by Alta Hensley
“Clara,” I called out, voice echoing around the empty room. “Clara, are you still in here?”
When she didn’t answer me, I started to think I might have missed her, and maybe she’d actually gotten dressed quicker than everyone else and had already left the theater. I turned to walk away, and that was the moment I heard a clattering from the other side of the room where the door to the showers was slightly ajar.
Entering the tiled room, I called out again. “Clara, I have something for you. I wanted to give it to you now before—”
Holy fuck!
My voice cut off, and I found myself standing dead in the middle of the room like a statue when I finally saw her as she stepped out of the shower stall. It was as if my limbs had completely iced over, freezing me in position, even while all of me heated up painfully. My brain screamed at me to move, but my body wasn’t paying any attention.
Clara was basically naked…
I needed to get the hell out of there or at least have the decency to turn around. I did neither. Instead, I raked my eyes slowly up and down her frame, taking in every single inch of the most gorgeous sight I’d ever seen.
That body! Her bare ass wasn’t only heart-shaped, it was beautifully sculpted, my fingers instantly curling as if desperate to grab hold and never let go. And when she turned to face me, with breasts slick from the shower, I discovered that the wing I’d seen earlier belonged to an exquisitely rendered dove in flight. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from where the bird’s head lay right above where Clara’s heart would beat with her every breath.
It was as if I’d never seen a pair of tits before, but I hadn’t. At least none as gorgeous as hers. She was a freaking Greek goddess.
When a water droplet reluctantly released its hold on a tightly furled nipple to slip down the plane of her stomach, my eyes followed it all the way to where her hand clutched a washcloth in front of her. I immediately wanted to rip it away from her in order to gaze upon what I knew had to be absolute perfection. I was a grown-ass ma and yet that single square of white cloth covering her sex had the power to turn me into a drooling idiot.
I suddenly realized I was gawking at her like an untried teenager, openmouthed and everything. If she didn’t think I had the hots for her before, she sure as hell did now. I couldn’t stop staring at that fucking washcloth, hoping she would drop it to the floor. It took everything within me to lift my gaze to meet hers. It was only when I met those stunning eyes I snapped out of my frozen state.
“I have something for you,” I forced myself to say. “I’ll wait for you outside.”
Ten words were all I trusted myself to utter before I turned and walked back through the door, not stopping until it clicked shut behind me.
Fuck.
With a strangled groan, I realized the word wasn’t only obscene, it had my dick threatening to split my pants at the thought of the activity it wished to engage in. “Fuck,” I repeated, my hand dropping instantly to shift my cock, which was pulsing beneath my jeans as if angry at not being unleashed to do what we both knew I wanted.
I leaned against the ice-cold wall behind me and suddenly realized she hadn’t even tried to hide herself. She’d simply stood there, not a single muscle moving, staring at me — almost daring me to look my fill.
Could that mean… Had she wanted me to stay?
Another groan escaped at the mere thought of being with her, which had my hand returning to my cock and squeezing it tightly through the denim before I erupted like some sort of perverted peeping Tom.
Why did she have to be so fucking sexy? I’d worked with hundreds of women of all ages. All with bodies toned as their very occupation required they be physically fit. All had been attractive as well, but not a single one held a candle to the beauty who stood in the room behind the wall I was leaning against.
From the moment I’d taken over the business with my brother, I’d made it a point never to date a dancer in our company. Fucking one could lead to so many problems it wasn’t even funny, but that knowledge wasn’t really helping me right now. I’d never had a sizzling sexual chemistry quite as intense as this one — especially not with someone I’d never even touched intimately. That combined with the bond I really felt like we were forming, as well as an emotional connection I couldn’t explain, was driving me to new levels of recklessness.
Get your head together. This cannot happen. It’s really as simple as that.
“Hey,” her soft voice sounded from behind me, making me jump like an unhinged loon. “You wanted to talk to me about something?” she asked, far politer than I deserved.
“Oh, yeah… I…” Shit, I was getting flustered. What the hell was the matter with me? She was already required to be a lot stronger than everyone else because of her past, and having to deal with a lust-crazed boss wasn’t something she deserved. “I got these for you,” I said as I held out the pink shoes.
She took them, and we both watched them spinning on the end of the satin ties she held them by as if it were some incredible feat of physics instead of simple gravity. I dragged my eyes up to her face and saw her lips curl into a small smile.
“Um, thank you,” she said quietly. “I know mine were getting a bit dingy…”
“No,” I said, not wanting her to think I’d been embarrassed at her footwear. “I mean, that had nothing to do with it. I wanted to get you a welcome gift and…” I shrugged, reaching out to still the shoes’ movement. “I know dancers go through several pair a year.”
“Thank you, Alek. I’ve never had someone be so thoughtful. You really shouldn’t have. I don’t deserve—”
“Stop,” I interrupted. “I — we — brought you into this theater to help build up other people. Not to beat up yourself.”
