by Vivian Wood
He grits his teeth. “Oh, fuck…”
When he explodes inside of me, I call out his name. “Calum!”
“Fuck! Kaia, fuck,” he whispers. He keeps rocking his hips, pressing his hands firmly into my back.
I shudder against him as I ride out the last of my orgasm. He kisses my neck gently and makes his way to my lips.
Calum lies beside me, aligning our bodies. He holds me close as I struggle for breath. He’s breathing hard too, but he kisses my neck, my shoulder, the curve of my breast.
Every kiss is a burning brand, a reminder that I’m his. A shudder ripples across my sensitive skin.
I want to beg him to stop, but I also want to have him again, right now. There’s something about him that just makes me insatiable. He looks up at me, then presses a kiss to my lips.
“Ah, Kaia…” he murmurs. He smiles a little and sweeps my hair aside. “What am I going to do with you?”
I grin at him. “I can think of one thing…”
Kissing him, I drag him back for round two.
6
I shift in my seat as the limo takes Kaia and me to the NYB. The healing wound in my shoulder aches.
I rub my shoulder very gently through my black hooded sweatshirt. Kaia looks over, her eyes tightening on my discomfort.
“Are you sure you’re ready to come back?” she asks.
It takes everything in me not to tell her to fuck off. My mouth tugs downward and I glance out my window. “I’m fine. We have talked about this.”
She heaves a sigh, putting up her leggings-clad leg on the seat. “You’ve talked. The doctors think you should rest for another week.”
I grit my teeth. “I gave you a week of rest. You’re not getting any more out of me. I’m nearly insane already as it is.”
Kaia pulls a face at my words. “I’m just concerned about you. After all, you did stop a bullet that was meant for me with your body…”
I hold up a hand, silencing her. “While I appreciate you trying to mother me, Kaia, I have to insist that you quit. I don’t want to be infantilized. And I don’t think that nurturing others is very sweet.”
Kaia frowns. “I’m not infantilizing you, Calum. I’ll save that for my future children.”
I shoot her a sharp look. “You can’t be serious. You’re a ballerina. Children are not in your future for at least ten years.” I make a disgusted face. “If ever.”
Curiosity comes over her expression. “You don’t see yourself having kids?”
I snort. “No. And I don’t know what would change my mind, either.”
She gulps and looks away. “Oh.”
I glance at her. “What, did you expect me to be pressuring you to have kids? Have you met me? I’m a selfish bastard.”
She shrugs a shoulder, still looking away out her window. “We don’t really have to talk about it, Calum.”
I open my mouth to continue the conversation, but she is already rolling the partition down to speak to the driver. “Will you let me out here? I’ll walk the rest of the way.” She licks her lips and glances at me. “We might as well not let the company see us arrive together in your limousine. Right?”
I narrow my gaze on her face. “If that’s what you want.”
The limo pulls over to the curb and Kaia springs out of the car, slamming the door behind her. I stare after her, trying to figure out what exactly I’m being punished for.
Is it the no kids thing? I have no idea.
The driver drops me off at the front steps of the New York Ballet building. I climb them slowly, feeling every minute of my age as I push open the heavy glass of the front door.
I make it up the stairs with a throbbing shoulder. Then I head straight for the dance studios, my mind tumbling over and over the thought of punching Bas squarely in his snooty little nose.
By the time I find him, my mood has definitely curdled. Bas is dressed in sweats, sprawled out on the floor of one of the dance studios, stretching. He doesn’t even blink as I storm up to him.
“Who the fuck do you think you are? Hm? You go and talk to a reporter about me but you don’t even have the balls to say my name?” I shout.
Bas blinks, panning his gaze up to me slowly. “You’re upset that I told the reporter the truth?”
I grit my teeth. There are students in this room and they are looking between Bas and me. Making inferences, I’m sure.
“I think you’re a coward,” I grate out.
