Jordan, Olivia - Taletha's Salsa Sweethearts [Studio Seductions 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Olivia Jordan

Adam knew he looked dumbfounded, but he couldn’t help it. He’d just been blown off twice within the last hour, first by the woman he wanted, and then by the man who he’d thought would help him drink away the frustration. Instead, he was left standing in the club, surrounded by people he barely knew, in a city with which he wasn’t at all familiar.

  He decided to try and salvage what was left of the night, starting by going to the bar and ordering a shot of tequila. He’d barely had time for the burn in his throat to dissolve when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and found himself facing Emily.

  “Can I buy you another one?” she asked.

  “Thanks, but I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t want to get shitfaced and do something stupid.”

  Emily hopped up on the barstool and crossed her legs. She eased up against the bar and stuck out her chest, showing off her breasts, pushed up by a bra and peeking out of her tight shirt. Once again, he shuddered, and scooched away as much as the barstool would allow.

  “Oh, come on. Why do you have to be so mean?” she asked, her lips forming a pout.

  “You’re attracted to me, and I’m not attracted to you. So I don’t want there to be any flirting or teasing between us. I don’t want there to be any confusion. We are not lovers, and I don’t think we ever will be. I’m sorry. You’re lovely. It’s just not going to happen.”

  “You’re just saying that because you’re into Taletha, and you’re reeling because she broke your heart.”

  “Taletha didn’t break my heart. These things happen”

  “Everything would be as good as new right now if you danced with me.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea. We’ve both been drinking, and I’m not convinced you won’t try to make another move on me. Which, for the record, I don’t want you to do.”

  “You’re just saying that because you don’t know what you want.” Emily leaned over and placed her head on Adam’s shoulder. “I could prove that you want me, if you’d just give me a chance.”

  Adam hurried to stand up. As he rushed from her touch, Emily lost her balance and slipped from her barstool. Although he didn’t want to keep encouraging her, he couldn’t find it within himself to let her crash to the floor, so he grabbed her arm and pulled her back into a sitting position. Emily took the opportunity to grab his wrist and pull his face toward hers. Adam realized what was going on, and managed to miss the kiss by a few inches. Her lips pressed against the air.

  “You’re such a tease,” Emily whined.

  “Excuse me from trying to keep you from falling. Though really, you probably deserve it, given the way you’ve been acting. But it’s against my principles to allow a fellow dancer to get hurt.”

  Emily narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean, I probably deserve to fall?”

  “I mean you won’t leave me alone even though I’ve told you repeatedly that I’m not interested in you. You keep flirting even though I say I don’t want any of that between us. You acted like a total brat tonight in front of everybody. I try not to be judgmental, and I certainly try not to wish physical harm on people, but quite frankly, my patience is wearing thin. I wouldn’t exactly feel sorry for you if you’d taken a tumble to the floor.”

  “Damn, you’re an asshole.”

  “Would me being an asshole make you leave me alone? Because if that’s the case, I’ll be a jerk all the time.”

  “Doesn’t change the fact that you’re hot, and I want you. Come on, we’re going to dance.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him off of his barstool, heading toward the dance floor.

  Adam let his body go heavy, so that she couldn’t drag him along. “No. I don’t want to dance with you.”

  “And you have bad manners. You’re only supposed to refuse a dance if you’re tired, or if you really don’t like the song.”

  “I am tired. I’m tired of your shenanigans.”

  “That doesn’t count.” Moving as quick as a whip, Emily reached out and grabbed Adam’s crotch. His cock started to spring to life at the unwanted attention, but Adam’s mind was disgusted at her touch, and the brief moment of arousal quickly fizzled out. Adam grabbed Emily’s wrist and pulled it away.

  “Ouch! You’re hurting me!”

  “Don’t grab my junk, okay? Don’t keep bothering me, and don’t you dare try to use alcohol as an excuse tomorrow, understand? Leave me alone!”

  “Let go!”

  “Do you understand that you’ve officially crossed the line into sexual harassment? Do you? Do you realize you could get fired for what you just did?”

  Emily stopped struggling, and looked at Adam with tears in her eyes. “I don’t want to lose my job.”

  Adam didn’t feel even the slightest hint of pity for her tears. He didn’t even believe they were real.

  “Then quit hitting on me. Do you understand? If you bother me one more time, I will report you, and you will be out of work. Got it?”

  Emily nodded. “Got it.”

  “Good. Have a good night. I’m going home.” Adam hurried out of the club and grabbed a cab. Only when he was safe inside did he start to breathe normally.

  Chapter Five

  Unable to get much sleep the night before, Taletha roused herself out of bed at seven o’clock, far earlier than her normal time on a Saturday. After a quick shower and breakfast, she was at the studio at eight, two hours before they were open, and ninety minutes before she typically arrived for the day. But too confused and high-strung to relax, she decided to go in and throw herself into work. Bookkeeping always demanded a great deal of her attention, so she opened up her spreadsheets and started balancing the checking and savings accounts, reviewing the studio budgets, and figuring out what sorts of planned expenses she wanted to incur in the coming year.

  Lynne knocked on her door at nine-thirty. “Hey, are you feeling okay? I noticed you rushed off last night.”

