Pulling back the sheets, I slipped onto the bed next to him. My body curled into his side, soaking in the warmth of afterglow.
His fingers stroked my arm back and forth, lulling me into a state of peace that I hadn’t felt in so long. It was one of those feelings that you didn’t realize you missed until you experienced it and then realized that you never wanted it to stop.
“I’ve never seen you smile like that.” His voice was gentle, just like his touch.
I laughed softly. “You barely know me.”
“I know you well enough to know that you probably don’t like smile like this often.” His finger tapped my lips.
The fact that he could read me so well should have unsettled me, but I couldn’t shake the bliss that hummed through me. I closed my eyes, savoring the feel of his fingertips tracing lines along the side of my breast. “It’s all the endorphins.”
“Do you smile like this when you dance?”
I opened my eyes, frowning as I tried to remember the last time I had smiled after dancing. “I guess I haven’t, not since my mother was alive.”
His lips pressed together in a thin line, tension spreading across his features. “Do you want me to find who did this to her? I know people who can help.”
I wanted so badly to say yes, but if he went searching for information about the past, he’d surely dig up more than he’d bargained for. I shook my head. Better to leave things alone. It was safer for both of us that way.
“What kind of people do you know who can do that?” Should I be worried that he had friends who could find murderers?
“I was in the tech world for years. We can find out anything if we look hard enough,” he said with a cocky grin.
I stared at him, anxiety sinking in. God, please don’t let him find out anything. I wanted this thing between us…whatever it was…to last just a little bit longer.
“What was she like? Your mother?” he asked.
I couldn’t hold back the happiness I felt when I remembered. “She was beautiful. So smart and brave. She had long blonde hair and always wore a smile.”
“She sounds a lot like you. I just need to work on doing things to keep this smile on my woman’s face too.”
My cheeks heated. His woman. I had always thought it was nauseating when a man staked his claim on a woman like some sort of caveman but hearing it from his mouth sent the butterflies in my stomach flapping at warp speed.
The backs of his fingers stroked my blushing cheek. “Tell me more.”
“Lilies were her favorite flower. One time, we passed one of those farm stands on the side of the road while on our way to dance practice. We were running late, but the lady sitting in front of the buckets of flowers had a small baby in her arms. Kind of looked like they were going through a hard time and doing anything to make some extra money. Maman turned the car around and bought every bouquet. The woman was so happy, and our car looked like a graveyard with all these flowers lying in the back seat. She mentioned to the lady that she loved lilies before paying. The next week when we passed by the stall, Maman stopped to buy more flowers, and the lady gave her a bunch of lilies free of charge. Every time after that, the woman always kept a special bouquet of lilies on reserve for Maman when they were in season.”
My heart felt warm remembering Maman’s face when she had received the lilies for the first time, like it was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her. She got to know the woman over time, even inviting her over for homecooked meals occasionally. That was Maman, always caring and ready to take anyone in as her own.
Jai pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. “I wish I could have met her.”
“Me too.” I was sure Maman hadn’t wanted me to fall for a playboy like Jai, but something told me she would have welcomed him with open arms when she saw beyond his dominating exterior.
I pulled his hand to my lips, kissing the back of it. “Do you always wear this ring?” I asked, fingering the thick piece of silver with a snake design on its face.
“Yes.”
Sensing its meaning was more than just a piece of jewelry, I continued. “Is it important to you?”
“A family heirloom,” his answer too brief for my liking.
“Why the snake?” I pressed, convinced I could get him to be honest with me.
He shrugged dismissively. “Guess my father just loved snakes.” Another lie.
Just when I had poured a bit of truth into a glass and offered it to him, he drank it all down and refilled the glass to the brim with lies to force it down my throat.
I let go of his hand and moved in closer to his side, so I was almost tucked under his back, desperate to feel the warmth that I had experienced moments before. His breathing was the only sound I heard in the room, too slow, as if he were holding it in on the chance that I voiced more questions.
Instead, I focused on memories of Maman. Happy memories of her arms around me, and blonde hair trailing over my face. With that, I let myself fall into my dream, because being awake was more painful than I could bear right now.
Chapter XVI
Jai
What I needed to be doing was planning my attack on Leonid. The Bratva had been quiet after he tried to kill Amelia and me, and I couldn’t even reach Mikhail to find out his boss’s next move. Leonid was now more dangerous than ever, and I couldn’t afford to be distracted for the sake of my family.
My brother could barely stand being in the same room as me. Anytime I visited the house, he would stand guard over his family as if I had personally tried to hurt his wife. I tried to hide the reason for his hostility from Amelia, but the truth ended up spilling out when she pressured me into talking.
She was more than pissed that I had kept it from her. Her biggest peeve was people keeping secrets from her. Years ago, my brother had kept the Bratva’s hit on her a secret and sent her back to her home in Seattle without an explanation. He never told her why, just made it seem like he wanted to break up with her. She was furious and needed a lot of convincing to take him back.
