The Devil's Deal

chapter sixteen

Kade

"No, you need to turn your feet out!" Penny lets out a bright laugh from beside me. Her eyes crinkle at the corners as she judges my posture and feet positioning.

I'm going to admit I don't know what the fuck I'm doing. She's attempting to teach me some beginner dance moves and I'm failing.

Badly.

I let out a groan of frustration, furrowing my brows while trying to focus on keeping my feet turned away from one another at a super awkward angle. I don't understand how she's able to move like this. I look back to her and watch her demonstrate the next easy step and—unlike me—she has her toes pointed out, heels in, and is now bending her legs while keeping her arms held out in an oval shape in front of her.

"This is called a plié," Penny explains, doing another quick "plié" then standing and walking back in front of me.

"You know," I say while preparing for this torturous move, "when I asked for you to show me some moves I didn't want this to turn into a whole dance class... you came to learn from me not the other way around," I grumble.

She only raises her brows and shrugs, "you asked, now do it." She crosses her arms and nods encouragingly.

I take a deep breath, my eyes traveling over her face shamelessly stopping on her lips before she looks back up at me expectantly. I can't help myself around her, she's ethereal, and just like on the dance floor back at The Den all those nights ago she has still managed to take my breath away.

My toes are pointed out at odd angles and I try to bend my legs in the exact same way as Penny had shown me but my muscles give out when I bend my legs down halfway. Obviously, I'm not flexible enough to ever be a dancer.

"That was a lot better!" She exclaims clapping her hands together, a satisfied smile appearing on her lips.

I nod straightening back up, "well little dancer, I don't know if I'm up to your standards but I'll keep practicing."

I walk past her intentionally bumping into her shoulder causing goosebumps to arise on the exposed skin of my shoulder. I catch her turning her head slightly at the contact but continue to her belongings by the side of the door.

"Wait..." she stops me, I turn my head to meet her gaze. But her eyes aren't meeting mine; they are glued to my left shoulder. I look down to the tattoo that my father made everyone get when joining the vipers, I'm ashamed to have it inked into my skin.

I feel a blush rush to my cheeks when she shifts her gaze to mine. I can't read her expression, but she furrows her brows and walks closer to examine the ink. I hold in a breath when I feel her fingertips brush lightly over the tattoo of the V and the snake that is weaving in and out of the lines.

"What is it for?" She whispers so quietly I almost didn't hear it over the loud sounds of the fans that are whirring above us.

My heart is beating at an alarmingly fast pace against my chest but I concentrate on her face, the intricate details like the light freckles that dust her cheeks going over the bridge of her nose. And the small mole that rests just below her right ear against the curve of her neck.

"It's for—"

My ringtone blasts through the quiet, Penny steps away from me her feather-light fingertips leaving my shoulder. I frown as she moves away feeling an urge to pull her closer again, I suppress that urge and step to the side to retrieve my ringing cell phone. Penny shuffles away towards her things piled near the door.

I don't make it before it stops ringing. Picking up my phone the time flashes across the screen and so do the multiple missed texts. I frown, noticing all of the calls are from Collins, my fight manager. I ring his number and nod to Penny letting her know I'm stepping out to take a call. She smiles and nods, bending back down to lace up her obnoxiously bright purple running shoes.