Pas de Deux

by M. J. Duncan

  She offered her a small, reassuring smile as she told Clara, “Surprisingly enough, the age thing hasn’t been a problem.” Affection bloomed in her chest at the way Addison gave her a look that clearly said she thought the very idea of their age-difference being an issue was ridiculous. She knew, of course, that it could have been one—hell, it should have been; fifteen years was nothing to scoff at—but she was so, so glad that it wasn’t. “As for time…we’ve just kind of been stealing it where we can. We’ve been talking about how to handle our schedules when we’re no longer working together. We know it won’t be easy, but we’re determined to do it.” It helped that Mallory was determined not to repeat past mistakes on this point, too. When Clara didn’t respond, she asked carefully, “Did something happen?”

  “Yes. No. I mean…” Clara sighed. “Everything is the same as it’s always been. It’s all chemistry and fear, and which one wins with her depends on the moment. God, she really just…”

  “Drives you crazy?”

  “Like it’s her bloody calling in life,” Clara grumbled. “And yet we both keep coming back for more, so…” She groaned softly, and Mallory had no problem imagining the way she was undoubtedly tugging at her hair and shaking her head in frustration.

  “Do you want me to chase her down and knock some sense into her?” Mallory smiled at the way Clara chuckled softly at the suggestion.

  “While I would love to see that, I don’t think that’s going to do me any favors. This helped, though. I just needed to vent, I think. Though if your girlfriend could get the rest of her buddies to stop gossiping about us over there in CG, that might help.” Clara sighed. “I swear, it seems like she wants this, but she’s just…”

  “I’ll talk to Addy about it. Can’t make any promises that she’ll succeed, but…”

  “Anything is better than nothing. Thank you. And I’m sorry for interrupting your time together.”

  “Any time, darling,” Mallory murmured. “Meeting in your office at four?”

  “Yep. I’ll see you then. Enjoy the rest of your day, and please apologize to Addison for me for this.”

  “It’s not necessary, but I will,” Mallory assured her. “I’ll see you at four. Let me know if you want me to bring a bottle of tequila.”

  “God, I wish,” Clara snorted. “Maybe once I’ve recovered from this stupid car accident. I’ll see you later, Mal.”

  Mallory shook her head at the quiet click of the call disconnecting, and sighed as she set the phone onto the table. “Your boss is driving Clara insane,” she shared as she got to her feet and started for the kitchen.

  “My boss is your boss too for a few more months,” Addison pointed out, “and she drives everyone insane. That’s kinda her thing.” She grinned when Mallory laughed and nodded. “But what did she do this time?”

  Mallory shrugged and wrapped her arms around Addison’s waist. “It kind of sounded like something might have happened between her and Clara, and then she freaked out about it.” She pressed her lips to Addison’s temple and added, “Again.”

  “That’s not good.” Addison looped her arms around Mallory’s neck. “So what are you going to ask me about?”

  “Clara was wondering if you could try to put a lid on the speculation about them with your colleagues. The gossip isn’t going to help Nina’s reaction with all this.”

  “Totally. I mean, I can try, but realistically…”

  “Believe me, darling, I know,” Mallory sighed.

  “I’ll call Gabs and Matt later after you leave for work and see if we can’t come up with some kind of plan for tomorrow.”

  “You’re the best,” Mallory murmured as she hugged Addison tighter. “Thank you.”

  “I am,” Addison hummed as she nuzzled Mallory’s pulse point. “But you’re pretty amazing, too, you know…” She brushed her lips over the spot she’d been teasing and let her breath cascade over it in a trembling wave. “Do you like this?”

  Mallory chuckled softly and nodded as she turned her head to offer Addison more skin to ravish. “You know I do,” she breathed as she slipped her hands under Addison’s hoodie. “Do you like this?” she countered as she let her hands drift up over Addison’s ribs to her breasts.

  “Not at all,” Addison groaned as Mallory tweaked her nipples. “God, Mal…Take it off,” Addison instructed as she arched into Mallory’s hands. “Please…”

  Mallory smiled and quickly lifted the hoodie up over Addison’s head. “Better?” she asked playfully as she let it fall to the floor at the feet.

