by Toni Aleo
All the girls thought he was the most gorgeous thing in the world and he loved the attention, flirting with anything with tits, but never with Reese. She didn’t understand it. Even if it was against the rules and could get her in trouble, she still yearned for his attention. She dressed in skimpy dance clothes only for him, when she usually wore wear ratty ones. She even put on makeup, for God’s sake! What the hell was wrong with her? She was a good-looking girl, great ass, fantastic tits, and she could dance the socks off anyone, so why didn’t he flirt with her? They were great together; she knew that after only a week of dancing together. They joked, they teased, and they had a great time together. So what the hell was the problem?
"I really do hate this dance," he said, standing up and looking down at her.
Reese looked over at him and shrugged her shoulders.
"It’s okay," she said, standing up. "It could be better."
She hated saying that. She respected Demi, the choreographer of the dance, but she spoke the truth.
He flashed a wide grin, his eyes dark as he held her gaze.
"Oh yeah? How?"
Reese just shrugged again. She shouldn’t have said anything. This was her chance to show the company that she was a team player, that she was working material, but there she was, badmouthing the choreographer’s work, just to impress Kevin. God, she was an idiot.
“I don’t know,” she said, standing up and looking away from him. Her breathing was erratic, her body was tingling, and she wanted nothing more than to throw this gorgeous man against the mirrors and promptly show him that she was not only the best dancer in the company, but that she could also fuck him senseless.
When his hand shot out, gripping her wrist, she looked down at it, before looking back up.
“Show me how you would make it better,” he said in a low, husky way that made every part of Reese scream.
She took in a deep breath, her eyes locked with his, as she slowly let the breath out. She didn’t know why, but she nodded, and when his face broke into a grin, she knew she was in trouble with this one. Letting her wrist go, he ran to the stereo, hitting play to their song, “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon. Standing in the middle of the floor, Reese watched as he moved to the music for his part as her mind went crazy thinking how she could make her part even better. When it came time, she danced the way her heart told her to. When the partnering came, Reese went with it, putting her whole soul into the dance, pulling tricks that surprised not only him, but her too. Kevin was there though, catching her, going with it. It was like he knew what she was going to do before she did it, and when he caught her midair, spinning her as she wrapped her body around his, he stopped and she slid off him, onto the floor. He came with her, lying on her as the song ended, their breath mingled together, their chests touching, as they both took in lungfuls of air, and then he kissed her.
She was shocked, frozen, but when his hand came up into her hair, she snapped out of it and kissed him back, arching her body into his. He gasped against her lips, deepening the kiss, moving his tongue along hers as her mind went crazy. Was this real or was this supposed to make the dance better? When he pulled away, breathing hard, his eyes clouded with lust, he whispered, “I’ve wanted to do that for a very long time.”
Reese was staggered she could even breathe. What surprised her most was when she said, “Well, don’t stop now.”
It was the start of the greatest love of her life, but like all great things, it came to a crashing end.
“So what do you think?”
Reese blinked before looking up at Claire, her heart aching for the touch of that man’s lips again. Even after finding out he lied to her for a year, and knowing that it had been three years since she left him, her heart still yearned for him. It was sad and disgusting but still, she couldn’t help but miss him.
“Are you in there?”
“Yeah,” Reese said, shaking her head. “Sorry, I dazed out. I was listening to the music.”
“So you didn’t even watch me?”
“No, I’m so sorry. Can you do it again?”
Claire looked irritated but she did it again, and like always, Reese was completely impressed with her. When she landed the stretch that looked like she was doing a split standing up, Reese wanted to scream out in delight. She reminded her so much of how she used to dance when she was younger that it gave Reese a rush of excitement. She couldn’t wait to watch this girl grow. Standing up with a grin on her face, she closed the distance between them and said, “Excellent. You landed the stretch.”
“Damn right I did. I’ve been working on it all week.”
Reese grinned as she said, “I’m proud of you.”
Claire looked away, crossing her arms before shrugging her shoulders.
“It’s not a big deal.”
“It is too,” she said, before turning from her. “Have you thought about what you want to be when you grow up?”
Like she had the last three times Reese asked, Claire let out a breath as she said, “Nope.”
“Okay, well, keep thinking,” she said, sitting back down. “Let’s go through the dance again.”
Claire nodded as she went to the middle of the floor but, before Reese could hit play, a knock came at the door. Reese looked over, ready to yell at whoever was at the door, but that didn’t happen. Instead, her heart kicked into speed and her nipples hardened as one hell of a gorgeous man came through the door with a careless grin on his face. She had no clue who the guy was, but she wanted to know him naked.
“I told you I wouldn’t be done until four,” Claire said, her hands on her hips.
“I know, I came to watch you,” he said. His voice was the kind that could talk a woman out her panties, and Reese was pretty sure he had done that more times than she could count. His body was a wonderland, standing tall in fitted blue jeans and a tee, with his strong, muscular arms on display. His skin was bare of tattoos and usually that would turn her off, but his face still had her burning with desire. Strong bone structure, blond hair dusting his chin, lush lips, and blue eyes to die for. His hair fell into his eyes, the same eyes that were currently locked on her as he asked, “If that is okay?”
