Author's Corner: Before anything thing else gory, violent or otherwise jumps off I figure I'd give you a few light, cheery chapters.

Torque

Aidyn's head spun out of control at the raw taste of him. It seemed as if he needed this and she was certainly going to give it to him. Of all the men she'd been with, all of them men she had slept with as The Black Widow, she had never been kissed. It was her rule, to her, kissing was special, kind of like with prostitutes, but her big thing was more she wanted her first boyfriend to kiss her. Wait, did she just think that? Does this mean they are a couple or is this one of his fly by night romances?

He slid his hand down the curve of her breast finally reaching the hem of her midriff top. His fingers tickled her navel and played with her navel ring.

Her body is so fuckin' soft, he thought as his tongue danced with hers. She tastes so good; sweet.

I can't handle this. She thought as his arms snaked themselves around her pulling her closer to him. I have no control over this kiss. I never kiss. I don't know what I'm doing. But I like it. I really, really like it. But this has got to stop before it gets out of control.

Finally the kiss broke. Aidyn was out of breath and her head was buzzing with all the thoughts of what if? This scared her, but it drew her in like a moth to a flame. What was she going to do with him?

He looked down at her platinum eyes. To him, she looked like a scared two- year-old waiting for daddy to tell her there's nothing to fear. It was then he realized that this had to have been her first kiss.

Oh my god, then that means she's a virgin.

Not quite John, Aidyn thought to herself still able to hear his thoughts.

"Come on in John," she said quietly, "Desi!"

John and Desi followed her inside of her house; they stood in the dining room. She didn't really know where to begin, she never had to give this tour before, either you were here when she built it or you weren't allowed access, that's just the way it went.

"Well this is my dining room," she said quietly. "There's the kitchen, it's an eat in kitchen, so no one really uses the dining room, it's just there."

"Damn girl, I thought I lived in a big ass house."

She shrugged, "No big deal, that's my piano and my violin." She said pointing to the grand black piano with the white violin sitting atop it.

"Do you play?" he asked looking at her.

Aidyn's heart broke at his question, her father had been an avid music lover and taught her how to play both instruments when was very, very young. He died before he was finished so she learned on her own.

"Yeah," she told him, "I play."

"Well let me hear you play a little something?" he said walking toward it.

She smiled softly, grabbing him before he could reach it. "And down this way is my recreation, my gym is that way," she stood in front of the wall sized mirror, "Here's where I practice my dancing."

What? He thought, bad question? There must be something up with that music thing. I'll ask her later.

He looked at the wall next to where she was standing; a big screen TV stood there with every cheesy dance movie known to man: Save the Last Dance, You Got Served, Step Up, Honey and the only one he could stand to even look at: Stomp the Yard.

"Oh, those are my inspiration," she told him as she watched him stare at her collection. And it was true, they were her inspiration. "I learn every one of those routines in these movies, then I take them to Satinka and together she and I put our own signature on it."

"Is that right?" he asked her. There was so much more to her than anyone else he had ever met, and somehow he figured this was just the tip of the iceberg.

"Yeah, I know these dances like the back of my hand."

"Prove it," he said pulling off his jersey head. He wore a black wife beater underneath; it stole Aidyn's breath to watch him.

"How?"

"Dance for me."

Aidyn looked down at the floor. He had to be kidding her. Doing routine in class was one thing. To actually, physically dance for him and him alone was something totally different. It was personal in ways that he couldn't possibly understand.

"You going to dance?"

"I only dance when I'm giving lessons."

Reaching into his pocket he dropped a Benjamin at her feet, "So teach me."

He was not going to make this easy and for that she hated him. He didn't understand. Any man she ever danced for ended up with a bullet in his skull. That's just the way things went in her world. There was no such thing as just dancing for 'fun'. Nothing she did was ever just for 'fun'.

"Aidyn?"

She walked to the stereo skipping to All on Me by Sean Paul. Her body twisted and turned to the beat of the music. Her hips moved as if there were no bones locking them in place. It amazed him how incredibly flexible she seemed to be. When she lifted her leg parallel to her body and spun on her heel he thought that his jaw would put a dent in her floor it dropped so quickly. He was beyond impressed, he was officially turned on beyond his wildest imaginations.

