Chapter 2

Raven stepped into The Pop, just as twitchy and nervous as she was a week ago, although she tried her best to keep everything low-key. Taking a deep breath, she turned and faced her friends. Starfire's skin was a little paler with the concealer she had applied to go undercover, her red hair was temporarily dyed black, and her short eyebrows were penciled over to make them look longer and black. An added insurance, Cyborg had done something to her eyes so only her irises were green. Robin had taken off his mask, but had it replaced with reflective sunglasses that were truthfully small for his face, but they covered his eyes effectively. His hair was dyed a caramel blonde for the sole purpose of their mission. Cyborg had rebuilt his transforming rings so he could turn into Stone, and just to be on the safe side, he had fastened a wig to his balding scalp.

Raven, being the target of the mission was the only one who wasn't in disguise. There had been several reports of tavern robberies in the area, so they were checking out local bars and nightspots on a weekly basis. The Pop actually seemed like a pretty decent place to have fun anyway, so perhaps when they got the robberies all cleared up they could visit just for fun.

Raven turned back to the club, and looked around. Same crowd, same pounding music, same bar with neon lighting, tables that were electronically enhanced to appear as glittering motion lamps with decorative glow-in-the-dark chairs. Curious, she looked to the bar, and upon finding nothing there, she checked the dance floor, and smiled when she saw him. The Beast had one hand behind his head, and the other on his visibly flat stomach. He was wiggling and arching his hips, smiling at some redhead rolling her shoulders.

Stabbed with a little bit of jealousy, and not sure why, her smile disappeared as she quietly said, "Titans, go…"

The envy inside her gave a sudden boost of confidence. She literally strutted into the club, walking with caution, her shoes making the outfit not exactly easy to strut in. However, if she wore it, then Starfire promised to stop bugging her about clothing and fashion for a month. For such a great reward, she could suffer through these nasty-ass-lace-up-the-side-thigh-high-stiletto-heel black cowgirl boots. She didn't think personally that they went well with her black geisha dress. Shining silk with blue beading in flower designs, it flickered in the dim lighting. Then again, clothes weren't exactly her forte.

Her eyes were drawn back to the Beast; he was still dancing with that redhead. Right after she had gotten his drink the last time she was here, Starfire had pulled her away for an unsuccessful attempt to make her dance, and ended up staying away. He suddenly caught her staring, and she smiled in greeting. When she found a table and sat at her chair with her legs crossed, he looked ready to vomit. That couldn't have been a good sign…

Beast continued to dance with Nina, but he was immediately distracted again. The purple haired girl had returned, and his mind wasn't playing tricks on him after all: she was indeed that sexy. Only last time, he felt he could handle her, based solely on her conservative top and relatively modest, while ornamental shoes. But tonight…

Her hair was done up in one of those Asian buns with chopsticks. She was wearing a hot black dress with a high collar and a long skirt that had slits on either side that went up above her thighs, but what killed him was…those shoes. Those shoes, those shoes, those shoes! They were sexy black pointed toe stiletto heel boots that went just above her knee and laced up the sides, mid-calf up her soft-looking legs. They weren't baggy like most boots of that kind were, but embraced the graceful curvature of her legs. Hot DAMN she looked good in those! They looked almost dominatrix style, which doubled the turn-on and about tripled the fantasy potential. Her legs were crossed and her foot bobbed to the song, tilting and tapping the heel on the floor, and he bit his lip, knowing that if he kept watching her he'd have a hard-on and that wouldn't do. Not when he was currently dancing with Nina.

However that could be easily remedied. He took her hand and spun her, intent on it being their last dance move, but she misinterpreted and spun herself against him, laughing with glee. The beads on the little shawl thing she wore on her hips swished against his jeans. Once again, Nina dressed sharply and hotly. On top she had a purple one-shoulder with a flower on the strap, dark blue jeans and periwinkle flip-flops. Plus the weird little shawl that she was supposedly using as a belt. Nina was always really free-spirited and lots of fun to club with. How in the world she managed to remain a single self-proclaimed matchmaker was beyond him. He was so wrapped up in dancing that he almost forgot about the purple-haired chick.

