by K. K. Allen
Music continued to fill the empty theater as my fingers played a melody of love and hope in the midst of impossible circumstances. A forbidden love. A best friendship gone wrong. Secrecy. Betrayal. I could see it all so vividly in my mind—a fight scene intensifying as my fingers sped across the magic box in a crescendo. I could practically hear the screams of the strings as they played a violent accompaniment. In my mind, wind instruments whistled and buzzed with anticipation. Everything was coming alive—in my heart, in my soul. The beating in my chest might as well have been the cadence of the drums as they drove the sound home.
And then, in dramatic fashion, I lifted my fingers from the keys, halting the crescendo in heart-stopping silence. The final chord rang through the air, bouncing off the walls in a way that was almost haunting. My pulse pounded in my neck as each breath came. If anyone could see me, they’d think I just ran a fucking marathon. But that’s what good music did to a person. It was an adrenaline rush I’d never tire of.
“Holy shit,” said someone just below the stage.
My head snapped down, and I blinked, wondering if she was just a mirage like the one I’d seen dancing in my head as I played. Nope. She was the real deal, and she was standing right there. She’d heard everything, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. A mixture of rage and excitement filled my chest at her intrusion.
By the look of her outfit, she’d just taken a dance class, probably at Gravity. That was most likely where that dude, Wayne, had taken her when she left the ship. I’d only left shortly to clear my mind a bit, but the moment I reached the Shakespeare Bridge, inspiration blasted me, and I couldn’t return to the ship quickly enough. But why had Kai come back so early?
“What are you doing here?” I knew I, once again, was coming off like an asshole. But she was getting too close. She had no business pressing for answers about my past, about Dirk, about Claudette. That was nobody’s business, especially hers.
But despite my best attempt to sound every bit as annoyed as I wanted to feel, she didn’t look stricken by my words in the least. My shock value had clearly faded.
“I was going to use the theater to rehearse. I didn’t expect for anyone to be here.”
“Yeah, well, it’s booked.”
She blew out a sigh, but instead of turning around and leaving, she hopped onto the stage and stopped at the other side of my piano.
“What were you playing just now?”
I tried to look at anything but the way her curious eyes were dancing on me. “It was nothing. Just something I was fiddling around with.”
“That didn’t sound like you were just fiddling around. It sounded like you’d been playing it for years.” The accusation in her tone was leveled with something that softened something in me—interest, intrigue. I didn’t want to take the time to sort it out.
“I’ve never played it before now. It was nothing, really.”
She tilted her head and pushed away from the piano. “Play it again.”
“What?” I didn’t know why was she still there.
“You heard me. Play it again. You want to play—I want to dance. We can both use the theater. Just do your thing, and I’ll do mine.” She shrugged as if what she said was as normal as pushing Play on a stereo system.
An internal battle erupted in my mind, but my fight was defeated by the amused smile that lifted her cheeks.
“I’m not leaving, so you might as well play the damn song, Sebastian.”
I narrowed my eyes at her while the tips of my fingers caressed the keys. “Fuck me,” I muttered under my breath.
I took two seconds to remember how I’d started the tune. It was a jazzy number. In fact, I was starting to realize that everything I’d been creating lately had a jazz influence. This particular number was definitely one of the more dramatic pieces. In the story flow, it would fit right in before intermission, leaving the audience holding their breath in suspense.
While I started by playing the song the same way I had when she’d walked in, I noticed myself changing the melody some to accompany her, rather than the other way around. She was light as she moved across the floor, letting her body bend and turn like a modern-day ballerina with the body of a goddess.
I was only in the second phrase when I looked up to see Kai executing steps like the music was already inside her. I knew she was a brilliant dancer, but I had no idea she could freestyle so poetically too. Maybe she was a choreographer. The woman continued to surprise me, and I knew I’d only touched the surface.
When the crescendo came again, she followed it like something out my dreams. How she’d interpreted my story so clearly after hearing it just once was un-fucking-believable.
I watched her in amazement, knowing the song I’d just composed was no longer mine—not with the way she’d breathed life into my wildest imagination. I already needed more of it.
* * *
WATCH: Lost
* * *
My heart was pounding in my chest as she closed the distance from center stage to my piano. She was completely in the zone, feeling my song as I sang every tortured word. I couldn’t take my eyes off her, and my adrenaline spiked when she climbed onto my piano like a prowling cat, her target clear—me. Then she gripped me with her eyes and flipped around so her back was toward me.
Dear God, how will I ever get this woman off my mind?
She was embedded inside me as my fingers flew across the keys. When I reached the dramatic climax again, Kai executed a head roll, causing my gaze to drop to her strong, exposed back. Then she slid backward, toward me, and laid her body down so that her shoulders pressed into the top of my piano while letting her loose hair drop to my keys.
I was at the top of the crescendo when she arched her back, pointing her tits in the air. My eyes scrolled over the deep cut of her clingy black top where her chest heaved, then they dropped back down to her pouty mouth. There were so many dirty things I could do with that mouth, yet all I wanted to do in that moment was kiss it. I would only need to bring my head down an inch to meet hers.
