Her face lit up. “Sure.”
Taking her hand, I walked to the floor. We danced for a bit, and while it wasn’t intentional, we somehow ended up next to Levana and Davien. My smile didn’t receive the same sweetness she afforded Miss Anderson. Instead, I got a crossover between a scowl, and I might be wrong, jealousy.
That gave me a little hope and my heart rate kicked up a notch. “Shall we swap partners, Mr Knox?” I asked just as the beat slowed to a softer waltz.
“No,” Levana attempted to stop Davien, but he was already stepping into my space. Annoyed, she glanced behind her, looking for an escape route.
I didn’t give her one. Grasping her hand, I pulled her into my arms. My hand at her lower back, drew her in tighter until she was forced to look at me, her eyes burning crystals against the blue and white lighting. Her lips a succulent pink I wanted to taste.
“You’re looking beautiful tonight,” I complimented and received a raised brow. “I love the hairstyle.” Still nothing. Remembering the pleasure she’d brought me without sex, I would’ve given anything for a moment of privacy with her. “I’m sorry, Levana,” the words were out before I could stop them. “I didn’t mean to hurt you or play with your emotions.”
“But you did,” she scoffed. At least she was talking to me.
“It wasn’t my intention.” I inhaled deeply, looking for the right words. “That night at the ritual you disarmed me, something, no one has done before. I reacted with anger instead of what I felt inside.”
Whether it was her pain speaking or not, I couldn’t tell. “You’re the devil in disguise, Mr Sinclair, and you should be in hell, where you belong.” She pushed out of my grasp before I had a chance to react.
Anger flashed through me, and I took a step to go after her when Samantha blocked my way. “Hello, Mr Sinclair, you’re looking gorgeous tonight,” her sing-song voice had my teeth clenching. “I’m a really skilled dancer, in fact I’ve been known to excel at horizontal tango.” She rolled a finger down my chest, her tongue running over her bottom lip. And there was absolutely nothing sexy about that. I’d rather dry hump a wall than fuck that mouth. “Would you like to dance with me?”
I looked up at that moment. Levana’s eyes were on me, her eyes livid fireballs, her expression disgust. God, could a man just catch a break for once. “Thank you, Miss Newton but I don’t think dancing with a student is a good idea.”
Her jaw locked into an annoying pout. “But you just danced with Levana.”
“True, but only to accommodate Mr Knox.”Sorry, Davien, I’m throwing you under the bus here.
“What for?” she eyed me suspiciously.
“He asked me to speak to her about something.” I walked away before I blew this shit sky high.
For the next hour, Levana didn’t dance again. She sat with Cian, chatting. Each time I attempted to venture closer, she would subtly move or change direction. On the verge of losing my cool and dragging her out of the room, the principal approached me to chat.
Twenty minutes later and I was no closer to finding a way to get her alone when I watched Samantha step behind Levana, her intention registering a second too late. Fury pounding through me, I excused myself but my quick steps got me there a second after Samantha stepped on Levana’s trail, ripping the soft circular shape material in an ascending domino effect until it stopped just below the curve off her bottom.
Shocked gasps erupted around them the same time the music died. Levana’s eyes remained on her torn dress for a long minute before she looked up at Samantha’s satisfied face. The other girl was trying to hold back her laughter and sniggers made its way around them.
“Oh, God, no,” Miss Anderson’s soft voice reached my ears as she arrived at my side.
Slipping off my jacket, I neared Levana and set it on her shoulders, catching Samantha’s surprised grimace and a few inaudible comments. I didn’t care. Let them think whatever the fuck they wanted.
Levana looked up at me, her eyes saying so much more than her expression. She was barely keeping it together and I admired her tenacity. I waited for her to retaliate with a slap perhaps, but she didn’t. Instead, her head shook slowly, regret painting her features as opposed to anger as she stared at the other girl, who now seemed to be fuming.
Then in an unwavering voice, Levana said, “you gossip about me, Samantha and I let you. You attack me and I let you. You belittle me and I let you. You disrespect me and I let you. That’s not weakness, that’s wisdom I’m harnessing for the two of us. You can thank me when you reach my level of ‘I don’t give a fuck’. Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s a song with my ass on it. Watch me sway, girl.”
With that, she pulled my jacket tighter over her body and walked away with a wide-eyed Cian in tow, leaving behind a shocked Samantha with her troop of annoyed monkeys screeching at each other about God knew what. I caught the admiration in Davien’s expression and the odd tightening in my chest had me rubbing the spot.
“That is one admirable girl,” Miss Anderson said, her eyes still on Levana as the music picked up again.
Watching Levana slip through the gym doors, I nodded. “She definitely is.”
