into the seating pit, with Connie and Liam following behind pushing Alicia.
Jasper, Loki, and Atticus all stood as the wheelchair approached the steps. Atticus and Loki stepped forward to lift the chair down as Braun made introductions. Once everyone was seated and Anarchy joined them, sliding into the group like a shadow to sit by Jasper’s feet, conversation returned.
Sitting on Braun’s lap, Bodie experienced a brief flush of embarrassment before she brushed it aside. Alicia was an adult and wouldn’t be shocked by the idea of her big sister cuddling up to a man. She wondered how much Connie had told Alicia about Avalon, about the lifestyle and the Masters who kept the place ticking over.
It certainly wasn’t something Bodie wanted to address quite yet.
As the night continued, topics ranged from what Bodie had spent the last decade doing to what Alicia wanted to achieve in the coming months. Home and job were her top priorities, although she assured them all she was happy with Connie.
The Masters were helpful, throwing in suggestions for jobs. Atticus mentioned the idea of going back to school, furthering her education. Reclaiming some of the rites of passage stolen from her when Abraham forbade her to leave the house and removed all her means of escape.
Alicia seemed to consider it, and so did Bodie.
Dance had been her everything, her all, for as long as she could remember. Through all the physical therapy sessions, her goal hadn’t been to just strengthen her leg and achieve a fraction of her previous fitness. No, she’d thrown herself into them to prove everyone wrong about losing the thing she thought she couldn’t live without.
Only now, there was something—someone—she really couldn’t live without.
Braun was the focal point of her existence. Master, lover, friend. Life with him was more rewarding than any dance, just as exhilarating and risky. When he was near her, she didn’t need a sound system to hear music. When he touched her, her blood pumped as energetically as it did after a grueling performance.
Maybe she should think about going to college, forging her own path now the way was clear. Coming home to him every night would always be the highlight of her day. Maybe...she hesitated to think it, what with the people she came from, but maybe he wanted kids. A family.
Bodie looked around the seating pit, at the circle of friends gathered around her. Friends who welcomed her sister into the heart of them as quickly and completely as they had done with her. She smiled, grateful for them in so many ways she couldn’t describe.
Kids or not, this was her family. Braun’s family.
Their family.
She was home.
Chapter Eighteen
Dawn shimmered over the horizon as the last car disappeared down the drive. Pearly pinks and the palest of purples merged in the sky among the soft gray, with blue beginning to peak through.
A good morning, still and quiet, with barely a breeze to disturb the peace.
Braun stood in the doorway to Avalon for a moment longer, listening to the birds sing their chorus. With the long night behind him—one of the best in his recollection—he was looking forward to the new day.
Every new day, he thought with a tired smile. What was there to not look forward to? His club was thriving, his lovely subbie was on the mend and would no doubt improve now they’d rekindled their sexual relationship, and he had hopes for a future with her that involved wedding rings and strollers.
Meeting Alicia had answered a lot of his questions about what Bodie had gone through—the girl certainly wasn’t afraid to share what went on behind closed doors. Unlike Bodie, Alicia seemed to realize the value of talking instead of repressing the bad shit in her life, and Braun was under the impression the strong, resilient girl would let nothing stand in the way of what she wanted in life...once she got a handle on what that was.
He stepped back inside and closed the door, walking into the club to gather his exhausted subbie and take her home to sleep the night off. She’d had a glass of wine or two—not much by most standards, but his Boadicea turned out to be a lightweight in the alcohol department.
Wine combined with an emotionally fraught evening and topped off with a dollop of whipped cream that was intense, implosive sex left him with a slightly tipsy, fatigued submissive in desperate need of a bed and ten hours’ sleep.
Only, he discovered, his subbie wasn’t where he’d left her.
Movement on stage caught his eye, and Braun swallowed sickly as his heart catapulted into his throat. What the fuck was she doing up there? She wasn’t supposed to be tackling steps by herself yet, her balance on those damn crutches wasn’t brilliant going up or down.
He moved closer, quietly. If she thought she would be a smartass and dance with her leg in a cast, he’d tan her backside before she went to bed. That is, if she didn’t land herself back in hospital beforehand.
Bodie stood in the middle of the space, braced on her crutches. Head tipped back to the ceiling while she faced the empty bar. Low light from the wall sconces barely kissed her face, but it was enough for him to see the turmoil written over her features.
Part peace, part distress.
She missed the stage. The dance.
Braun walked up the stairs and slipped into the alcove where the music system was stored. Bodie had reorganized everything up here to her specifications, shifting things around to suit her needs. As a result, the area was neat and tidy with all equipment in its rightful place.
