Circus Save Me, page 11
He throws his last blade and the crowd cheers, calling out for more. Blain stalks up to me and slowly runs his hand over my bound arms, his fingers trailing along my skin, making the hair on my arms stand on end. His eyes don’t leave mine the whole time and my surroundings drop away, I am only aware of Blain and his touch. Leaning closer to me his lips come closer to my ear and I shiver as his cool breath brushes over my flushed skin.
“Don’t get carried away Harpy, I’m playing up to the crowd,” he whispers in my ear, and I would almost believe him if it wasn’t for the arousal shining clear on his face. Releasing me from my bonds, he steps away and bows to the crowd, walking away from me. My thoughts are a mess.
“Rhea.” I hear him call my name.
I spin around and see a blade materialise in his hand. I barely have time to register him changing his position as he hurls the knife towards me, straight towards my heart. I stick my hands out to protect me and pray my powers can react in time. I feel a ripple across my skin and watch as the blade bounces harmlessly off my body. My body, which has turned to diamond, glittering brightly under the spotlights. I stare at Blain, rage and confusion running riot through me. That was not part of the act. The crowd, however, loves it, they are roaring with applause. Alcide, sensing that he needs to intervene before something else ‘spontaneous’ happens, runs into the ring.
“What an act! Why not give another round of applause for our very own diamond, Rhea the Immortal!” He announces loudly, effectively snapping me out of my staring match with Blain. With a shaky bow, I leave the ring.
The other acts go as planned, although Nixon doesn’t throw me again, I just assist with his act. I had offered, but Nixon just said no and stared down Alcide until he agreed. Rex and I paired up with the animal act, and I am still left so gobsmacked watching him take on the animals abilities, that I am clapping along with the crowd as he demonstrates.
Jesse’s act is the last one of the show. This is the one I am most nervous about. Turns out acrobatics is not one of my natural talents. Jesse wows the audience from above on the tightrope, doing tricks that should be impossible, especially at such heights. A hoop is also suspended from the top of the tent, which he uses to amaze the crowd with aerial moves, his muscles straining as he hangs precariously above the ground, whilst I go through a series of tumbles and flips on the ground when he is in between moves. The final part of the act involves both of us suspended in the hoop above the audience. I can feel myself shaking, I’m not a great fan of heights, as my only experiences have involved falling. I climb into the lowered hoop, clinging onto Jesse as it’s raised back up.
“You’ve got this, Firecracker,” he whispers to me, his eyes glittering with excitement.
I nod at him, a smile spreading across my face, I can’t help it, his happiness is infectious. I know I am safe with Jesse. There are no safety nets or harnesses here, but I trust him.
The act goes well, and for the finale, I hook my legs over the hoop and drop down so I am suspended upside down. Jesse spins the hoop and drops down into the same position so we are back to back and breathes fire. I haven't seen it myself, but I have been told that with the ring spinning it looks like we are encased in flames. I hear the crowd roar with approval. There is a screech from above us as the hoop shudders and we drop a couple of inches. Jesse looks around at me in horror, we both know what's going to happen. I look around but there is nothing soft to land on. I should survive a fall from this height, but Jesse might not. I twist from my position and throw myself at him. Our combined weight causes him to lose his grip.
“Rhea!” He shouts as we hurtle to the floor.
I wrap myself around him and try to turn us in the air so my back is facing the ground. I close my eyes just before the impact and feel my body change to protect us. There is a loud bang and the impact smashes through my body, a loud crashing sounds seconds after.
A stunned silence fills the air. I open my eyes to see a stunned Jesse in my arms, looked down at me in wonder. I am in my diamond form again. I sit up and frantically look over Jesse.
“Are you okay?!” I ask, he looks a little scratched up, but no major damage.
“You sacrificed yourself to save me,” he whispers, his hand running over my face.
I feel myself turn back to my human form and shrug at his comment. I knew my powers would protect me, in my mind, there was no choice.
“Come on, let's get out of here,” he says as he tugs on my hand.