She could only blink as Claire said, “No way, I don’t want you watching.”
Finding her voice as she begged her body to behave, she asked, “I’m sorry, you are?”
He pointed towards Claire and said, “The uncle, the guy paying you.”
“Phillip?” she asked, confused. She didn’t remember him being this hot at Fallon’s wedding. He was cute, but not to die for hot if she remembered correctly, but this man was fucking gorgeous.
“The one and only,” he said, sending her a grin that made her kitten clench. She mentally smacked sense into herself as her brows came together, pinning him with an annoyed look. Like he pointed out, he was the guy that was paying her, also the guardian of her student, and her brother-in-law’s best friend. That meant there was no fucking way in hell she was touching him. Not even with a ten-foot pole, no matter how much her kitten was purring for him.
“Phillip, get out, you’re wasting my time with her,” Claire said, thankfully causing him to look at her.
“All right, I’m going, jeez,” he complained as he left the room. Reaching the door, he looked back at Reese and flashed a panty-dropping grin. “See you around, Reese.”
Fuck, even the way he said her name felt like he was fucking her. Ack! What the hell was this? She wasn’t attracted to him before, so why the hell was she one second from humping his leg? What had changed? She racked her brain, trying to figure out what was different now from two years earlier. She couldn’t find anything, but then it all came to her—she was still convinced that Kevin was going to come back for her. He never did, obviously, which accounted for her current sleep-with-any-man-athon. Well, that sucked. She should have slept with him when she had the chance.
Phillip was pissed. He had been excited about watching Claire dance since she said she was
going to start training with Reese. He had even skipped going home to shower after a long plane ride home from California, just to come up to the studio to catch a glimpse. But, of course, Claire was in a mood and kicked him out. When was the girl not in a mood? Things had been tense but at the same time, she was adjusting. At least, he hoped she was. He would know for sure in the next week. He had a streak of home games, which meant they’d be together for the next week. This was good, because he had missed her and was excited about spending some time with her.
Falling into the chair outside the studio she was in, Phillip hoped by the end of the week that she would let him watch her dance. Leaning his head against the wall, he tried to watch her through the window and mirror in the studio, but he only caught little pieces of her. However, he saw a whole lot of Ms. Reese Allen. His groin tightened at the sight of her, but now that he could just stare at her, he was completely stiff. Standing in a black sports bra and matching tight shorts, her body sang to his. Her thighs were thick, her ass juicy, and her stomach was tone. She had beautiful shiny brown hair that went to her waist; her face round, with pouty lips and a sweet, button nose. Her light brown eyes shined, and he wanted nothing more than to get lost in them after getting her naked.
It was wrong of him to think naughty thoughts of his niece’s dance teacher, but it was hard not to when she was that gorgeous. He had always thought that she was edible, but she never gave him the time of day. She always walked and talked like no one was good enough for her. Complete ballbuster. Figuring that he’d never get in with her, he usually stayed clear. Seeing her in basically her underwear was going to give him a great visual later that night when he was in the shower, his cock in his hand. Fuck, he ached to release right then. It would be better to come in her, but he would imagine it later.
Closing his eyes to help him think of something else, he let out a long breath. His body was sore, his shoulder aching from taking a hard hit into the boards after playing the Ducks. The Assassins had won, but he would be feeling the aches and pain from that game for weeks to come. The only good thing was that he had a sweet, game-winning goal. When that happened, aches and pains were worth it. Opening his eyes, he got an eyeful of Reese with her leg stretched up by her head, holding her ankle with both hands. He blinked as his breath caught. He couldn’t believe the urge to run in there and pin her against the wall, leg still in the air. His hands shook but he gripped the seat, keeping himself in the chair.
Phillip knew the need he was feeling was from lack of sex. He was aching with want for the naughty dance teacher, but he needed to quit because Reese was off limits. There were so many reasons why sleeping with her was such a bad idea that he had no right to even think of sliding his fingers into those naughty shorts, while kissing her earnestly. She would probably push him away, calling him every name in the book, before slapping him hard across the face. Since he wasn’t one to fail at things, he’d ignore his need. He had to, or he would go crazy with lust.
When the door opened, he let out the breath he was holding as Claire walked out, fully clothed, with her bag on her shoulder.
“Are you ready?” he asked, with a smile on his face.
She nodded and started for the door as Reese looked up at him.
“She’s doing great,” she said, crossing her arms under her breasts, pushing them up for him to get a good look. He tried so hard not to look, but it was useless. He loved tits.
“Great,” he muttered, before running his tongue along his bottom lip.
“Phillip, let’s go,” Claire called from the door. He looked over at her before looking back at Reese. She had a little grin on her face, her eyes darker than normal as she held his gaze.
“See ya,” she said softly.
Like before, he was stiff as a board, his hands shaking at his sides, wanting to reach out and pull her against him. Her body was begging his. She might not even have known it was happening, but he felt it. He wanted to tangle his hands in her hair and kiss that pouty mouth, before promptly fucking her for hours. When she brought her lip in between her teeth, he had to suppress the moan that wanted to escape. It took everything he had to get him to put one foot in front of the other, but he managed. Turning, he said, “Later.”