  Addison nodded and tangled a hand in Mallory’s hair to pull her closer. She flicked her tongue over Mallory’s lips and murmured, “It’s a good start.”

  Mallory laughed and darted forward to capture Addison’s lips in a deep, searing kiss as she dropped her hands to Addison’s waist and began working her leggings down over her hips. It took a bit of effort to get them all the way off, but it was more than worth it when she was able to caress the long, long legs she so adored before grabbing Addison by the ass and lifting her up onto the counter. She smiled at the taste of Addison’s laughter, and stroked the backs of her fingers along her inner thighs as she moved between her legs.

  “Better?” she asked as her left hand drifted up over Addison’s hip and her right dipped between slick, soft folds.

  Addison’s hips rocked beneath her fingers as she tangled a hand in Mallory’s hair and pulled her close. “Fucking perfect,” she gasped against Mallory’s lips as two fingers slipped deftly inside her.

  Mallory kissed Addison softly as she curled her fingers and pulled out slowly, more than willing to draw this beautiful moment out for as long as possible. “Yes, you are,” she breathed as she let warm velvet draw her touch deeper once more.

  “Hey, you.”

  Mallory looked up from the zucchini she was slicing and smiled at Addison as she made her way into the kitchen. “How was your rehearsal?”

  Nina had backed their Evolution rehearsals down to only a few times a week now that their first performance was successfully in the books, and while it should have been a relief to no longer be running herself ragged every day, she found her newly free hours in the afternoon burdensome. It gave her time to resume her usual practice schedule, which was nice, and her body certainly appreciated the break, but the rest of her wanted nothing more than to spend that time in Fonteyn with Addison.

  Of course, Addison was granted no such break, as the gap in her schedule had been replaced with preparations for her role in the company’s next show.

  “It was fine. I danced Don Quixote last season, so it’s more refreshing my memory about what I’m supposed to be doing than actually learning a whole new ballet.” She smiled as she slipped around the edge of the counter. “I would have rather spent the time with you, though.”

  “Me too.” Mallory laid her knife on the cutting board and turned to pull Addison into her arms as she captured her lips in a sweet, lingering kiss. She sighed happily when they eventually broke apart, and nuzzled Addison’s cheek as she savored the feeling of holding her close. “You have to admit that getting to do this is better than working, though,” she murmured as she dipped her head to kiss her again.

  “This is better than pretty much everything,” Addison breathed as she lifted her chin to meet Mallory’s next kiss.

  Mallory hummed at the feeling of Addison’s fingers in her hair and melted into her as their tongues stroked idly together in tender kisses that overflowed with so much emotion that by the time they finally broke apart she was left feeling dazed and completely breathless. She licked her lips as she blinked her eyes open, and smiled as she ran a gentle hand over Addison’s jaw.

  The corners of Addison’s eyes crinkled with her smile as she leaned into Mallory and whispered, “God, please don’t ever stop kissing me like that.”

  “I won’t.” Mallory kissed her again as her heart swelled with so much affection that she thought it might burst. No, she would gladly do this for the r
est of her life if Addison let her. “But for now,” she added with a little laugh as Addison’s stomach growled loudly, “I think I should get back to preparing dinner.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be.” Mallory caressed Addison’s cheek with her thumb. “We’ll have time for more of that later.”

  “I know, but…”

  Mallory interrupted her with a kiss. “It’s fine, darling. I promise.” She smiled as she pulled back to drop a playful peck to the tip of her nose. “You may have your wicked way with me later if you’d like, but for now you need food.”

  “What if I said I need you more?” Mallory arched a brow as Addison’s stomach immediately argued that point rather definitively, and laughed when Addison grumbled, “Fine. Whatever. Cook me dinner if you must.”

  “Thank you.” Mallory brushed a kiss over Addison’s cheek. “Could you get the salmon out of the fridge?” she asked as she turned back to the zucchini she had been slicing when Addison arrived. She picked up her knife and waved it at the refrigerator. “It’s on the top shelf.”

  “You want a glass of the Sauvignon Blanc that’s in the door, here?” Addison asked as she set the salmon beside Mallory’s cutting board.

