Read Online First Position by Melody Grace - Free Book Online Page A

changes. Just for a split second, but I see it: a rush
of happiness flitting across his face. He sends me a smile, secret
and private. Then the mask comes down again, and he starts to dance.
    I lose myself in watching him all over again: the power, the control,
the grace of his movements. But this time, it’s deeper, because
I know what it’s like to be there, pressed against his body,
feeling every step as if it were my own.
    I hug my arms around myself, caught up in the performance—and
my memory of those hands on my own body, hip to hip, skin on skin.
    Finally, the music ends, and applause comes crashing back into my
dream world.
    “Easy, girl.” Karla laughs, patting me on the head.
“You’re practically drooling.”
    I wipe the smile off my face, terrified my feelings will be obvious
for anyone to see.
    Karla laughs again. “Now you look like you want to drown in the
fountain. Relax,” she tells me, “just play it cool,
and—hey!” she exclaims, looking behind me. “Great
show.”
    I spin around. It’s Raphael, his hair slightly damp with sweat,
curling darkly over his tanned face.
    “You came,” he says quietly, giving me another smile.
This one sends a bolt of heat straight through me.
    My skin prickles, like I’ve been shocked. The effect is
instant. Hot. Hard.
    “Sure,” I try to play nonchalant like Karla said. “We
were in the neighborhood, so we figured we’d come check you
out. It out,” I correct myself quickly. “The show, I
mean!”
    Way to go, Annalise. Real cool!
    Raphael’s gaze goes to my friends. “We haven’t been
introduced,” he says, flashing a charming grin. “At
least, not properly. You were in a rush last time,” he adds, to
Karla. “Raphael Gibraldi.”
    “Oh, sorry!” I yelp. “This is Karla, and Rosalie.
They’re at the company with me.”
    “A pleasure.” Raphael’s gaze turns back to me, like
I’m the only person in the world. “Are you free now?”
    He rests a hand gently on my arm. His touch sears through me. I catch
my breath.
    “She’s free.”
    I feel a shove against my back, and I stumble, off balance, towards
Raphael. Karla beams at him. “Just have her back before
dinner.” She looks down and does a double take at the time.
“Look at that!” she cries. “We have to get going,
don’t we, Ros?”
    “What? Oh, yes.” Rosalie nods enthusiastically. “We
have to go see a guy, about a thing!”
    “See you later!” Karla cries, and then the two of them
are gone, giggling together as they dash away across the square.
    I brace myself and turn back to Raphael. His eyes blaze into me. My
heart catches in my throat.
    Dear God, he’s mesmerizing.
    “So…” I blush, awkward. “What do you want to
do now?”
    His mouth curls in a smoldering grin. He quirks his eyebrow. “What
do you think?”
    I gulp. Holy shit. “I, um,” I stutter, my mind
blank. All I can think about his is lips, his hands, his body…
    “Let’s take a walk.” Raphael puts me out of my
misery, looking amused. “I love this neighborhood, there are so
many old churches and monuments.”
    Strolling. OK, that I can do.
    “Great!” I exclaim, too loud. “I mean, lead on.”
    But as I
hitch my purse up my shoulder, Raphael leans in. His lips rasp
against my earlobe, his breath is hot against my skin.
    “But trust me, mia cara . Your next lesson will be soon.”

Thirteen.
     
     
    I fall into step beside Raphael as we stroll to the edge of the piazza . This is where we first met, I remember, when he chased
the pickpocket down into these alleyways.
    It feels like weeks have passed, but it’s been only days.
    “It’s like everywhere I look, it’s from a painting
or postcard,” I babble nervously as Raphael turns down one of
the winding narrow streets. The walls of the buildings are a faded
rosy terra cotta, and many of the doorways have ornate arches, or
vibrant window-boxes vying for attention.
    Raphael smiles. “When I first moved here, I would take my
camera