No one had been here since the night of Bodie’s attack.
He decided then and there that no one would be again. There wouldn’t be another dancer to grace this stage, not when his girl couldn’t be the one to do so. He’d find another use for the space, something Bodie could enjoy just as much as the club members.
Demonstrations, maybe.
As he waited in shadows, watching, waiting, he heard the barest whimper.
*
The lights were off, the stage was cold.
No music played.
Bodie stood on the tapestry of an art she no longer possessed and grieved for it. This was her goodbye, her moment to kiss her dreams farewell and pray she had another talent somewhere inside her. She could learn to play an instrument, to write music for the dancers who would one day glide across the stage in years to come.
The smallest whimper of distress escaped her before she could stop it.
No, no more mournful thoughts.
She was alive and loved, that was all she needed.
Braun was all she needed.
He really wasn’t going to be pleased if he caught her up here by herself, but she’d had an urge to stand here one last time. And she’d managed, hadn’t she? Even a little under the influence and with her legs aching like a bitch in heat, she’d propelled herself up the stairs, only catching her crutches once on the lip of the top step.
A definite improvement, one she was proud of. By the time she got rid of the fucking cast, she’d have mastered the art of maneuvering the stupid things.
Light blinded her. She threw a hand over her eyes to shield the worst of the glare, blinking to try and dispel the stars shimmering over her vision. At this rate, she would be dead before she got into bed, her brain fried by the brightness shining down on her.
Then she froze, ears straining as the weeping chords of a cello hummed on the air, joined by a piano and what sounded like a pair of violins. Slow and easy, the music swelled along with her heart.
“Boadicea.”
She turned her head, saw her lover striding toward her from the wings. God, he was so damned handsome. Ruffled from a tiring night, yet still carrying the aura of dominance she loved. “Master Braun.”
“I hope you understand you’ve earned a spanking for being up here unsupervised,” he told her w
ithout hesitation, blue eyes burning with disapproval. “I would have brought you myself if you’d asked.”
She offered him a repentant smile. She’d take the punishment. “It wasn’t planned. I just wanted to stand here for a little while. Remember the good times, what it felt like to become united with the stage. I’ve done that, so I guess the stage is all yours, Master.”
Braun gripped her chin. “When I saw you the first time, dancing on the street in the rain, I thought, I want her to dance for me. Here, on my stage, in my club. I could see your potential and I wanted it for myself. Then, when you chased me here to throw the money back in my face, I didn’t just want the potential, Bodie. I wanted you.”
“You’ve definitely got me, Sir.” She licked her lips, teasing him.
“A fact I’ll treasure forever. That potential is gone, little one, but the passion inside you that made the potential possible is still there. They couldn’t steal that away from you. It’s a part of you, the way dancing and music will always be your dream. So, I want you to dance for me, Bodie.”
Her lips quivered. What was he up to? “I can’t.”
He nodded, leaning down to brush his lips over hers. “What if we dance together? Our first time can be your last time. A memory we make together.”
“I-I’m not sure I understand what—”
He plucked the crutches from her grasp, tossed them off the edge of the stage. While she gaped at him, he offered her his hand. “Trust me?”
Hell, he had her wrapped around his little finger. She set her hand in his, gasped when he curled his arm around her waist and lifted her, setting her down with her feet on top of his. Feeling clumsy, afraid she’d break his toes, she tried to step back but he refused to let her. “Braun...”
“Trust me?” he repeated.
Her forehead thumped against his chest. Whatever he had in mind, he was adamant he would get his own way. “We wouldn’t be standing here if I didn’t.”
“No, we wouldn’t. You’ve given me your heart and your trust, Bodie. Offered me your body and taken mine in return. Let me give you this. I want my future, our future, to be full of moments we won’t regret, and this will be the first.”
Keeping her weight slightly suspended, her cast supported by his foot, Braun began to move. Carefully to start, letting her focus on relaxing and giving him control. It felt weird, his feet lifting and falling beneath hers yet taking her with him.
They circled the stage in a waltz, bodies pressed tight together. Her arm slipped around his waist while her captured hand linked fingers with his. Mouths meeting in a soft kiss as the best thing in her life gave her the one thing she was missing.
The End
Author Bio:
Kay Elle Parker is a British author living in the wilds of Yorkshire.
She has an eclectic taste in music, reads anything when she has the time, and loves Fell ponies and Border Collies. Her sense of humor is wicked and often misunderstood, downright dirty and infectious.
Writing romance is the dream, and Kay has books in dark, BDSM, and paranormal romance. Just recently, she released her first contemporary romance, Speechless.
She loves writing all things vampire and shifter.
She loves to chat to readers!
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