“And I think you’re so obvious. You come in here, demand to be taken seriously in the stage manager role, rip everyone up with your constant criticisms. And then you fuck one of the ballerinas. Tell me, did you decide to fuck Kaia during her audition? Or did that come later?”
“Don’t talk to me about Kaia.” I take a step towards him, my hands balling into fists. “I want to smash your face in right now. The only reason I’m holding back is because Kaia appears to like you.”
“Great.” He scoffs. “Just because you have money doesn’t mean you can just do whatever you want, Calum. I speak for not just myself, but for all the dancers. You need to find a replacement and leave.”
The last of my willpower drains away, leaving me ready to fight. Basil stands up, his body language indicating that this will not be his first brawl. I lick my lips and smile viciously.
“That’s it,” I growl, beckoning him closer. “Just try and hit me. See where that gets you, fuckhead.”
He squares up, circling me. “With pleasure.”
The door to the studio opens. Pretty little Kaia rushes in. “Hey, can I get the key to the shoe closet? Manon is locked—“
She stops mid-sentence, her gaze darting between me and Bas. “What’s going on?”
I drop my hands, shooting Bas a hard glance. “Bas was about to get his ass beat.”
“Yeah, you wish,” Bas snaps. He puts his hands down too. “I’m a brown belt in Krav Maja, asshole.”
I hold up a hand and shake my head at him, focusing on Kaia instead. “What’s the problem?”
Kaia’s gaze slides around the room. She scopes out the dancers huddled in the far corner. “Will one of you come with me? It seems like an emergency of some sort.”
“Show me.” Dropping my bag by the door, I give Bas a hard look. “We are not done here.”
He shrugs, his expression pinched. “Whatever you say, Calum.”
Huffing a little, I walk through the door the Kaia holds open. As soon as we are outside, I glance down at her. “Bas was being a dick.”
She tosses her hair. “I don’t care about that right now. You two are grownups. You’ll work it out some way. I came to grab you because Manon has locked herself in the pointe shoe room. She sounds…” Kaia screws up her face. “Distressed, to say the least.”
My mouth turns down as I follow Kaia to the little room, barely bigger than a closet. I’ve never seen the door closed actually… but it’s easy enough to press the code in the keypad.
I did insist on having the keypad locks, after all.
The door unlocks and I pull it open, exposing dual walls of nothing but different types, colors, and sizes of pointe shoe. At the far end of the small space, Manon is laying across a black leather sofa. Her dark hair is covering her face, but she’s obviously sobbing.
She raises her head a few inches, takes us in, and cries even harder. “Just leave me alone!” she manages to wail.
I glance at Kaia with a shrug. “Are you satisfied now?”
Kaia rolls her eyes and rushes over to the other girl, kneeling beside the couch. “Manon? What’s going on?”
Manon moans. “They’ve lost everything. Everything! Even what I was supposed to live on…”
Kaia pats Manon’s shoulder tentatively. “Who has lost everything?”
Manon flips her dark hair back and sits up, clearly beside herself. “My family! My dad--” She stops, sobbing for a few seconds before continuing. “My father was arrested today for a financial scam. People—“ She hiccups. “People are
saying that he’s the new Bernie Madoff. My mother… my mother called to say that she would leave him if there was a single cent to be had between them!”
“Oh Manon,” Kaia says, exhaling. “That’s terrible.”
I shift my stance, checking the hallway behind me. A few interested dancers stand on the other side of the hallway, trying to listen discreetly.
I frown at them and they scurry away. Pulling the closet door closed behind me, I watch as Kaia consoles Manon. I’m skeptical at first.
I mean, I’ve witnessed Manon bullying Kaia on at least three occasions. Kaia is within her rights to walk away and tell everyone the news that Manon will soon be a pariah.
It’s what I would do.
But Kaia is much sweeter than I could ever be. She sits next to Manon and pulls her into an awkward hug, murmuring small kindnesses in her ear.
