Eyes of Ember (Imdalind Series #2)(29)

“I’d rather not.” I stepped away from him, but he mirrored my movements.

“I won’t hurt you, Joclyn,” he promised. “And if you don’t dance with me, I’ll be forced to take away your win and we will have to stay in the apartment for an additional week.”

My jaw dropped a bit. Ilyan only smiled more. Although I would normally have guessed it to be an empty threat, I didn’t want to take the chance. I plopped my hand down in his and rolled my eyes, trying to ignore the smile that lit up his face.

Ilyan led me onto the middle of the dance floor, and I tried to ignore the stabbing pain that being on another dance floor was giving me. The swirling and moving couples made way for us as we weaved through them, until Ilyan had placed us directly in the middle, the cobweb of lights zigzagging over our heads.

Ilyan took my hand in his and brought our joined hands up to eye level. His other hand brought mine up to his arm before moving to rest lightly on my back. He looked at me intently as the music flowed around us. I could have sworn he was waiting for me to move first, but there was no way that was going to happen. I rolled my eyes at him and went to drop my hands but he held onto me tighter.

“Follow the way my feet move,” he began. “Mine move forward. Yours move back. Watch.”

I looked down, nerves rising as I watched his feet move smoothly across the floor. I tried to follow, but it was harder than I thought it would be. Ilyan made it look easy.

I missed my long board. I could control that perfectly, and I was sure Ilyan would fall off after about ten feet. I smiled at the thought and missed a beat. My supporting foot rolling and my other one kicking him in the ankle. I was no good at this. I swore loudly and tried to pull away, but Ilyan increased his grip and pulled me back, crashing my body into his.

“Don’t think so much, Siln?,” he whispered in my ear. “Feel the music and move with the beat.”

I could feel Ilyan’s hand grow warm against mine, his magic bubbling right under the surface. But it never crossed the barrier of our skin. I was left to my own devices – no shield to protect me, no magic to calm me. I groaned and pushed my lacking self-confidence to the side in an attempt to move with him in the right way. Ilyan’s hand increased pressure on my back, pulling me against him as he began to push and pull me in the right direction. While still not perfect, at least I wasn’t stepping into anyone anymore.

“Now, you move your hips a bit more...”

“Did you say ‘move your hips’ to me?” I interrupted trying to keep the laugh out of my voice. “That’s not going to happen.”

“It is part of the Salsa, Joclyn, you must try it.” Ilyan began to move his hips in the way that all the other men on the floor were. It looked absolutely ridiculous.

I laughed loudly at him, but he didn’t stop the movement. He continued stepping and swaying and shaking as he took my giggling, stumbling form along with him. He spun me once, and I over spun crashing into him. I felt a laugh build in his chest as he continued to move. I had never seen him laugh like this before. This was natural and carefree. Ilyan was having fun. His emotion embraced me and I began to awkwardly sway my hips along with him. Ilyan’s laughter increased as I moved ineptly around his perfected movements.

We moved as the band played. Ilyan’s movements were flawless, me stumbling along with him as we both laughed aloud. Ilyan smiled at me with the same confusing look in his eyes before spinning me under his arm. I turned around awkwardly in front of him, my eyes tracking the crowd as I became dizzier and dizzier.

That was when I noticed that others were watching. For one fleeting moment I hadn’t noticed, I hadn’t cared. But then I saw a beautiful Hispanic woman look at me. She was laughing, possibly finding joy in the happiness that Ilyan and I shared, but even her notice cut into me. I stopped spinning and sunk into myself. Moving instinctively, Ilyan’s arms came up to wrap around me, pulling me into his chest. I wished he wouldn’t touch me, but I didn’t want to make more of a scene. Right now I wanted to run from the dance floor. Coming out here had been a mistake.

“Others will notice you, Joclyn,” Ilyan whispered in my ear, his chin resting on my shoulder.

“But, you can’t let it change who you are deep inside. Have fun for you, not for the people around you.” He spun me away from him, my eyes scanning the crowd. Everyone laughed and joked and played, all of them happy, none of them looking at me.

Ilyan came up behind me, his arm wrapping around my waist as he moved me in the dance, my back against his chest.

“See, no one else is even noticing you. No one else matters. Only you. Only me. Only the Salsa!” I could hear his smile as he pushed me away from him causing me to spin around to face him again. His feet continued to move and his hips to sway as I poorly mimicked his movements.

I can’t say I got better, but I did actually begin to enjoy myself again. Before long Ilyan was laughing just as loud as I was as we danced our way through the endless Salsa music.

Ilyan had pulled me out of another turn when his face fell. He never missed a beat, but his eyes had turned from joyous to serious far faster than I thought possible.

“Well, that was fast,” he said, his voice hard.

“What was fast?” I asked, trying to follow his line of sight, but he had returned to staring back at me.

“Go for a walk with me?” he asked.