He turned his head to look up at her, still moving with Nina. Her brows were pinched down, her lips pursed a little, and she was completely stiff. The lights might have been playing a little trick on his eyes, but he thought for sure he saw envy sparking in there somewhere. Just to make sure, he slid his hands to Nina's swaying hips, and the hottie just looked positively livid, before something seemed to snap inside her and her back straightened, and she looked away, trying to appear disinterested. But she didn't fool him.

His eyes strayed away from her to see a tall skinny girl eyeing the purpled haired chick. For a minute the purple haired girl looked back, and he felt ready to cringe in embarrassment. If she was a lesbian, then he just made a big fat step into unwanted boundaries. But he continued to watch, and there was definitely interest between the two, but it wasn't romantic. They instead looked like they were conveying some sort of secret signal to each other. The green-eyed girl looked away, and he followed her eyes to some guy who looked a little too serious for a Saturday night. His brows furrowed low over tiny sunglasses that covered his eyes. He nodded back to the green-eyed babe, and something finally clicked.

Grinning, he let go of Nina, and said over the loud melody, "I'm gonna grab another dancing partner Nina."

She feigned hurt feelings. "Well thanks a lot Beast! Make me so sad and alone!"

He rolled his eyes, and she smiled back, before moving to blend in with the crowd, dancing and smiling the whole way. Leaving him to pursue the new girl.

Smiling predatorily, he shoved his hands in his pockets, and walked casually over to her.

Raven's eyes widened slightly as the Beast started walking to her. She looked around, trying to find her friends. Robin spotted her, and noticed Beast heading her way. He looked ready to reach for his communicator, but Raven shook her head, and mouthed the words 'safe'. Naturally, Robin looked doubtful, but nodded, and continued to talk to some of the guys that lingered in the corners of the room.

She took a deep breath, and waited. The green guy was just a couple feet from her table, and already she got a much better view of his face. Against the light, there was one sharp fang protruding from his lower lip. Raven sensed the curiosity in him, his lingering intrigue.

He didn't say anything, only took a bold, deliberate once-over of her body, though she had a feeling he'd already eaten her with his eyes. Her hands sliding to rest in her lap, she let him finish his perusal while she conducted one of her own.

Tonight he wore a black wife-beater that was a little too small, hugging the bulging muscles of his washboard stomach and solid pectorals. Nice. The pants he wore were much tighter than several males his age wore. In simpler terms, they fit. His face, that she had already taken pleasure in observing, was shaped well, adding another reason for one to get a bad-boy vibe from him. The topping reason was the shameless grin on his face. He didn't show any teeth currently, but his lips still curved very nicely. Frosting on the cake, that wild hair that was pushed off his face; there was a tiny strand of hair that hung in his face on his forehead that she bet drove him crazy.

Pasting on a cool smile, she said, "What's happening Beast?"

A surprised brow rose, but otherwise he didn't budge. "You know my name already?"

She put her elbow on the table, and leaned against her knuckles. "No. Just your nickname."

A smirk spread on his all-too sensuous lips. "I suppose that's not fair."

Raven blinked.

"I know your name. I guess it's only fair I tell you mine."

No matter how much the though of finding out his real name intrigued her, it was too important to figure out how he knew hers. "Time out here, how do you know who I am?"

That smirk grew. "I'm an expert observer." She wasn't convinced that he knew it, and apparently it showed. "You are Raven of the Titan's aren't you?" To prove his point, he slid his eyes to Robin and Starfire. "Starfire and Robin correct?"

Raven grumbled. If some random clubber could tell who her friends were just by watching her communicate with them, then clearly she wasn't being cautious enough.