  “If you would,” Mallory demurred as she ran her knife through the remainder of the zucchini and pushed it into a pile in the corner opposite the squash she had sliced up earlier. She stiffened ever so briefly in surprise at the feeling of Addison’s hands on her waist and braced her knife hand on the cutting board so she didn’t accidentally cut herself as she turned to look at her over her shoulder. “May I help you?”

  Addison flashed a mischievous grin as she gave Mallory’s sides a squeeze, and she laughed when Mallory squirmed away from the touch. She pushed herself up onto the balls of her feet and pressed a kiss to the side of Mallory’s throat. “Would you like a glass now, or would you rather wait for dinner?”

  Mallory shivered at the feeling of Addison’s lips and tongue against her skin, kissing, nuzzling, licking, teasing all the little spots that drove her wild as she waited for her answer. “Wait,” she muttered. She cleared her throat and added, “I’m fine waiting for dinner.”

  “Okay.” Addison dropped a smackeroo kiss to Mallory’s pulse point and gave her sides one last squeeze before she pulled away. She laughed at the disbelieving look Mallory shot her and shook her head. “I need food, remember?”

  “You need something all right,” Mallory grumbled playfully. “Am I going to have to kick you out of my kitchen?”

  “No.” Addison smiled. “I just couldn’t resist. Do you need help with that?”

  Mallory looked down at the piles on her cutting board and shook her head. “It’s basically done. I just need to get these set”—she reached for the roll of parchment paper at the back of the counter and ripped off two medium-sized sheets—“and then it’s just a matter of putting everything into the parchment, folding them up, and throwing them in the oven for twenty minutes or so.”

  “You’re sure?”

  Mallory smiled. “Positive, darling. You can ice your feet in the meantime if you’d like.”

  “I wouldn’t like at all, but I need to.” Addison shook her head. “You’re sure you don’t mind?”

  “Why would I mind? Besides, this way they’ll have maybe thawed out by the time we’ve finished eating, and you won’t use my legs as a means of warming them back up.”

  “Well, so long as I’m doing this for you,” Addison sassed as she retrieved the plastic tub at the bottom of the pantry that she used for ice baths whenever she was at Mallory’s and set it on the floor in front of the refrigerator. “So how was your afternoon off?” she asked as she pulled the container from beneath the automatic ice maker and dumped it into her tub.

  Mallory shrugged. “It was an afternoon off. It was nice to be able to get most of my errands for the week done, but it was otherwise unremarkable.” She smiled to herself as she laid a sheet of parchment paper beside her cutting board and began piling a small mountain of carrots, squash, and zucchini in the middle of it and, knowing that it would make Addison laugh, confessed, “I did accidentally get off the tube in Covent Garden, though.”

  “Really?” Addison chuckled as she dumped the entire container of ice into her bin. When Mallory nodded, she said, “Well, you should have come by. You could have brought me a coffee or something.”

  “You don’t drink coffee in the afternoon,” Mallory pointed out as she seasoned the veggies.

  “Could have been decaf,” Addison sassed playfully as she closed the freezer door. “Or hot chocolate.”

  Mallory laughed and moved out of the way so Addison could move her tub of ice to the sink. “Right. Anything else, darling? A sandwich? Salad?”

  Addison’s shoulders shook with laughter as she flipped on the tap. “You are so lucky I like you.”

  “Believe me, darling”—Mallory smiled as she leaned over to drop a quick kiss to Addison’s lips—“I know.” She kissed her again and sighed as she pulled away. “Do you like dill?” she asked as she turned back to the packets she was preparing.

  “Not as much as I like you.” Addison winked at her as she slapped the tap off.

  “I’m very glad of that,” Mallory retorted as she opened the salmon and sprinkled the fillets with salt and pepper.

  Addison laughed as she gave the bin a shake to break apart any ice cube that had frozen together when the water hit and hefted it from the sink. “I’m okay with dill. If you could maybe throw a few extra slices of lemon onto my salmon, though, I’d love you forever.”

  “Oh, well, if that’s all it takes, then here…” Mallory gathered the entire pile of lemon and laid it on top of one of the fillets. “How’s that?”