I look around at his comment and realise we are in a crater in the ground. The impact of my landing created it. We climb out of the hole in the ground to the sound of shocked applause.
Alcide comes on stage and smooths things over, making it seem like everything happened just like it was supposed to. However, I know from his look over at the mangled hoop, which is now laying on the ground, that he knows this wasn’t just an accident.
I stand in Alcide’s tent waiting for him nervously. After the show, he pulled me aside to check if I was okay and then told me to wait in his tent as he had something he needed to talk to me about. I tug anxiously at my now ruined costume. The fabric is covered in dirt and is torn up from our landing. I’ve been here less than a week and I’ve already caused so much trouble. Not to mention the massive hole in the middle of the circus ring. Alcide is probably going to tell me I need to leave. I’m pacing the tent, biting down on my lower lip when the ringmaster walks in. He stops dead when he sees me and I walk towards him.
“I’m really sorry. I’ll fill the hole in the ground, and I’ll pay you back for the costume. I’ll work really hard on my act so I can earn my place here properly. Please, Alcide, don’t throw me out, I just feel like I’m learning who I’m meant to be,” I say in a rush, my hair has fallen out of it’s bun, so it is hanging in wild waves around my face.
Alcide laughs and closes the gap between us, tucking a curl of my bright hair behind my ear. I bite down on my lower lip as I wait for his response, my heartbeat loud in my head.
“Rhea, why on earth would you think I am going to kick you out? You saved Jesse tonight and didn’t think once about the fact you could have died in the process,” he tells me sincerely, his hand resting against my cheek. His eyes focus on my lips and he groans, taking a small step away from me. “Rhea, you’re going to have to stop biting that lip of yours, I only have so much control.”
I stare at him in shock, the desire in his voice is clear. I find myself taking a step towards him, closing the distance between us.
“Welcome to the family,” he says breathlessly, staring down at me and I think he is going to say something else.
There is a noise from outside the tent which startles both of us. Alcide curses and steps away, running a hand over his face before turning away from me. I watch him as he strides to the tent entrance and glances at me over his shoulder before exiting the tent.
“Oh, Rhea. You look stunning in that costume,” he says with a grin, winking at me as he walks out.
I am left standing here with a blush colouring my cheeks, wondering what on earth just happened.
I walk back to my tent in a daze, quickly strip out of my costume and look through my new clothes. Grabbing a dress, I shimmy into it and spin in front of the mirror. The thin, floaty material moves around me, with a split up both legs reaching my thighs, showing off my pale skin. The pattern is beautiful, with white flowers scattered all over the emerald material. The front is cut into a low v, and the back swoops low to the base of my spine, causing me to hesitate. However, seeing as I just performed in front of a whole town in a skin-tight costume, I think I can make this work.
“Firecracker, you ready to-” I grin at Jesse's dumbfounded expression and twirl for him.
“What do you think?” I say softly. His face is shocked but soon clears to a burning desire, his usual charm and smile nowhere to be seen. He prowls towards me, all graceful and smooth, and I find myself frozen on the spot waiting for him.
“You look perfect, almost too beautiful to touch. I don’t know how we got so lucky as to find you,” he says in awe, his honeyed voice making me swallow nervously. Every word has me building up to something, but it’s a fall I wouldn’t know how to survive.
“I’m not-” I start, he stops when we are touching, my dress twining with his legs.
“Don’t. Just listen for a minute,” he waits for me to nod, and then cups my cheek softly. “That day you saved me, when I met your eyes for the first time, I knew you were going to change my world. I’d never seen anyone so beautiful, so fierce, so brave. Then you come here, you join my family, and you care. You push us, ask us for more in the best way. I’ve never seen Rex so happy, so confident, you drew the animal out of his shell. Alcide has never smiled so much, or let go of that careful control he has to keep us all in line. He might have been the leader, but it pushed him away from us. Left a distance I don’t think he knew how to bridge between family and duty, but you did. You bridged that. Don’t even get me started on Nixon and Blain... And me. You saved me again tonight, not even worrying about yourself. You're bringing our family even closer together, and you don’t even know it. I believe in destiny, always have, and you, Rhea? You’re ours.”