The Beast grinned and in one sweep movement, he took the chair across from her, spun it, and plopped into it, putting up his feet. The smile he wore was careless and happy. "Don't worry I wont tell anyone. I'm assuming you're here because of some top secret mission or something so I'll be short and sweet. Do you want my name?"

Raven was a little flabbergasted at his quick speech, and after making a mental note to tell Robin about their bad undercover identity, came back to reality. "That isn't necessary. You can tell me when you're comfortable."

The music, that had stopped suddenly, was now coming back on in glitches. The DJ shouted into his microphone, the nail-on-chalkboard feedback echoing throughout the building. "Hey folks…we're having some sound difficulties tonight, but we'll try to get as much out as possible before we have to call in the back-up sound system. Just keep on groovin' kids!"

Beast closed his eyes, and hung his head as if in extreme pain. The music playing would have been awesome, if the sound system could play it without losing audio every fifteen seconds. With the constant interruptions, she couldn't for the life of her remember the name of the song playing, or who it was by.

But Beast snapped his head up, smiling happily as if struck by the music. She spared him an inquisitive glance, and his happy smile turned into a sinful grin full of wicked intentions. Just as quickly as he sat, he came to his feet and shoved his hands in his pockets. He flicked his head towards the dance floor, making the one stray hair on his forehead swing. "Wanna dance?"

Raven's head jerked back a little at the sudden question. Instinctively, she was about to give her typical 'no thank you' head-shake when he said, "Come on, I know the music's not that great right now, but hey, no point in putting that outfit to waste!"

She blushed; how she must come across in this outfit she didn't know, but she sure as hell didn't like either. "I'm only wearing this because of a bargain with my friend. I appreciate your invitation, but I'm un---"

He spread his arms and cut her off. "Come on! What's so wrong with dancing? Look at those guys!" Raven followed his pointing hand to the dance floor. They all looked happy, and while everyone was dancing, only a few of the couples were intimately close and grinding on each other; a true relief indeed. "They're all having a blast!"

They certainly looked like it. Keeping her gaze on the crowd, Raven said over the scratchy records, "I don't dance."

Baby…when I think about you…I think about loo-o-oove

His eyes looked ready to pop out of his head, then something dawned on him and he smacked his forehead. "Of course not! Spending all your time fighting bad guys and all, who has time to let loose and enjoy life?"

His question had a trick to it, and she knew she would regret it, but she cautiously said, "Right…"

He shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. "Oh well, I suppose we normal folk just aren't good enough for you super heroes to hang with."

Her smart-ass comment 'Says the green man?' was shot out of her mind at his statement. It was a sneaky and palpable trap, and she fell for it.

She uncrossed her legs and stood, her chin up so she could look him in the eyes. "None of us have ever felt the people of this city were beneath us. If we did do you think we'd work so hard to save them?"

He blinked.

Raven almost challenged him to a dance, but she remembered her mission. She looked over at Starfire again, who had been watching the situation. Starfire nodded in approval.

Satisfied, Raven turned back to Beast and glared. "Don't ever think I don't appreciate these people."

The lyrics to the song strained through the glitchy stereo.

His brow rose and he issued the challenge. "Then do ya wanna dance?"

Her eyebrow cocked. "Let's."

Darling…I don't live without you…and your looo-o-oove

Delighted, he took her hand and led her to the center of the dancing crowd. She stumbled a little as she walked, for she was being pulled, and stiletto heels weren't exactly easy to follow someone in. Once they were right in the middle of the throng, he let go of her hand and spun around. She blinked in astonishment as he began to dance. He moved in perfect harmonization with the music, as though it controlled his body.

Raven blinked and looked around. Everyone else was moving. And here she was standing around like a dope. He stopped to look at her, and tilted his head.

A guitar was playing on the stereo system, but the most obvious sound was the screech it came with on the rotten feedback. Raven couldn't dance period. Let alone with bad sound, and here everyone else was moving with perfect grace and harmony. She felt powerless.

He put a hand on her forearm, and shocked at the contact Raven jolted. "You alright?" he shouted over the bad sounds.

