The club was loud and hot. Those were Rogue’s first impressions as she stepped past the bouncer and through the bright red door. Lights flashed, people danced wildly and the music blared. It was just what she wanted, the perfect place to start her new life.
Rogue entered the crush, delighting in the sensation of skin brushing and rubbing against her own. She began to dance, and before long some guys came up and were dancing with her. Her laughter rang through the crowd, her eyes sparkled and it felt like her smile would never end. She was sure that this was the best day of her entire life.
Then the music slowed into a song meant just for couples, and Rogue let herself be pulled into the arms of a handsome young man with dark eyes and just the right kind of face. The whole look of him said danger. To Rogue, fun and danger meant the same thing. She reveled in the way their bodies rubbed together during the song. Rogue felt like her whole body was on fire. This was what she had been missing. For this, she had given up her life as an X-Man. When she felt the stranger’s hands rubbing down her bare arms, she swore that it had been worth it. Distant friends and new enemies were nothing when compared to this.
The night continued along the same lines. Rogue lost count of the number of guys she danced with, short, tall, dark, blond, all with the look in their eyes that said they wanted her. It was a heady feeling, one she didn’t want to let go of. Eventually, though, Rogue became tired enough to admit that it was time to head back. Her feet were sore, her legs ached, and the thought of the comfortable bed waiting back at the school was too tempting. She smiled at the guys surrounding her and slipped away with the excuse that she needed to use the ladies’ room.
Rogue’s heart was light as she stepped out of the club and reached into her bag for her cell phone. She walked a few steps away from the door, enough to get away from the noise behind her. She dialed the same cab company and gave them the club’s name. Prepared for a wait, she glanced around at the dimly lit street. The night air, heavy with smoke from the club and the faint scents of food from earlier in the evening, smelled incredibly sweet to Rogue. She realized that she couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed herself so much. Worse was that she also couldn’t remember when she’d last had someone to share that fun with. That would come in time, though. She wasn’t worried.
A sound behind her made Rogue turn, but there was nothing in the dark alley. She shook her head and turned back to the street. Suddenly, a hand grabbed her arm and she was dragged into the alley. Before she had a chance to scream, another hand slapped over her mouth, cupping it so that she couldn’t bite. Still, she struggled, but the arms wrapping around her were too strong for her to break loose. She did manage to get an elbow into his ribs before hands came from either side to immobilize her arms
“Such a cute little girl. Did you think we’d just let you walk out after all that?” a deep voice asked her roughly. Rogue felt hot breath against her ear as she was pulled farther into the darkness.
“I say we teach her what flirts like her deserve,” another voice said from behind. Rogue heard quiet laughter.
Without warning, the man holding Rogue spun her around. A fist slammed into her mouth even as she drew breath to scream. Another fist pounded into her back, while a knee connected sharply with her hip. Hands pushed Rogue to her knees, and she felt a fist in her hair, pulling her head back. She strained to see their faces in the dark, but before she could make out more than an outline one of them hit her in the eye. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that was going to leave the worst black eye she’d ever had.
“You talk, and we’ll kill you after we’re done, got that?” the one who’d spoken first asked. “We’re just going to have a little fun, and then you can go home and cry about how terrible life is. That’s what they all do, sluts like you.”
Rogue glared up at him and spat into his face. That earned her a punch in the gut, followed by another in the ribs. The one holding her wrenched her arms tightly behind her back. She threw her head back in an attempt to knock out the guy holding her, but no such luck. She was sure she knew what was coming. Her guess was confirmed when she heard the harsh rasp of a zipper.
“Now no biting or we’ll have to get rough,” one of the men said with a loud laugh. Rogue thought it was the man in front of her. She decided they had a skewed view of what “rough” was.
Suddenly, Rogue’s head was jerked back as the hand holding it was pulled forcefully away. She heard a dull thud against the brick wall to one side. The men around her started yelling, and she tried to get up to get a few good punches of her own in. Fire shot through her ribs when she tried to stand, though, and she collapsed back onto the ground, curling into a small ball in a futile attempt to avoid being kicked in the fight.
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