His head lowers to mine, my heart bursting from his words. He’s all I want at the moment, and if he doesn’t kiss me I feel like I might explode.
“Where’s Rhea, party’s starting.” I hear someone call from outside, breaking our moment.
We watch one another, breathing each other in, our mouths inches away. Need and something I have never seen before, something close to love, shines in his beautiful eyes.
“We better get the star to her celebration party,” he whispers, but he doesn't move away and neither do I.
“Yeah,” I murmur, still watching him. He closes his eyes as if in pain, but when they open they are soft again and he smiles before kissing my cheek, his lips lingering there. Slowly pulling away he steps back and offers me a weak smile.
“Come on, Firecracker, let's not keep your adoring fans waiting.”
Disappointment has me slumping a little, but I wind my arm through his and follow him out of my tent.
The outside seating area has been transformed. Dangling lights are strung around, the table is covered in a beautiful multicoloured cloth, music is playing loudly as everyone mingles and drinks. The moon shines down on us, and for a moment I just watch as my family enjoys themselves. I never thought I would find a place to belong, now I would do anything to stay here.
“There you are,” Rex says as he jogs over to us, his cheeks flushed and smile massive. I smile back and he watches me happily.
“You ready to celebrate? Dancing, drinking, Blain scowling.”
I laugh along with Jesse until he pulls me over to the table and plops me down.
“I’ll get you a drink, save me a dance,’” he kisses my head and wanders off as Rex sits next to me, his thigh pressing to mine.
“You look stunning, Wildcat.”
I lean my head on his shoulder, watching as Jesse teases Blain. “Thank you.”
“Will you dance with me, I mean I’m not great but I try, I mean you don’t-.” I giggle as he starts to ramble nervously again.
“I can’t dance.” My cheeks heat with the confession.
“What?” he asks, his head moving making me lift mine as he watches me in shock. I shrug.
“Never had the chance to learn.”
A drink bangs down on the table in front of me as Jesse slouches on the bench opposite.
“Did I hear that right? Firecracker can’t dance?” He clutches his chest dramatically making me roll my eyes.
“Yesss.” I drag the word out, unsure why he is asking.
He grins before jumping up. “I’ll teach you, come on it will be fun.” He pouts his lower lip when I don't instantly move. I look to Rex for help but he smiles at me before sliding off the bench and wandering away, leaving me to Jesse's mercy. Groaning, I put my hand in his and let him pull me to my feet. We walk over to a section of grass where Esme is dancing. Her hips are moving as she dances slowly in front of all the others. I start to get nervous, realising everyone will see me. I tug on Jesse's hand.
“Maybe later.”
He spins me until I'm in his arms. “Ignore them all, it’s just you and me,” he says softly.
“But I won't be able to dance like Esme- what if...”
He puts his finger to my lip. “Esme dances like a hooker, come on, Firecracker, I didn't think you were scared of anything. Live a little.”
Giving in, I let him move me to the sultry music, his hands on my hips.
“That's it, follow the music, just let go. Don't overthink it, just move your hips the way they want to.”
Giving myself over to the experience, like everything since coming here, I copy his movements. He moves like he performs, all graceful and sultry. Twisting and moving my hips to the beat, I lose myself in the music, forgetting about the audience as we twist and dip around the grass. Our bodies move against each other, each slide making me heat up as I feel all of his hard muscle.
My smile is free and uncaring as we grin at each other. His pelvis is level with mine as he sways, taking us lower to the floor. I follow him down, moving with him, our eyes locked. We sway, each movement making me wish for things I shouldn't think of as desire races through my veins.