She held out her hands helplessly. "I can't dance!"

His head tilted, this time apparently in thought. Then he smiled, and took her hands, lifting them to the height of her head. He moved them around in circles, and when she glanced at his face in question, he told her, "Don't worry."

He held onto her hands a little bit longer, swinging them until she was able to follow his rhythm and keep it up on her own. Quickly, before she could protest, he grabbed her abundant hips and gripped them tightly so he could move them himself. Immediately and as he expected, she jerked. Luckily, he had a strong grip. Her arms dropped, so he took one and controlled it with his spare hand while the other one rolled her hips. They looked like they were trying to imitate a dirty ballroom dance.

"Relax, dancing is all about movement! You gotta move to the rhythm."

His hand made a deliberate slip from her hip down to her thigh then back up her hip again. Her face looked furious, but her eyes looked confused…if not intrigued.

"Relax?"

She said relax as if it was a foreign word.

If I had…those golden dreams…of my yesterdaaa-a-aay

He smiled and slowed his movements, guiding one hand so the other would follow and guiding both her hips by rotating one. "Just let go. Let yourself move and most important…"

Raven nodded for him to continue.

"Relax!"

He suddenly let go, leaving Raven alone with her awkward movements. He had to admit, these weren't the best conditions to teach dance in. Her body moved stiffly, and she was only doing the moves he demonstrated. Shaking his head, he put his hands on his hips in apparent disapproval. Raven looked up, nervous and desperate. Poor girl. She really couldn't dance. Demonstrating some more, he caught the beat, and put this hands through his hair, then spun. Once facing her again, she looked a little scared, but there was definitely intrigue this time.

Rerouting, he got behind her, not too close, and ran his hands down her bare arms. "Feel it."

Based on the shudder he received, she was almost feeling something.

She didn't deny she was a little uncomfortable at this whole situation. No male had ever gotten this close to her, and this wasn't even very close. He started moving her hips again; only this time he alternated the movements he conducted. She was lost when she saw the disapproval on his face. What did she know about dancing?

His hands took on a hypnotic edge. The way he twisted her hips became rhythmic, and his voice couldn't be taken for anything other than seductive.

"Close your eyes…"

Raven looked back at him in confusion. That confident smile lit his face again, and he said, "Trust me."

Trust him? After not even five minutes of meeting him she was supposed to trust him? She had known the Titans for years and only in this past one had she really come to trust them, and he expected it to happen for him in less than five minutes? Yeah right.

But she had watched him move. The guy knew what he was doing. But all he was doing was teaching her to dance, a skill that she could learn anytime anywhere else. It was a foolish and pointless venture.

Against all fibers in her being, she closed her eyes.

"Listen to the music…"

She listened. The record scratched, and not in the good way. But once that was gone, there was a soft guitar behind the singer's voice. For her life, she couldn't remember the name of this song! The voice was low and…almost endearing. The music was soft…but low. Her hands rose to sway to the guitar.

I would wrap you…in the heaven…but they lay dyinnnng on the way

"Feel the rhythm."

Raven didn't even feel it when her hips started moving again. They arched forward and backwards, then to the side then back again. The music washed over her. A hand landed on her wrist, guiding a little.

"Follow the beat."

The beat was a gentle tap to the drum every few seconds. Her feet followed the sound, stepping and moving to the persistent drum.

"And there you are."

Raven opened her eyes, and felt herself moving. Her hands followed the music, hips on rhythm and her feet moved to the beat. A laugh almost escaped her. She was dancing! The bad audio interruption was on a pause for so long it knocked out the entire first chorus.

Beast was in front of her now, smiling both in congratulations and triumph. "It's a start. Pretty soon you can go to fast music."

Her mouth opened in shock. "No way, I'm not ready yet."

His hand shook nonchalantly. "Please, once you've got it you've got it for good."