I didn’t blame her for being angry with me for making the same mistakes that my brother had. I had ruined her trust, and it was going to take a lot of work to earn it back. The only thing that could possibly right this wrong would be serving her Leonid’s head on a silver platter, metaphorically speaking—although literally would be the more enticing option.
On the upside, my body was on the mend and I could move around on my own. Years of bodyweight training and intense cardio had left my body in strong enough shape to heal quicker than most would have in my position. Leonid wouldn’t be able to take advantage of my injuries and strike me again. An animal that had healed its wounds was even more deadly. Basically, he had fucked with the wrong guy.
But instead of mending everything, I found myself driving over to Claire’s dance studio to sway her into going on a date with me—with flowers. She had infiltrated my thoughts, distracting me from things I was supposed to be focused on—things that I had worked hard to build. One time inside of her and I was completely lost under her spell.
I still wasn’t sure how this had happened. One minute, she was a girl who was spying on me getting head from some overly eager party regulars, and the next, I had given up all pussy—and mouths—but hers. It didn’t feel right being with anyone else, and it actually turned me off. I was sure my time with Claire would run its course like my time with all women did, but for now, I knew I wasn’t done exploring her just yet.
Maybe it was the fact that she was a dancer and that her body was insane, or maybe it was that she hid behind walls and I enjoyed the challenge of breaking them down. Whatever it was, I couldn’t get enough.
I hadn’t seen her since we spent the afternoon in bed at my place. Whenever I texted her, she kept her responses to a minimum and tried to end the conversation quickly. I had even her sent her my medical report whi
ch proved I was clean and ready to take her bare, but she never mentioned it. It drove me crazy wondering what I could have done to push her away. In fact, I had never felt closer to her. She had shared memories of her mother with me, and I thought we had finally moved forward. However, anytime I tried to invite her over to my place again or ask her out, she shut me down with excuses.
I decided to take control of the matter and contacted her boss at the studio. I charmed her into giving me Claire’s weekly schedule and sweetened her pocket with a donation to clear the building for the rest of the night. I needed alone time with Claire to talk, and if that meant I had to sneak up on her at work, then so be it. If she had just answered my texts, then all of this could have been avoided.
She was just finishing up her last class of the evening when I arrived outside of the studio to wait for her students to file out. When the coast was finally clear, I gave her a couple of minutes to recover from instruction before entering.
Music. The sound of a piano played. I knew the song from the first few notes. “Down” by Marian Hill. The sound of a woman singing along to the same piano notes over and over, until the simplistic melody was broken by a modern synthesized beat.
I quietly stepped into the studio and froze at what I saw transfixed by the figure moving before me. A blur of black leotard and tights whirled across the floor, spinning non-stop. I wondered how she even knew where to land with her eyes closed, following only the music and her own heartbeat for guidance. Her reflection in the mirrors surrounding her only added to the dizzying electricity she generated.
Her arms extended to her sides and her back leg slid slowly backward until her knee was nearly touching the ground in a deep lunge. The muscles in her biceps flexed as she arched her back and her chest shone to the ceiling. Gliding back up to stand, she rose on her toes in pink pointe shoes and kicked the same leg in front of her, holding it in the air with powerful control that emanated nothing but soft grace.
Sweat made her fair skin glisten under the lights, some of it flying off with her momentum as she moved. Her bun was mostly intact, held tightly just below the crown of her head, but the loose strands of damp hair stuck to her forehead showed the evidence of her hard work.
Long fingers extended overhead, touching to form an oval in the negative space encased by her arms. Her height was average, but in this pose, on pointed toes, she looked nearly six feet tall.
Swinging her arms to the side, she braced herself for her final move. The weight of her arms propelled her to spin on pointe. Raising one leg and pointing her foot to the leg that was supporting her, she twirled on the bottom foot with speed that was almost superhuman.
I watched—hypnotized by her countless revolutions. My heart raced, beating in synch with each rapid turn, the adrenaline raising the hairs on my arms. Ballet was known to be beautiful, but this…this was magnificent. Whatever her body was doing was fucking magic. And I was the lucky bastard getting to experience this moment of pure excellence.
The last few notes played as she struck her final pose. With her chin held high, she opened her eyes, and her relaxed expression disappeared as she saw my reflection in the mirror. She broke her pose and walked to grab the towel hanging on one of the practice bars close to her.
“What are you doing here?” She dabbed the towel to her forehead and neck as she approached me. Her clear blue eyes radiated tension, and all the calm that had flowed through her body moments before in her final pose was gone.
“I came to give you these.” I held out the bouquet of lilies for her. Her expression softened as she took them from me and realized they were her mother’s favorite flowers, but then she quickly drew her guard back up, catching her error. “And I was wondering if I could take you out tonight…on a date?”
“Um…thanks. But I have an early class to teach tomorrow,” she said dismissively.
Her earliest class wasn’t scheduled until one o’clock from what her boss had told me. For a studio that catered to wealthy clients, the owner was easily swayed by some sweet words and a few dollars. “Did I do something wrong?”