In the final note of the crescendo, our eyes locked again. We were both breathing heavily, and I knew it wasn’t just my music she’d breathed life into. She’d breathed life into me too.
It became clear to me then, without a shadow of a doubt, that I needed her more than I ever wanted to admit.
With an internal growl, I swiped at my sheet music, stood from the bench, and walked as quickly as I could away from a temptation that was getting too damn hard to distance myself from.
Chapter 21
Kai
I didn’t know what time it was when I heard knocking on my door, but it felt early. Though I’d fallen asleep right after dinner last night, my attempt at slumber had been restless. I couldn’t stop thinking about the man behind the piano. He was mysterious, and I couldn’t ignore the force he had over me, a pull he clearly felt too. That was the trouble with gravity. It couldn’t be stopped. It couldn’t be ignored. I was completely at its mercy, even when the one thing I felt myself gravitating toward refused to let me in. In this case, that one thing was Sebastian.
I groaned and threw off the sheet before making my way to the door and peeking through the peephole. I wasn’t too tired to assume that the person knocking was the same one who’d woken me up at the ass-crack of dawn the other day to work out, and I was right. There he stood, hands shoved in his shorts pockets, head down, and hair falling into his eyes, causing my chest to squeeze with a feeling I was starting to despise.
The last thing I’d expected after the song ended was for Sebastian to stand up, gather his sheet music, and walk out of the theater without speaking a single word. I didn’t deserve that. I definitely didn’t deserve the pain in my chest or the tears in my eyes when I realized how much I wanted him to see me right then, to kiss me—not just the woman in pink tights or the poor girl desperate for an opportunity or the basket case terrified of facing her past. I didn’t want or need him to save me. But I did want
him to care.
He never would.
I was well aware that I was wearing nothing but a scrap of white lace around my hips and a matching bralette when I ripped open the door a few inches and glared. Hard. “Go away, Sebastian.”
Bright blue eyes peered back at me. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?” His mouth curled at the corners as his gaze traveled down. My nipples tightened, and my insides grew hot as he was seeing all of me save for a few scraps of lace. It didn’t matter that my hair was a knotted mess, my eyes puffy from lack of sleep, or my body cold from the AC I’d turned on full blast the night before. He wasn’t seeing any of the flaws as his gaze continued to examine me like a telescope did the sky.
“Not a chance.” I started to close the door, but he caught it with his palm.
“You owe me a run.”
My energy was depleted, my emotions a complete mess. After being on the receiving end of his yo-yo too many times, I was exhausted and afraid to give him any more chances to redeem himself. My throat burned as I blinked back a reserve of tears from the day before. “I owe you nothing.”
With that, I pushed against the door. He didn’t resist. Instead, he drew back his hand and stepped into the hallway as the door clicked shut.
As I stood there shaking, my phone buzzed on the nightstand. Groaning, I threw myself on the bed and reached for it.
Sebastian: You owe me a run, and I owe you an explanation. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.
A whoosh of air filled my lungs as I blinked a few times while rereading his message. He was going to open up to me.
I gave myself another minute to calm my racing heart, then I walked back to the door and opened it. “You’re crazy, you know that?”
His brows rose. “Does that mean you’re coming?”
My cheeks heated at his words, and by the gleam in his eyes, he knew what he’d said.
“Let me get dressed.”
A full-blown smile appeared beneath his five o’clock shadow. “That isn’t a requirement to spend time with me. I’ll accept you dressed just as you are.”
I rolled my eyes, biting back a laugh that wanted to climb its way up my throat. “Don’t push it.”
He chuckled as I shut the door on him again—this time so I could rush to get dressed.
When I reopened my door, he was leaning against his cabin, looking straight at me, wearing black shorts and a sky-blue muscle shirt. He was finally wearing something other than all black.
“After you,” he said, gesturing toward the stairs.
He followed me up the steps, so close I could practically feel him up my ass. When I glanced casually over my shoulder, I confirmed he was staring right at it. I swiveled around and stopped in my tracks, causing him to almost smack his face into my chest.
“You need to stop checking me out.”
He grinned like a schoolboy who’d just gotten caught with his hands up a classmate’s skirt. “You weren’t supposed to see that. Sorry, Kai. You’re nice to look at. What can I say?”
“Yeah, well, I liked it better when I wasn’t your type.” I huffed out a breath and turned back around, taking the rest of the stairs two at a time.
I tried hard to ignore the fact that he didn’t argue. I also tried to ignore the number of times his eyes had fallen to my lips already this morning. After yesterday’s near kiss, I didn’t even want to think about it. The disappointment I’d felt at his rejection was a painful awakening of all the feelings I’d tried desperately to stifle.
We walked the three flights to the fifth deck and entered the spa through the back door. His large, firm hand grasped mine and tugged me a different direction. Then Sebastian was in the lead as I trailed him to another set of doors, and my breathing went shallow.
As soon as we entered the jogging track, my feet stopped moving, my throat dried, and I shook my head. “No.”
His face scrunched. “Yes. Come on. I told you we were running.”