He bands his arm over my back and dips me low to the ground, my leg instantly comes up and into the air as I giggle. He smiles down at me, that same heat coming into his eyes from earlier. Clapping makes me jump and he groans before pulling me up and into his arms again. He spins me around into a bow in front of the others. Alcide winks at me, as Rex grins shyly. Nixon nods, but I see the softness on his face. My cheeks heat from all the attention as I fidget nervously. Blain isn’t scowling for once, but he does quirk his eyebrow at me. Esme stands at the end, her eyes narrowed and her arms crossed.
“Well, at least you dance better than you perform, even if it was like watching a child following its parents.” She laughs.
My eyes drop to the ground, was I really that bad? I try to pull away from Jesse, but he locks his arm around me. I roll my eyes up and watch as he glares at Esme before pulling me after him as he walks away.
I follow, happy to be out of the spotlight, so embarrassed that I was that bad at dancing. I’m silent as he tugs me after him until we are at the back of the closest tent. Then he spins and faces me, his eyes hard.
“Don’t listen to her, Firecracker. She's jealous.”
I play with a rock at my feet, unable to meet his eyes. “Jealous?”
“Fuck, yes. You didn't see it, but you were breathtaking. You had us all hypnotized, not one of those men looked away as you danced. You had the same confidence about you as when you perform. The one you hide away, don’t let her ruin that.”
I drag my eyes to his, needing his words like the earth needs rain. I soak them up and use them to build back my confidence. Until I am the person I always want to be, watching the man I want. I haven't been able to get the idea of kissing him out of my mind, I know it will lead to problems and I have already kissed Rex and Blain. But I don’t care, how could I not want him? The man who pushes me to be more, who always has my back and makes me remember that above all else, I am a woman.
“Kiss me.”
He looks shocked before he grins at me, his eyes alight like the fire next to us. “With pleasure, Firecracker.”
I don’t know who moves first, but our lips meet as the whole world seems to explode. I grab onto his hair and hold as he presses our bodies together. His tongue slips into my mouth as I beg for more. One of his hands cups my cheek as the other slips down my body and cups my ass, pulling me close so nothing is left between us. I can feel his length hardening, and it only makes me needier. Maybe what he said is true, they are... he is my destiny. All I know is before them I had never felt so alive, and right now I need him. I pull away, panting. He kisses the corner of my lips and down to my neck. I tilt my head to the side on a moan as he licks up the sensitive flesh and leaves a trail of stinging bites. I grab his hair harder and pull his head, needing his lips back on mine. He complies happily, kissing me like there is no tomorrow. His hips move against mine, making me gasp into his mouth. He uses his hand on my ass to move me against him. He swallows my moans as we move together, a different kind of dance now.
Breaking away, he watches me. His lips puffy from our kiss, and his face flushed.
“I’m crazy about you, Rhea, please don’t hurt me.”
Before I can respond he kisses me gently and pulls away.
“Come on, let's get back to the party before people start missing you.”
Nodding, I twine my hands with his.
I spent the rest of the night dancing and laughing. Even Blain dances with me, scowling the whole time, but he spins me around for a couple of minutes before flinging me at Rex for a dance, and stalking off to get another drink. It’s an amazing night, and under the full moon, I finally feel at home. My heart now belongs to these five men, I just hope they are always there to catch me when I fall.
I fell into a deep sleep, alone in my new tent last night. I did miss laying with someone, but I am not brave enough to ask anyone to join me yet. I wake up automatically at dawn, old habits are hard to break even after the late night I had. No one mentioned anything we had to do today, and Jesse told me they usually have a day of rest. It leaves my day wide open. Staring at the tent ceiling, an idea hits me. Grinning, I jump up and quickly dress in some loose pants and a coloured crop top. I make sure to grab a cover-up, a cape, but unlike my old one, this one fits and only seems to showcase my body. Black, with fur at the top, it cinches at the middle with a bow and flows at different lengths down my body. I grab my coin purse and shoes and slip out of the tent.
Quietly, I sneak through the camp, not wanting to be caught. When I reach the edge of the camp, I grin and make my way down the hill, using the dirty road trodden by feet and wagons.