When he reached the door, he held it open for Claire before glancing back at Reese. She was watching him, a smile playing on her face. Her eyes were dark, lust swirling in them. He knew she wanted him, had to, her eyes were begging him to not go, but surely he was wrong. She never even gave him a second glance before. Shaking his head, he went out the door and started towards the car with Claire.
“Stop trying to have sex with my dance teacher,” she said as she opened her door.
Phillip laughed as he opened his door and got in, looking over at her as he said, “I wasn’t.”
“Whatever, you two were basically eye fucking.”
“Claire,” he groaned. “Watch your mouth.”
“Whatever,” she muttered again. “Just stop.”
“Stop what? I hardly said anything to her.”
“Yeah, but I saw the way you two were looking at each other. Don’t have sex with her, okay? I kinda like her.”
Phillip raised an eyebrow as he said, “I don’t see how me having sex with her has anything to do with you.”
She set him with a look that made him think he should know why as she said, “Because when you break up with her, she’ll hate me, and I like her.”
Seeing the sadness in her eyes hit Phillip right in the chest and added another reason why Reese was off limits. He knew it was wrong, and knew he had to stay away from her. He only wished that his body would acknowledge the reasons, because he still had the desire to run back into the studio and have his way with her. But when he looked over at the only family he had left, the person he cared most about, his desire fizzled. Claire was coming around, and she actually tried to talk to him now. Plus, she loved dance, and she kind of liked Reese, so there was no way he could mess that up. He loved her and wanted to make a good life for her.
With a smile on his face, he nodded as he pushed all the lust and thoughts of Reese to the back of his head.
“Won’t happen, Claire.”
STAYING AWAY from Reese Allen was going to be harder than Phillip thought.
After leaving the studio, all Phillip did was think of her, and he kept thinking about her for the rest of the week. He didn’t get it. He knew this woman, been around her for at least the last three years, and not once did he ever find himself completely stiff with just one glance at her. Every time he dropped Claire off for dance, his heart would race, his palms would go sweaty, and when he set eyes on her, his body would yearn for the chance to touch her. It took everything out of him not to stare at her, but sometimes he couldn’t help it.
She was gorgeous, and she was always doing things with her body that could honestly make a grown man fall to his knees and cry. She would bend in a way that had Phillip thinking of nothing but sex, which would lead to him taking long, hot showers. In a way, he was convinced she was doing it to drive him crazy. Her eyes would meet his in such a devious way as she pulled her leg up, leaning to the side so that he got the perfect view between her thighs. It had him shifting in his seat and going cross-eyed, but then Claire would come out, setting him with a look, and it was as if she was dousing him with cold water, which in all reality was probably what needed to be done.
For once, he was glad he was going on the road in the next couple of days. He wouldn’t have to take Claire to dance, and it would give him a break from seeing Reese’s gorgeous body. He hated that he thought like that, but it was becoming too much to handle. Even if he and Claire were doing okay, he needed the break. Shaking his head, he couldn’t help but think that Claire was still a problem. She was still a little standoffish and hated therapy. She made sure to let him know that any chance she got. It seemed all she wanted to do was dance, and that scared him because she still wouldn’t talk to him the way he wanted. He wanted her to be op
en with him, to love him, but it wasn’t happening. All the therapist would say was that he needed to give it time. It was driving him mad. All he wanted was to lose himself with a woman, but the only one he wanted was Reese.
God, he was so fucked.
Leaning against the bar, he took a swig of his whiskey as the music pulsated around him. Claire was at Harper and Jakob’s watching Alison because they had something to do tonight. Phillip was glad that Claire got along so well with the Titov’s and that she wanted to watch Ally. She said she wanted to start saving money. For what, he didn’t know, but he supported her, even offered to give her an allowance if she cleaned the house. The therapist liked this, and so did he. He just hoped it was progress in the right direction.
Since Claire was going to stay the night with Ally, it left him alone. Since staying in was pointless, he called Erik to see if he wanted to come out. He expected Erik to say he couldn’t. To his surprise, his parents had Dimitri, so he and Piper said they would meet him out at the club. They weren’t supposed to be there for another hour, but Phillip couldn’t sit much longer and left, deciding to get the party started early.
He was three drinks in, talking up a hot blonde that he had no interest sleeping with, when Erik cupped him on the shoulder. Turning, he smiled as he shook hands with his best friend before giving him a manly hug. Leaning over, he kissed Piper’s cheek before saying, “Hey guys.”
“Hey,” Erik said, pulling Piper into the crook of his arm. “This place is packed.”
“Sure is, let’s get a table,” he said, turning back to the blonde. He flashed a quick grin as he said, “My friends are here. I hate leaving someone so gorgeous, but I promise I’ll come find you later.”
She giggled in a way that made him want to cringe before she smiled. “Sounds good, here,” she said, handing him a card that told him her name was Stacy Ruble, and she worked for a company called BNC. “Call me.”
He flashed her a grin. “I will.”