I shook my head again. “Sebastian, I don’t think I can go out there. Can’t we jump on a treadmill or something?”
“Don’t you want to know my secrets?”
I hated that he was using leverage against me. “That’s not fair.” My eyes prickled with heat. At any second, the dam would burst.
Sebastian’s eyes softened as he stepped closer, placing his hands on my hips. “Kai, I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”
His words. Fuck. They were enough to ease some of the tension. Or maybe my tension was just masked by surprise. I would never have expected Sebastian to be the one who calmed me. Why did I believe him? Had he done anything redeemable since I met him? And what would happen when I got on that track and freaked out? Because that was inevitable. As much as I wanted to punch my anxiety in the face, I wasn’t sure how much I could control my reaction when panic seized my body.
Then again, if I was going to make the attempt, that was probably the best time. The ship was still docked, and Sebastian would be with me. Wayne would be proud that I was even considering it. I took a deep breath and let my eyes flicker to his.
“Okay. But you first.” I righted my shoulders. “Tell me your secret, and then I’ll go out there.”
Sebastian tilted his head and let out a breath. “Damn, fine. You win. How about I give you the short version first, and then you can ask me questions from there?”
I shrugged. “Fine. Fess up.”
A few beats passed as he assessed me one last time. “Okay. The story you heard was all about how I ruined Dirk’s marriage, right?”
I nodded.
“It’s not entirely true. All I did was break up what should have never started to begin with.”
A sick feeling churned in my gut. I didn’t want to hear the story about how Sebastian loved Dirk’s wife and thought he should end a marriage. I wanted to hear that none of the rumors were true. Clearly, that wasn’t the confession I was about to get.
“The rumors are halfway true. I did sleep with Dirk’s wife, but that was only after he fucked my fiancée.”
My jaw dropped as the wind left my body. “W-what?”
He nodded. “All of this happened during the Broadway run of Angst and Grace. The show was soaring, but the behind-the-scenes drama destroyed us. After he married Claudette, she came onto me one night in my dressing room. So I settled the score the only way I knew how at the time.”
“You slept with Claudette and broke up their marriage.”
I don’t know why I felt the need to confirm what he was telling me. The rumors were all true, but why didn’t anyone talk about what Dirk had done to Sebastian? Unless Dirk had sparked the rumor mill as a way to control what information was shared.
He nodded. “I did. And now Dirk wants full control of Angst and Grace.”
“But he can’t take full control. It’s your show. You created the entire production.”
“Right. Tell that to the man with the dollar signs in his eyes. He’s not one to be reasoned with, Kai. You think I’m the scum of the earth? Well, thank God you don’t know Dirk.”
I shook my head with a swallow. “I don’t think you’re scum, Sebastian.” My eyes waved over him with a new understanding. “Not at all.”
Chapter 22
Sebastian
We stood at the door that led to the start of the track. As I was about to push it open, Kai was practically shaking beside me.
I faced her with bent brows. “You okay?”
She threw me a look that told me I was an idiot for even asking.
“What?” I laughed the word, suddenly feeling defensive. “It’s just a little run. I’ll stay on the outside, closest to the balcony. And there are doors to the ship everywhere if you need to run inside. It will be fine.”
She shook her head and took a step back. “Maybe this is a bad idea.”
“No way. You’re just a little tense. Shake it out.” I hopped in place and shook my wrists. “Once you get going, you’ll feel great.”
She watched me w
ith a laugh. “I think I’d rather play naked Twister.”
I froze on my last hop, and my cheeks rose in a smile. Now she’s talking. “Not a bad suggestion, love. Like yoga, but less predictable.”
“Oh yeah?” She was playing along, which I loved. “But who would spin the wheel thingy and call the shots?”
I leaned down and grazed her ear with my mouth, my heart thumping wildly in my chest. “Me.” I felt her shiver, even with too many inches of distance separating us. “I always call the shots. And right now, I’m telling you to get your ass on that track and start running.”
She half groaned, half cried like I was the pain in her ass she knew she needed. “Fine,” she growled. Then she straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. “Let’s go.”
Without wasting a single second, I pushed open the door to lead her to the start of the track and gave her a wink. “See,” I pointed to the side of the ship with the yellow tender boats blocking the view of the water. “It’s pretty hard to see the ocean with those boats in the way.”
She averted her eyes and let out another deep breath. “Let’s just get this over with.”
I chuckled, not because I was taking her fear lightly but because she was kind of cute when she wasn’t acting like a tough arse. Something about her vulnerability was endearing. “Want me to follow you?”
She shook her head as a look of terror passed over her features. “No, you go ahead.”
I took off, glad to see she didn’t stray too far behind. I could almost keep my eyes on her in my periphery.
“How long is the track?” she asked from behind me.
“Almost half a mile,” I said over my shoulder. “I usually do five miles, eleven laps. We can do less today if you’re not feeling up for it.”
After only a beat of silence, she opened her mouth again. “I’m sorry for dropping in on your improv in the theater yesterday. I really was just coming to practice. The idea of having that stage to myself just seemed so—”