To prove his point, he put one hand on her waist, and moved with her, keeping a slight distance between them. She bit her lip, dancing with him and the music. Beast abruptly took her hand and raised it above her head to spin her. Raven gasped when she was suddenly flush against him; he backed away quickly though, to watch her move. His grin brightened. "If I may say, you are doing pretty well."

Raven nodded her thanks, and he looked ready to pull her a little closer when the music stopped. She gasped her indignation while Beast groaned at the DJ, who was currently begging for forgiveness. "I'm so sorry kids; it looks like the sound is konked out. Don't worry, the new system is ready to go, it'll just take a few minutes to hook it up."

Baby…if I think about you…I think about looo-o-oove

There were several moans of dismay from the people on the dance floor. And some even came from people that weren't dancing. The crowd was thinner already, since several couples decided they didn't want to dance to a barely-audible song. Now there were less than ten people still there. With a sigh, Raven dropped her arms, and turned to get away from the floor when someone grabbed her arm. Instinctively she yanked it away. The Beast held up his hands defensively. "Whoa, whoa easy!"

Blinking, she put her hand safely to her side. "Sorry." And she waited for him to explain.

He smiled playfully. Damn he had a hot smile. Guaranteed he'd snagged a lot of women through that smile. It was very seductive; almost hypnotizing the way it lit his face and curved his mouth. Something that definitely added to the appeal was the little fang jutting up from his lower lip, combined with the whiteness of his well-brushed teeth. His lips themselves weren't big, but they didn't disappear like most lips did when people smiled. His actually seemed to become fuller. God, what a mouth. Currently, it was moving. "---still dance."

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

His eyes sparkled with amusement while he repeated himself, as if he knew he was distracting her. "I said we can still dance. That is…if you want."

She blinked in surprise. "How? There's no music…"

There was that smile again. He took her hand, and did some random swaying, putting his other hand on her waist again. Persistent little bastard.

"I can't move if I don't have anything to move to."

He grinned. "No problem. I happen to be an excellent singer."

Her lips pursed a little in annoyance, and put one hand on his well-defined chest. "Modest too."

Beast grinned, and danced a little closer so she could smell the sensual scent of vanilla on his breath as he sang.

"Darling…if I live without you…I live without looo-o-oove."

He wasn't lying about being a good singer. The voice and the notes were directly on target, and his voice dropped at least one octave, becoming husky and masculine.

They were a little closer, but not so close that their bodies were directly touching. The only points of contact were their holding hands, her other hand on his chest, his other one wrapped around her waist to the small of her back. It wasn't horribly intimate, but it wasn't really distancing either.

How she got herself in this position she wasn't sure. Not only did she never dance, she never got this close to someone, nor did she lose control so quickly.

It wasn't in her nature, and at this point she was undeniably a little scared. Sure, the people around her probably thought that the previous stereo system was bad, but she knew that it was really her powers overacting again. And if she kept it up she was probably going to cause this whole club to lose power.

Sure, it was nice that she had learned how to dance through all this, but it was time to stop. If she pursued any type of relationship at all with this guy, then it could lead to big problems. She already had problems keeping her emotions in check around her friends, just because she was constantly worried for their safety. Supposing she became friends with this guy, then that would add one more person she would have to worry about. It would be best to stop this relationship before they got too involved with each other.

"And if I had…the sun and moon…and they were shiiiii-i-ning."

Although it wouldn't hurt to spend a few more minutes dancing…so long as he kept singing.

His voice was as hypnotic as the rest of the package. She finally looked back up at him from staring at his chest for the past minute or two. His green eyes looked so much deeper being this close. They were much darker than the rest of him. His skin was a simple bright green tone, his nails a bit darker, his hair was grass green, and his eyes were a deep emerald. They shined as brightly as their namesake right now.

The lyrics echoed in her mind…for crying out loud why was it so hard to figure out about one goddamned song?

She thought a little harder, and after she identified the leader of the band, she remembered their actual name: Bad Company.

Okay…now what was the name of the song?