  “Perhaps a little excessive, but I appreciate the sentiment.” Addison kissed her cheek. “You’re adorable, you know that?”

  “Hardly,” Mallory scoffed as she felt her cheeks warm with an embarrassed blush.

  “Absolutely adorable,” Addison argued softly, and the earnestness in her voice made Mallory’s blush that much worse. “And brilliant.” She kissed her cheek again. “Ridiculously talented.” Another kiss. “Kind.”

  Mallory sighed. “Addy…”

  “And so, so beautiful.” Addison nuzzled her cheek.

  Mallory yelped in surprise as ice water splashed against her side and reflexively jumped away from the cold. “And wet,” she muttered, tugging at her sweater.

  “Mmm, my fav—”

  Mallory silenced whatever quip Addison was about to let loose with a finger to her lips. She huffed a laugh at the playfully annoyed look she got in return, and shook her head as she replaced her finger with a tender kiss. “Thank you.”

  Addison smiled. “Always.”

  “If we keep this up, we’re never going to eat dinner,” Mallory pointed out as Addison leaned in for another kiss.

  “Okay, fine.” Addison sighed dramatically. “Guess I’ll stop trying to be romantic and just go plunge my feet into some ice water,” she muttered as she eased past Mallory to exit the kitchen.

  Mallory shook her head as she watched Addison make her way to the dining table and set her bucket onto the floor in front of the chair that had become hers over the last few months. “I’ll go get you a towel once I get these into the oven,” she told Addison, who looked like she was about to go searching for one. “Just get going on that.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Positive,” Mallory assured her with a smile. “This is actually nice,” she added as she moved the salmon fillets to on top of the veggies she had arranged earlier.

  “What’s nice?” Addison asked, her voice just that little bit strained as she eased her feet into their nightly torture.

  Mallory lifted her right shoulder in a small shrug. “Having a relaxed dinner together on a weeknight. Being able to actually have something of a work-life balance.”

  “That is always preferable to a work-work imbalance.” Addison raked her hand
s through her hair and then grabbed the back of the chair over her shoulders.

  “That is true,” Mallory agreed with a little laugh. She glanced up at Addison as she continued to roll the end of the packet she was working on closed. “But you know what I mean.”

  “I do.” Addison arched forward to stretch out her shoulders. “And I think we need to try to arrange our schedules so we have more nights like this, because I really like being able to end my day with you.”

  Mallory blinked as her heart fluttered into her throat at Addison’s words. “Me too.”

  “Lucky me.” Addison smiled as she sighed happily and relaxed back in her chair. “So, do you wanna hear all about the tinder guy both Gabs and Matt matched with today at lunch?”

  Mallory arched a brow and nodded as she refocused her attention on her work. “Oh, absolutely.”

  Mallory covered her cough with her elbow and offered Max’s secretary, Leanne, a tired smile as she made her way toward the music director’s open office door.

  “You okay?” Leanne asked, her brow beneath her soft gray curls pinched with concern. “Do you need some ibuprofen?”

  “Took some before I came in. I’m fine,” Mallory lied. The cold she had been keeping at bay all week by sheer force of will had finally overwhelmed her weakened defenses that morning, and she dearly wished she were back in bed in her comfiest clothes instead of dressed in her blacks and heels at work. “Just a cold. Are Max and Thad already inside?”

  Leanne nodded as she dug a cough drop out of her top desk drawer and she shook her head as she offered it to Mallory. “It won’t do much, I’m afraid, but it might help.”

  “Ta, Leanne,” Mallory murmured as she took the proffered medicine.

  Her fingers were sluggish as she tried to unwrap the cough drop, and she sighed as she popped it into her mouth. It wasn’t going to make her feel any more alert, but she hoped that the menthol would clear the stuffiness in her head enough that she could at least get through the concert. Then she could go home and grab a few hours rest before she was supposed to pick Addison up for dinner. With the way she was feeling, she would have begged off for the night under normal circumstances, but this was the only night they both had off before Valentine’s Day on Wednesday, and she would be damned if she missed their first one together.