Just seeing that display of compassion tugs at my heartstrings. It just reminds me that there is no one quite as good and kind as Kaia. It also makes me ponder how very different Kaia and I are. Really, it makes me realize that without my money, I would probably not even be in her league.
“Calum, would you call for a car? I think Manon needs to go home.”
That sends Manon into a new fit of sobbing. I’m glad when I can step out of the room and dial my driver. As I tell him the situation, I am very glad to have something to do that doesn’t involve Manon’s hot tears.
7
The sun has barely risen in the New York City sky when I step out of our building. I’m wearing jeans, a black band t-shirt, and a black peacoat to guard against the early morning wind. But as soon as my foot hits the cement, a blast of chilly air almost drives me back in the door.
“Noooo,” I whine. “It’s so freaking cold. Can’t we just go back to bed?”
Calum is right behind me, dressed in jeans and a black fleece. The wind ruffles his hair as he glances at me with a tiny smirk on his perfect lips.
“No. We can go back to bed after this if we want to, though.”
I shoot him a glare and cross my arms as he hustles me down the street. “This had better be good. You still haven’t told me what we’re doing so early.”
Calum eyes me. “We’re going to a bagel shop a few blocks from here.”
I narrow my eyes on his face as I head down the eerily empty street. “I’ve never had a bagel that was worth getting up at five a.m. Actually, I am not sure that a big piece of bread even sounds that great. I cut carbs from my diet like a millennia ago.”
He wraps his uninjured arm around my shoulders and pulls me close. “Isn’t this what couples in love do in New York City? Get up early to scarf down a freshly boiled bagel?”
I shake my head at him, smiling ruefully. “Can we do it while staring into each other’s eyes?”
“Absolutely,” he says. “We should stuff ourselves with a bagel and a schmear. Or, hear me out… We just eat bagels and cream cheese until we are stuffed every single day. Maybe we can get pudgy together.”
I grin at him. “You sweet talker. I can’t think of anymore more romantic than growing old and morbidly obese with you.”
He chuckles at that. “Come on, we’re almost there.”
We turn a corner and it’s obvious which place we are going to. Though the sun is just beginning to light the sky, there is already a line that’s ten people long outside a shop ahead.
“So there are other people that are crazy like you. Huh.” I purse my lips.
Calum gives me side eye as we get to the back of the line. “I can’t believe you’ve never done this before.”
I pull away from him, grabbing his hand and pulling it inside the warmth of my peacoat pocket. “I can’t believe you have. I mean, how are you so in shape and then you go and eat bagels all the time?”
He sighs. “I will just hit the gym a little harder than usual today. Besides, there is more to life than being thin.”
“Don’t tell my father that. He would definitely not agree.”
Calum squints. “Isn’t your dad overweight?”
I give a humorless chuckle. “Yes. Being lithe of limb is only a sought after quality in women, according to him. There is no arguing with that kind of ignorance.”
“Hmm.” His brow pulls down as we move up in the line. “And here I thought that family meant that you would be loved, regardless of your appearance.”
A startled laugh bursts from my chest. “Definitely not.”
He looks away for a second, mulling that over. Then he looks at me, his expression serious.
“I love the shape of your body and the way you move. But my feelings for you run deeper than that. I love you for just being you. I hope you know that.”
My heart flutters in my chest. I reach out and spread my free hand across his chest with a smile.
“Thank you. I feel the same way.”
He snorts. “I doubt that very much.”
My gaze turns quizzical. “If your body changes… so what?”
His mouth thins. “I was talking about my wealth. Without it, you probably wouldn’t have even given me a second glance.”
My heart thuds in my chest. My jaw drops.
“You think…” I shake my head and stomp my foot. “You think I care about your money? That’s hilariously wrong.”
His lips twist a little and he looks away, uncomfortable. I move around his body to see his expression clearly. “I’m serious, Calum. If you told me today that we only had the clothes on our backs, I would be fine with that. I love you. I love ballet. Those are the only two things I really need.”