"I would give you…both night and day…love satisfyyy-y-ing. I feel like makin'…"

He suddenly grabbed both her hands, and spun her to where her back was to his stomach. His hand landed on her belly, and he gyrated his pelvis, just as the stereo began to work again, the guitar riff unmistakable as it matched the lunging of his hips.

Bad Company 'I Feel Like Making Love'.

Even though the music played now, he continued to sing, sinfully whispering the lyrics into her ear while his hips shoved into hers.

"I feel like makin' love…"

Raven gasped, his hips rolling against hers in perfect synchronization with the song. Their bodies would have been touching if it weren't for the clothes. The silk of her dress rustled against the scratch of the denim on his pants.

Her pulse was thundering in her ears, so loud she almost couldn't hear the music. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, a familiar jittery excitement that was almost impossible to come down from.

There was that kind of excitement to this dance they were doing…it was so new but so fascinating and mystifying, so completely alluring.

Desire was an unknown emotion to her. Never felt before, but somehow she knew that was the feeling churning like a firestorm inside her. Warm heat starting in her stomach, then rising like a blaze to the rest of her; match to gun powder.

She gasped again when he pulled against her stomach, bringing them even closer, if that were possible. How could one dance spark so much?

"I feel like makin' love…"

He continued to thrust against her, and she tried her best to hold on to her control. His dance elicited so much delight it was hard to contain it all, and if she didn't contain it then the new stereo was going to get broken too.

She bit her lip, trying desperately to fight the intense pleasure.

Beast felt her resistance. It wasn't against him; it was against the enjoyment of what they were doing. He frowned. What kind of girl didn't let loose when she knew she was feeling good? If she continued to tense up on him then what kind of fun would this be?

Her body was incredible. She unknowingly wiggled against him as he pulled her closer, his hand on her hollowed stomach. Her back against him he felt the dip as her waist descended to that curvy ass, snug against his thankfully dormant crotch. Maybe she was a little petite, but the strategically placed flesh on her bones more than made up for it. Leaning forward a bit, he watched her face. Her eyes were tightly shut and she was biting her lip, tense; afraid to let go.

God she had to loosen up. Beast put his free hand to her thigh, and thrust against her with the riff of the guitar. A loud noise somewhere between a gasp and a moan was torn from her as her head rolled against his shoulder. A grin of satisfaction lit his face as some of the glowing tables started to flicker. His hand moved up her body from her thigh, narrowly passing those tempting curves along the way when it came to rest on her shoulder reassuringly. "Just let go baby," he encouraged softly, before quickly getting back to the song.

"I feel like makin' love…"

Raven moaned against him and obeyed his request, leaning against him as he thrust against her to the beat. One hand fell to the wrist he had rested against her stomach, helping him push her back. Her other hand whipped behind her to clasp his waist and bring him forward. Their bodies writhed against each other, in perfect synch.

She gasped when she felt the growing erection against her butt, heard the growl he released as the close proximity of their bodies put further pressure against his shaft. He ground mercilessly against her, and she let out a whimper of delight, the ecstasy so powerful it almost hurt.

The last lyrics to the chorus growled out of him as he plunged against her. He almost lost it as she thrust back against him this time.

"Feel like makin' love to youuu…"

Suddenly, the entire club went black. There were several screams from the female patrons, panicking over a little loss of light. The DJ tried to make an announcement not to panic, but his microphone was broken. All electrics in the club were shot. And Raven knew exactly why.

She jumped away from him like he had just dropped an ice cube down her dress, and she could sense him reaching for her in the dark, just as she turned and flew out of the club; unnoticed, and undetected.

Yeeeah…not entirely proud of this one. Before you ask, Raven only responded so enthusiastically was because he got her to lose control. Thank you all my reviewers! I love you all! Just so you know, this is rated mature because…well…heavy sexuality in beginning chapters that's only gonna get heavier. I thank you again my beloved reviewers!

PS: The lyrics to the song weren't meant to be in harmony with peoples actions, not until Beast started singing.