  Taletha shook her head. “I was such an idiot. I know I was completely immature. I just couldn’t face them. I mean, getting involved with my dance partner? My employees? Two guys at once? Am I going crazy?”

  “No, you’re loosening up and learning how to relax.”

  Taletha raised an eyebrow. “You seem completely chill about all of this.”

  “People get involved with dance partners and employees all the time. This isn’t anything new in the dance world.”

  “People also typically don’t get involved with two partners at once.”

  “So what? Did you enjoy kissing them both?”

  Taletha could not force away the smile that burst onto her face as she remembered the previous night. “Hell yes, I enjoyed it. I had two guys making out with me at the same time. Four lips, four hands—it was amazing. I’d never felt anything like that before.”

  “Then what are you so worried about?”

  Taletha shrugged. “I don’t really know. Jealousy, I guess?”

  “Neither of those guys seemed all that jealous. Morris definitely looked pissed at first, but he changed his tune the second you kissed him. Maybe you should figure out what’s running through both of their heads before you start getting too paranoid about things not working out.”

  Taletha chuckled. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right. Still, I backed out before things had much of a chance to get carried away. I think I made the right decision about that.”

  Lynne shrugged. “If you say so.”

  “You don’t agree?”

  “No, but I’m not like you. I couldn’t spend my entire life putting romance on the backburner for the sake of my career. You’re one of the most disciplined people I know. If I wanted a guy and he wanted me back, nothing could stand in my way. And if there were two guys, I’d be doubly motivated. I wouldn’t stop to think. I’d just dive right in.”

  “You wouldn’t be afraid of getting hurt?”

  “Fear is what holds you back. If you let it control you, you’ll never be happy. Anyway, I really sho
uld get over to my desk and make sure I’m ready for the start of the day. See you later.”

  “Later,” Taletha said.

  She tried to turn her focus back to her work, but she couldn’t focus. Both her body and her heart were clamoring, and they overrode her brain. Her lips wanted to be kissed again. Her pussy wanted to be touched, and then filled. And when she allowed herself a chance to think about it, she yearned for a connection that transcended both work and sex. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to go after her desires.

  Maybe Lynne has a point, she thought, shaking her head at the columns of her spreadsheets. Maybe I’m not disciplined at all. Maybe I’m controlled by fear. Maybe I’m a coward.

  * * * *

  Morris was as unobtrusive as possible when he arrived at the studio for practice. He was glad that Lynne was on the phone with a student when he walked through the main doors. A quick nod was the only greeting he needed to give. There would be no need for him to bring up the events that the entire staff had witnessed the night before.

  Taletha’s office door was ajar, but he didn’t dare peek inside. Instead, he hurried to the staff lounge, where he put on his dance shoes and started stretching. But when four o’clock rolled around, he couldn’t bring himself to leave the quiet safety of the staff lounge to face Taletha for rehearsal.

  “I can’t believe it. I’ve become a total chicken,” he said, grateful that nobody else was there to hear him talking to himself. He paced around the floor a few times, trying to decide what to do.

  Five minutes later, Taletha poked her head in.

  “Doesn’t anybody knock around here?” Morris asked.

  “Um, in case you’ve forgotten, this is not a private room. The door doesn’t even have a lock on it.”

  Morris blushed, suddenly realizing how idiotic he’d sounded a moment before. “You’re right. I’m being ridiculous. I just–I mean–I feel a little awkward after what happened last night.”

  Taletha lowered her gaze to the ground a moment before lifting her head and looking him square in the eye. “Don’t worry about it. Trust me, I don’t exactly feel confident myself. I’m nervous, and still a little confused about what I want. I’m willing to bet that Adam feels about the same way we already do. But we can’t let any of that come between our partnership, okay? That’s the last thing I want, and the reason I got skittish last night. Come on, let’s practice.”

  “Okay,” Morris said, trying to keep a straight face. Although he knew better, part of him had insisted on hoping that Taletha would have suddenly become confident after a good night’s sleep and that she would have suddenly decided that a relationship between the three of them was worth the risks. But she was as reserved as ever.

  As they went through their warm-up exercises, Morris tried to banish all painful thoughts from his mind. You’re not here to be pushy. You’re not here to be aggressive. You’re not here to fuck your boss and dance partner, at least not right this second. You’re not here to fall in love. You’re here to dance, and you’re here to be the best. As they finished their drills, Morris found that he finally felt normal for the first time all day.

  “Do you want to run through what we have so far with music, or do you want to start choreographing the new section?” Taletha asked.

  “Let’s run it from the top. I was feeling good about how we finished things yesterday, and I want to go through it all again before moving on.”

  Taletha turned the music on. As soon as Morris’s hand touched hers, he wished he could stop the rehearsal, take her into her office, and finish what they’d started the night before. These hands caressed me last night, he thought. And those lips kissed me.