He slides his gaze over to me, making direct and intense eye contact. “Yeah? You could be happy without being a billionaire’s girlfriend?”
I slide my hands around his neck, ignoring the line of waiting people that moves up without us. Right now, my eyes are on Calum’s. I press up on my tiptoes and steal a warm, delicious kiss from his lips.
“Does that answer your question?” I ask softly.
His lips curve upward with amusement as he settles his hands on my waist. “Yes, beauty. It really does.”
A gray haired lady wearing approximately ten layers of clothing comes up behind us. She points her finger to indicate us. “This right here is very sweet… but I need you two to move your asses. Spielman’s only makes hot bagels for the next half an hour.”
Calum rolls his eyes. “Thanks,” he tells the lady.
He turns my hips in his hands and pushes me forward. He leans down next to my ear. “I’m going to fuck you ten different ways to Sunday when we get home. Just be ready for that.”
I bite my lip, blushing and giggling. “You’re terrible.”
He chuckles, his breath hot on my ear. “You love me.”
After waiting in line a little more, Calum steps inside the shop to order. I hang outside because let’s be real, I’m still not nearly as invested in hot bagels as he clearly is.
Rolling my eyes, I step out of the shop. My phone buzzes and I look down at it for a few minutes, scrolling mindlessly through the text messages I've missed. I sort of zone out due to the early hour.
It's not until a dark shape zooms into my peripheral vision that I even look up. When I do, I find myself staring my own father in the face. He looks haggard. He's dressed in khakis and a polo shirt as always, but his clothes are wrinkled and his thinning hair is a mess as if he has recently been sleeping on it.
He grabs me by the wrist before I even have a chance to open my mouth. “Kaia. I knew it was you.”
My heart beat sounds in my throat. “What are you doing here? How did you find me?”
His face drops into a scowl. “Does that really matter? I'm your father. I'll always be able to find you, no matter where you go.”
I wrench my wrist from his grasp, anger bubbling up inside me. “You have to go. I don't even know why you're here in the first place. I can assure you though that there is nothing that you want here. You've tapped all of the resources that were available to you.�
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He snorts through his nose. “Yeah right. You owe me. You'll always be indebted to me. That's the whole reason that people even have children.”
I give him a funny look, shaking my head. I look over my shoulder to see if I can make eye contact with Calum through the glass door. But it seems that he is nowhere to be found. I suppose that is only fair since Calum has done nothing but fight my battles for me for the last few months. I lick my lips and suck in a breath.
“Kaia, I’m talking to you!” my father growls.
Looking my father right in the eyes, I raise my chin.
“I don't know what kind of world you were brought up in. But I do know that the world I live in doesn't allow for you to treat me like this. I might be your daughter, but I am also a person. A human being. I'm not an endless well for you to draw from any time you get thirsty.”
My father runs his hand through his hair, looking distracted. “I need a hundred thousand dollars. And I need it right now.”
I can feel my face coloring. I shake my head and back up another inch. “I don't know what made you this way. But I'm telling you right now. There's nothing else coming to you. I've already given you everything that I have to give.”
His mouth twist. “And your boyfriend? What does he have to give? Because as far as I see it, I own everything that he has. After all, I gave him you.”
I scrunch my face up just as I hear the bell tinkling on the door behind me. I squint over my shoulder and Calum is suddenly there, his eyes hardening as he takes in my father's stance.
“Get away from her.” He steps forward, his hands curling into fists. “If you had any sense at all, you'd be turning around and heading down the street by now. I don't want to fight you but I won't let you lay your hands on Kaia again. This is the end of the line.”
My father scoffed. “You don't tell me what to do. Just because you have money—“
Calum cuts him off quickly. “Let me tell you something very important. Listen carefully. If I ever see you again. If I ever hear from you again. If Kaia is ever bothered by thoughts of you again, I will end you. This is my last fucking warning. After this, you will disappear and never be heard from again.”