Read First Position for Free Online Page B

in his dark stare, I don’t shy away again.
    I swallow, finding words in my dry throat. “Thank you,” I
whisper.
    Suddenly, the music changes, breaking the moment. It’s a
familiar beat, one of the songs they used in the street performance
this afternoon. The courtyard fills with whoops and cheers, and now
everybody is on their feet, filling the space, letting loose.
    Raphael leaps up and holds out his hand to me. “Come on,”
he beckons.
    I shake my head fervently. “No, you go on. I can’t
dance.”
    He laughs. “You just said, you’re a dancer.”
    “Not like this!” I protest, looking out at the crowd.
It’s like a music video out there, people turning out amazing
moves, effortless as breathing, and sexy as hell. “I can’t—”
    “You can.” Raphael cuts me off, reaching to grab my hand.
“I’ll teach you.”
    My protests are lost under the music as he pulls me into the thick of
the crowd. It’s hot and sweaty here, like walking into a sauna,
and all around us are moving, pulsing, dancing bodies, faces lit up
with abandon, lost to the rhythm. Raphael is a natural, he finds the
beat right away, already moving as he leads me out to the center of
the courtyard, the beat thumping loud enough to vibrate my chest.
    “Relax,” he yells, swaying to the music. “Just
follow my lead.”
    OK, then.
    I try to move, but my body feels awkward and foreign. I try to catch
the beat, cringing with every pained, jerky step. Damn . I
again wish the ground would swallow me up. Can’t he see I’m
no good at this? Ballet is a million miles from this kind of dancing;
I’m used to precision, defined moves, carefully choreographed
steps polished to perfection, not this, this chaos .
    Somebody moves into my space, knocking into me. I stumble, falling
clumsily against Raphael’s chest. My cheeks burn with
embarrassment.
    “I’m sorry,” I break away. “I can’t!”
    I turn to flee, but Raphael grabs my hand, pulling me back in, close
against his body. “Shh, just close your eyes,” he tells
me.
    I stare at him, confused—and reeling from the heat of his torso
against mine.
    Raphael grins down at me. “Trust me, just close your eyes.”
    My emotions are whirling in my chest, I just want to get out of this
crowd, but something in his playful grin makes me stop. I came here
for a reason, for him . I can’t run away just yet.
    I take a deep breath and do as he says. I close my eyes.
    “Now listen to the music. Just feel it.” Raphael’s
voice comes, a low, sexy growl against my ear.
    I shiver. In the dark of my mind, my senses are suddenly heightened.
I can feel the heat from his body, just inches away, hear the pulse
of the music, like a wave rolling into shore.
    “Good, relax, just feel it.”
    His voice is like a balm on my insecurities, lulling me. I focus on
the beat, the rhythm of the chords. One two three. One two
three...
    Almost without realizing it, my hips begin to move. Just small
circles, but I feel it, flowing through me. And then his hands are on
my waist, and his body presses closer to mine.
    I freeze for a moment, shocked at the contact. I’m used to
dancing with a partner, but this feels so different. Unscripted and
free. I have no idea what he’s going to do next – and
that thrills me. Raphael keeps dancing, and slowly, I find myself
matching his rhythm, moving with his body.
    Oh...
    The sensation is overwhelming. The heat of him, the feel of his taut,
solid torso pressing against me, the scent of him, deep and musky.
With my eyes closed, there’s nothing to distract me, no way to
block it out or focus away. Just us: me, him, and the music, nothing
else in the world.
    “See? I knew you could do it.”
    Raphael’s hands reach further on my hips, drawing me into him.
Our bodies slide together, and the touch is so intimate, I find it
hard to breathe. To even think. My heart is racing, every nerve and
muscle sparking with electricity. My body tightens with lust, tension
curling deep