Aidyn watched as his eyes widened to saucers. She really didn't want to do this. In fact her palm itched to reach into her holster just to feel her gun. This wasn't good and he was just like a deer in the street, he didn't even realize his life was in possible danger.

"Aidyn?"

"Any questions?" he didn't say anything right away, "Class dismissed."

"Dayum girl." He said."I have to show you off."

"To whom?"

"Hey, you watched Stomp the Yard right?" He asked having a great idea all of a sudden. The fraternity brothers at the 'Go Hard or Go Home' battle would have a fit if they saw her dance. The sorority sisters wouldn't know what to do with themselves; he knew they would be ready to do battle with his girl.

"Yeah, and?"

"There's a place where a bunch of us just hang out and dance."

"Okay," she didn't see his point.

"And sometimes local sororities and fraternities come out and step."

"Sounds cool."

"It is. It's where I get a lot of my back up dancers."

"Not to mention a lot of your dates for the night." She added with a sigh, "So, who else do you go with?"

"Marc, Bobby," he shrugged, "My brothers."

"I see," she said lifting her eyebrows.

"By the way, about your name."

"Tell Marc and Bobby, that's it."

"What about the rest of my family?"

Daniel, Matthew, Steven and Sean, tighter with John than the men who protected him, being of Italian descent John's main focus was the tightness of his family so she understood his concern for his inner circle to know the truth. However he was asking her to take a chance that could prove deadly to her career and to their lives.

"Well I know how tight you are with them, fine, but that's it. Your team, uh uh,"

"Okay."

"Well let's go get you some ass for the night," she said.

John smiled at her. She was raw, she was real, that's what he loved about her, "So what, you're not goin' battle?"

"Not my job,"

"Let me ask again you going hard or staying home?"

"Let me go get dressed."

Watching her as she sashayed up the steps John flipped up his phone, "Marc, are you goin' to be at the battle tonight?"

"Hell yeah, you?"

"Yeah, I'm bringin' Aidyn,"

"Who?"

"I'll explain when I get there."

"Aight, well you know the freaks are going to be in great supply tonight."

"Yeah I know, I'll be there."

"Aight, see you when you get there."

-

Aidyn called Randy; she figured the last thing she needed to do is having him traipsing around in public when his life is at stake. He would tell her what to do.

"What's going on Aidyn, what's wrong?"

"Nothing really, John is okay and everything, it's just that he wants to go out and hang and I'm not sure about that."

Randy smiled to himself. This plan of his was going just as he expected it to, "Well as long as you are with him I don't see what the problem is."

"Okay,"

"By the way, I'm making this your only assignment for a while. Adam tells me you're not racing like you should be."

"Okay," Aidyn's head was swimming and she had to admit it would take some time to get used to her sharing a house that very, very few people knew about.

"And besides, sounds like you two are hitting it off good right?"

"Yeah, he's cool peoples."

"Good, because you are his full time body guard for now until I get this thing with your last kill over with, and by the way, two wire transfers say you're two million dollars richer my love."

"Thank you, talk to you later."

"Aidyn,"

"Yes Randy,"

"Stay strapped."

"Always."

"Goodbye Aidyn."

Aidyn hurried and slid into something she could dance comfortably in, in the end deciding on a pair of form fitting leggings and a black halter top. She decided she would go in black boots, being as though she could dance in anything. Satinka had planned some weird performances for the troop in the past.

"Ray--Aidyn, come on," John yelled from the bottom of the steps.

Aidyn hopped on the banister and came sliding down the hall in her own little fashion, "Ready," she announced.

"I can see that, but can you move in those shoes?"

"Watch me." She said. "Which car should we take?"

"Pick one."

"How about your Escalade, I don't usually get to ride anything that big," she said smiling at herself.

He bit his bottom lip. One of these days, he thought, she's going to say something like that and I'm not going to be able to control myself.