  Still, he was determined to make it through their practice session without feeling sorry for himself. As the musical introduction passed, he launched himself into the dance, putting forth as much energy as he could muster. He threw every bit of strength into each step, each turn, each dip. The sweat was streaming off of his body before they were even thirty seconds into the song. His endorphins kicked in not long after, and Morris finally allowed himself to get lost in the dance, the one thing that never failed to lift his spirits, no matter how much trouble he was facing in the rest of his life. When the music ended, he stepped away from Taletha, breathless, smiling for the first time all day. But his expression faded when he saw the angry look on her face.

  “What the hell was that?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “What do I mean? You were so rough you hurt me! I’ve never been dragged around the floor like that by anyone, ever. Not even the least experienced leader I ever danced with was that rough.”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t”

  Taletha didn’t give him time to finish. “Look! Just look at this!” She waved her left hand in his face. It was red from the wrist to the knuckles.

  “Oh my god. I’m so sorry, Taletha. I didn’t realize I was being so aggressive with you. I was just trying to lose myself in the dance, to really feel the music. I swear, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  “Somehow, I don’t believe you. You’re still pissed about last night, aren’t you? You’re mad that I haven’t magically made up my mind, and now you’re trying to hurt me!”

  Morris was not about to let Taletha make unfounded accusations. “Yes, I’m still frustrated about last night, but damn it, Taletha, I would never hurt you. You’re my dance partner. If you’re hurt, I don’t dance. My whole career revolves around keeping you safe.”

  “Nice to know that I’m just a moneymaking asset for you.”

  “Oh, come on. You know what I mean, and you also know how much I care about you. So why don’t you tell me exactly what’s going on to make you so upset?”

  “I’m not upset.”

  “Yes, you are.”

  “Only because you were so aggressive that you hurt me while we were dancing.”

  “And I apologized. I’ll calm down, and I’ll be gentle. What more can I honestly say or do?”

  Taletha sighed. “Nothing, I guess. Let’s just start choreographing the new section.”

  * * * *

  The afternoon dragged on. Even after she let the painful first dance go, knowing that he had not meant to hurt her, things were not getting easier between them. They were both obsessing about the night before, and they were both letting it interfere with their dancing. As he had been earlier in the week, Morris was wooden and boring. His technique was precise and his focus was sharp, but his dancing didn’t have any passion or soul. Taletha regretted yelling at him for being so aggressive earlier. As difficult as it had been to dance with him then, at least he had more enthusiasm than she’d seen in the entire past week. Now, he was completely devoid of emotion.

  Taletha, on the other hand, was struggling to keep her attention on the dance. The more time she spent touching Morris, the less able she was to deny the connection they’d shared the night before. Even the most casual, distant touch sparked memories of the kisses and caresses she’d had with Adam. Her mind kept filling with images of the two of them naked in her bed. Sometimes, when she got really distracted, she could even picture her waking up sandwiched between them, feeling happy and cared for.

  Things became even more difficult when Adam walked in to teach his five o’clock lesson. The second he and his student walked to the other side of the ballroom, Taletha couldn’t resist keeping watch out of the corner of her eye. She noted the way he avoided eye contact with either of them, the way he made exaggerated hand gestures and joked with his student a bit too loudly. She was drawn to the way his face tried to hide his emotions, but she was even more focused on his body and the memories of being pressed up against it.

  “Now who’s having the problem?” Morris snapped.

  Taletha shook her head, coming back to earth after several moments of clandestinely staring at Adam’s ass.

  “Sorry, I just got a little distracted.”

  “You’ve been a little distracted all day. You’ve been completely dist
racted ever since Adam walked in.”

  “I’m sorry. Let’s just take it from the top. I’ll do better, I promise.”

  “No. I’m sick of this. You can’t insist you want professionalism, yell at me for having a bad day, and then spend half our rehearsal lusting after his junk. I’m done. You can call me when you want to stop being a hypocrite.” He turned and stormed off the dance floor.

  Taletha gave a quick look over her shoulder. Adam and his student seemed oblivious to what had just happened. She hurried to her office, slammed the door, and locked it shut before anyone had a chance to notice that something was wrong.

  After twenty minutes of trying to focus on mundane administrative work, Taletha gave up on trying to focus. Her mind was reeling, her body was tired, and her heart was aching. The day is shot, and the studio closes in five minutes. I might as well go home. She packed up her things, unlocked the door, and nearly smacked Adam in the face as she opened it.

  “We need to talk,” he said.

  Not having an excuse not to, nor any escape route, she shrugged. “Come on in.”

  “Hold on. I think Morris will want to join us.”

  “I don’t think he wants to talk to me anymore than he actually has to.”

  “I’ll go ask him. Just wait here for us, okay? Please don’t disappear like you did last night.” The accusation made Taletha want to cry, but she kept her face rigid, unwilling to show any weakness. She sat back down in her desk chair and closed her eyes until she heard two sets of footsteps coming down the hall.

  Adam gave a courtesy knock on the doorframe. “Mind if we come in?”

  Taletha gestured to the small couch. “Sit down. Can I get either of you anything?”

  “I’m fine,” Morris said, not making eye contact with either of them.

  “Adam, what did you want to talk about?”

  “Do you even need to ask?”

  Taletha shrugged. “What do you want from me? I had to get the conversation started somehow.”

  A knock on the doorframe made all three of them jump. Lynne poked her head in.