She turned away from me and set the flowers on the floor next to her bag. “It’s not you…”
“It’s me,” I mocked. “Baby girl, I own that line.” I had used it so many times to keep the randoms from getting clingy. I had perfected the right tone while delivering that line because of the frequency with which I had used it. She wasn’t getting off the hook so easily. “Talk to me, Claire. Tell me what you need.”
Still facing away from me, tipping her head low so I couldn’t see her face in the reflection, she whispered, “I don’t know what I need.”
“Do you want me?” I asked outright.
After a beat of consideration, she nodded subtly.
“Say it.”
Raising her head to look at my eyes in the mirror, she spoke to my reflection. “I want you.”
“Then be with me,” I said, locking eyes with her through the mirror.
She sighed. “It’s not that easy.”
“Then explain it to me. I’m here practically begging you to let me in.” This was so frustrating. I wasn’t understanding why she was being so secretive about her desires.
“I can’t,” she whispered, her voice shaky.
“Why not?”
“It’s not safe.”
My brows furrowed in confusion. I took a step closer to her. “What’s not safe? I don’t understand.”
She spun around, eyes flashing to mine with fear. “Because I think I’m falling for you.” Tears fell upon her confession. She wasn’t a crier from what I knew of her, and the number of tears that dripped from her eyes now showed me how tortured this woman really was.
I approached her, holding her arms in my hands. “Why is that a bad thing?” I whispered.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” she breathed out.
“Baby girl, you could never hurt me. You make me happier than I ever thought I could be.” She was all I ever thought about and being with her made my heart relax in a way it never had before, even as my pulse raced from attraction.
More tears streaked down her sweet face. I pulled her into me, her face resting on my chest, tears wetting my shirt. Rubbing circles on her back, I tried to soothe her. “You don’t have to fight this. I’m here for you. I’ll do whatever it takes, just let me in.”
Her sobs slowed and she pulled away from my chest, to look up at me. I wanted to make her forget the worry behind those baby blues—take her stress away and replace it only with happiness. Because the truth was, I was falling for her too.
My hands embraced her face as I lowered my lips to hers. My tongue licked at the salt water that had fallen over her lips. I fed her my tongue so she could taste her pain for herself. Our mouths moved in desperation—mine to have more of her, and hers to forget why she couldn’t have more of me.
My mouth moved to her cheek and down her neck, alternating kisses and licks to erase her tears. My hunger for her was even stronger than the last time I had her. Her pants urged me to keep going. If she asked me to stop, I probably wouldn’t be able to.
Walking her backward, I pressed her up against the mirror, then stooped lower to get to her breasts. Peaked nipples made my mouth water. But no luck again. “Fucking leotards,” I growled.
Her tits shook as she chuckled at my frustration, making my cock jerk painfully in response.
I loved her dancing, but I hated her uniform—always stuck to her like superglue. Biggest cockblocker ever. Not this time.
I bent to the ground on my knees, my hands trailing down her sculpted legs until they reached her ankles. I unknotted the soft ribbons that held her shoes on, releasing them of their task. I slipped one shoe off, revealing a foot red from all the abuse she put it through.
Pulling her foot away from my hold, she fidgeted nervously. “Anyone could walk in here. What
if someone catches us?”
I knew perfectly well that no one would dare to enter the studio, but I didn’t let her know I had ensured privacy, even though my original intention had been to talk. This was better than talking.
My fingers kneaded her foot, eliciting a moan from her throat. Throwing her head back against the mirror and closing her eyes, she quickly let go of all her hesitations.
I gave equal attention to her other foot after removing its shoe. My hands skimmed back up her legs as I searched for an opening. Her leggings cut off at the ankle, so I roamed her taught muscles, finding my invitation. I reached the crotch of her leotard, the scent of her arousal heavy through the fabric. Pressing my nose to her cloaked pussy, I inhaled her. Her back arched and her hips tilted forward, giving me more access to her area. “Mmm,” I hummed against her, my voice vibrating her sensitive areas. “So fucking sweet.”
“Jai, please,” she begged.
That was all it took to snap me into action. My fingers slipped under the crotch of her suit, ripping it open. I worked quickly, pulling the waist of her leggings down and off her legs, before tossing them aside as she pulled her damaged leotard over her head. I peered above me, taking in the gorgeous creature in nothing but a tiny black thong. My knees lifted off the ground, bringing me back to tower over her with my height.
Her eyes tracked me, waiting for my next move. Swollen pink lips parted, allowing faint breaths to escape. My mouth dipped down to hers, sucking her juicy bottom lip between my teeth, before nipping it sharply. Her cry called for my cock to pulse uncomfortably in my pants. It wanted out.
My hands moved down to her breasts, feeling their fullness. They were the perfect size—enough to fit in my palms. I pulled on her nipples and her moan damn near made me cum on the spot.
“Turn around.”
She obeyed my order and faced the mirror, watching the motions of my reflection. This position was so much more intimate because she could see everything I was doing while taking in how her entire body responded. Never in my wettest dreams could I have made this shit up.
Control: Power Series #3 Page 13