Free Belle Fury: Manhatten Ten, Book 3 by Lola Dodge Page A

the wall along with her piles of slippers. The things didn’t seem to last her long.
    “I’m going to warm up for a bit.” Belle flexed her ankle, drawing my gaze up that killer leg.
    “I’ll hang in the booth for a while.” I left her to it and hit the stairs.  
    This time I got the system booted, but I didn’t need the computer for e-mail. I cued up the sound system and some e-radio. Once Belle finished what I’d come to recognize as her warm-up, I flicked on the speakers.
    We were going to test her powers right.
     
    Belle
    Feedback spiked on the sound system. Sound system . And I’d been dancing with my iPod all week.
    The music blasted, and it was the last thing I would’ve expected.  
    A waltz.
    Ryan strode down the steps. “Think you’re ready for this?”
    My pulse thrummed. With him? I wasn’t close to ready. “I need heels for ballroom.”  
    “Consider it a handicap. Otherwise you’ll dance me in circles.”
    “You won’t step on my feet?”
    “No promises.” He lifted his arms and I moved to meet him, joining our arms.
    My body tingled as we waited for the beat to begin. He squeezed my hand.  
    One. Two. Three.
    Ryan led like a pro. With his body contact, I sensed where he wanted me to go and we whirled like a pair of ballroom champs.
    The pressure between our bodies built all delicious. Ryan’s posture stayed straight and supple, shoulders back, hands proper. I wished the one on my shoulder blade would stray a bit…
    Lord, it felt good. To dance, and to dance with Ryan.
    My powers weren’t about letting me have a good time.  
    The energy built more slowly than it did with hip-hop or ballet, but our strong dual steps created powerful waves. Ryan’s lightning crackled, channeling my energy or burning it away. We whirled, our powers ebbing and flowing to the beat of the music.
    His electricity surrounded him like a scarlet halo. My energy coursed at him, and if he were a normal guy, I would’ve sent him flying across the room.  
    I’d shred a normal partner.  
    And that was it.
    The song trailed off. Another started, but my feet wouldn’t move a step.
    I could dance down here, alone in the stadium, but never again with a company, in front of a crowd. I’d feared this all week, but I couldn’t pretend anymore.
    “Never again, huh?” My arms drooped.
    Ryan wrapped me tight. “It’s not the end.”
    “Damn sure feels like it.” The career part was done, and that was all I’d lived for. Dance was the one thing in my life I’d always known was worth it. It was my gift to share with the world and probably the only redeeming thing I had. Now?
    “You can dance with me.” Ryan’s voice rumbled against me.
    With everything falling away, Ryan was the rock I had left. I was either going to hit him or kiss him, and if I went the second way, I knew myself well enough to know I wouldn’t be able to let go. Not this time.
    Maybe he moved first.
    Our bodies crushed together in a flash of heat. All mouths and tongues and hands. Ryan’s touch burned away the despair. I wrapped myself around him.
    “Here?” He broke our kiss, voice breathy.
    Our powers crackled together, but there was nothing to destroy in the stadium. Why wait any longer?
    “Here.”
    Ryan pressed me against the wall and fingers slipped between us. He kissed my earlobes as he pushed my panties aside.
    The pad of his finger hovered just above the place I wanted it. I arched against him, but he wouldn’t oblige.
    We weren’t playing the teasing game this time. I yanked his belt buckle away and practically tore away his pants. The boxer briefs parted. I gripped him. Hard.
    Ryan sucked in a breath. “Belle…”
    More gently, I stroked the length of him. He was ready. “Don’t make me wait.”
    He groaned. In one movement Ryan lifted me against the wall. He sucked at my collarbone as he tore just enough of the clothes out of our way. I gripped his back. God, he turned me on. Undressing would take too long. No more