"What's the matter big boy?" she asked.

"Come on, let's go."

He wore his black wife beater, black jeans and his boots. He looked so damn sexy with his cap and his muscles cut everywhere, she thought she would faint. She remembered the taste of him. The wild needs that she felt. She didn't know where this was going to lead but she knew she liked it.

"Let's do this then."

"Let's,"

Aidyn had no idea what to expect when she walked into the battle with John but nothing she could've ever imagined came close to what she saw when she walked through those double doors. There were half naked women everywhere. It made her feel as if maybe she were overdressed. The men were practically glistening from all the diamonds and platinum they were wearing.

"What...the...hell?" she muttered to herself.

"Ay, yo, John!" Marc called him over, "Over here."

"Come on," he said pulling her by the hand.

When they got over to where Marc and Bobby stood she noticed that they stood with his brothers and they had grown up, a lot.

"What's up J," Sean said pulling him close for a quick hug.

"What's up lil' man, what ya been gettin' into?"

"Nothin' much, just tryin' to get this paper, you know how it is." Sean smiled. It was at that point that they noticed Aidyn as she stood behind him waiting for him to meet and greet with his family. "What you been into, or more to the question, who?" he asked nodding his head toward Aidyn.

"Oh," John said turning toward Aidyn, "This is Aidyn, my new bodyguard."

"Damn, well can I get at that, shorty is fine." Sean said.

"Yeah, damn girl, you sexy as a motherfucker," Steven said. "Why you spend all your time fighting dudes? I don't want to see you get hurt."

Aidyn shrugged. Noticing that Marc and Bobby were shooting weird looks her way at the revealing of her real name she turned to them and smiled, "Later," she mouthed to them.

Marc winked and Bobby nodded. Good, at least everything was going pretty well for the night considering.

"I mean, aren't you afraid of gettin' that phat ass of yours kicked?" he asked circling her. She was so petite, she had her curves, but she was no match for a man that would be trying to come at John.

"You remember this, and keep this in mind because it's very, very important," she said walking up in his face.

"And what's that?"

"You got to bring ass to kick it." She winked at him.

"Ohhhhh!" the boys yelled.

"Damn shorty," Sean said.

"Anyway," Aidyn said looking away, "I thought you said I was here to battle?"

Marc's mouth nearly hit the floor, "She's here to battle?"

John said, "You got to see her."

"What?" Aidyn asked not understanding what the big deal was.

"Well here, most of the time it's just men that battle, step, do whatever. Sort of like in the movie, women dance but it's usually," John stopped his sentence, he didn't want her to be offended.

"It's usually over there on that pole we have set up just for the women." Daniel finished for him.

"Well no wonder they are in here half naked. It alleviates half the work, wouldn't you say?"

"Man she a little smart ass," Daniel said leaning over to Matthew.

"Yeah, but she's sexy as shit. If John not hittin' I'm gettin' at that."

Matthew and Daniel slapped hands, "I know that's right."

"So when do the festivities in question begin?"

"Soon shorty," Sean said taking her by the hand. "Come on, since this is your first time, I'll show you around. That cool J?"

John nodded, "Yeah, that's cool. Hey, that is expensive merchandise you're totin' so please, bring her back in one piece."

Sean smiled and Aidyn rolled her eyes. Now that she was used to the place, this was nothing she couldn't handle.

"Yo, S-dot!" somebody called out.

"What's up C.B.," they embraced quickly, "That album is off the chain,"

"Thank you, who is this?"

"Oh this is--," she yanked him back before he had a chance to tell her real name.

"I don't give out my real name, you tell everybody here my name is Rayne, you got it?"

"Yeah a'ight, cool." He whispered back, "This is Rayne, John's bodyguard,"

"You bullshittin'," C.B. said.

"Nope," Sean said proudly, "She goin' dance here tonight and e'rything."

"A'ight then John, comin' own up partna." He said speaking in his southern Atlanta accent.

"I know right," he said. Just then his two-way went off, "Come on girl, the battle gettin' ready to start."

"Good, cuz that's all I came here to do."