I watched as she released the satin ties and lifted her arms to throw them around my neck for a hug, and I could feel myself going into shock. I didn’t know how I could be wrapped up in those arms, pressed up against those amazing breasts and flat stomach, knowing what her body was truly like beneath her clothing, without exploding. I was already filled with a buzzing lust that threatened to unman me. I couldn’t make it worse.
But it was too late to back out now. She was coming at me.
The moment seemed to fall into slow motion. She touched me, filling me with a bolt of electricity unlike any I’d ever experienced before. I looked down, my lips opening to inform her no thanks were necessary when I noticed her lips were pursed and she was coming in to kiss my cheek.
I couldn’t stop it if I wanted to, and I certainly didn’t want to stop. I’d already proven I was a complete ass, so why stop now? I had just enough time to cup the back of her head and tilt it, taking control. Instead of a quick buss to my cheek, my lips crashed none too gently against hers. I increased the pressure, my tongue running along the seal of her lips, demanding they part enough to let my tongue slip inside her mouth.
Forget the rules.
Rules were for others — not for me.
Not when that first taste had me craving more. Passion conquered any hint of resisting the forbidden. I was no match to this beauty. My tongue dueled with hers as I pulled her closer.
A soft whimper had me drawing away enough to allow her to whisper, “I shouldn’t.”
“I shouldn’t. We shouldn’t,” I said in agreement, but wrapped my free arm around her waist, lifting her onto her toes as my other hand drew her mouth back to mine.
Passion multiplied, and I lost full control. The powerful lust took over, and all rational thought vanished as we kissed like I had never kissed before.
I didn’t know if anyone was still in the theater. I didn’t know if Yuri would walk in at any moment. I didn’t care. I couldn’t focus on reality when I had my tongue inside Clara’s mouth.
Reason screamed inside my head, but I fought against it as I pulled Clara hard against my chest. If it weren’t for the way she clung to me, I was positive she’d crumple to the ground. Her breath became mine until our hearts beat wi
th the same rhythm. We were slowly merging as one with this all-encompassing kiss until we had to come up for air.
We shared another long frozen moment in time looking at each other. Her clothes might now be hiding her nakedness, but that didn’t change the fact I wanted her with every fiber of my being.
“Alek…”
“I know. I know,” I said as I abruptly released her and stalked out of the room before I made the biggest mistake of my life. It was only when my office door slammed behind me that I realized my fingers were tangled in long satin ribbons the exact color of Clara’s skin, flushed from her shower.
“God damn it!” I snarled, ripping the shoes free and throwing them against the wall.
I’d said “I know,” but that had been a fucking lie. I was lost and drowning in the waves of emotion that kiss had caused. I didn’t know a fucking thing.
8
Alek
“You kissed her? Are you out of your mind?” Baker snarled into the phone before his tone changed into one far less accusatory, “How was it?”
Mind blowing.
Heart stopping.
Fireworks inducing.
“I don’t know.” I decided to act blasé, to not allow my feelings to show too much for the moment. After all, this was more of a fact-finding conversation now.
I shouldn’t have kissed Clara. I was pretty damn sure the moment shouldn’t have lasted as long as it did, and her arms certainly shouldn’t have snaked around my neck as mine pulled her so close I felt every rise and fall of her breasts, could feel the heat of her… fuck it! I was not going there!
But now that all those things had happened, I felt like I had to know more about this woman. I knew a little from my research, and I knew some from our conversations, but Baker had actually sat down with her and had interviewed her face to face. If anyone could tell me a little more about what sort of woman she was, it was this man.
“Look, it was an impulsive act that shouldn’t have occurred. I don’t know what I was thinking. It’s like the moment I saw her naked, my other head—”
“You saw her naked?”
Shit! This was so not the conversation I’d planned when I’d dialed his number. Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to stop acting like an idiot and get myself under control.
“Not relevant,” I said, not about to answer his question. “That’s not anyone’s business, but—”
“Don’t get your panties in a wad,” Baker said with a chuckle. “Besides lust, which you obviously have for her, and might I state that there isn’t a soul on earth who could blame you, do you actually like the girl?” he asked in a hushed tone as if he thought someone might overhear his question.
That someone most likely being my brother.
“I’m not sure,” I replied cautiously. “I wish there was a simple answer. Putting the theater and professionalism aside, I don’t know too much about her. What do you think?”
“That’s a tough question,” he said. “I mean, she really does seem like a nice woman, and she definitely has a good heart from the little she allowed me to see during our interview. She dotes on her granny, and though I know she needs the money, I checked around and learned she cuts her rates to the bone whenever a prospective student can’t afford to attend her classes. I got a good vibe from her.”
I knew she had an intense bond with her grandmother and knew it took a special type of person to be a caregiver for anyone. I wasn’t really surprised to learn that caring extended to her making sacrifices to keep another little girl’s dreams from dying.
“What else?”
Baker continued, “There’s a risk with her.”
There was that word again, the word that seemed to sum up Clara Simyoneva entirely.
Risk.
“The addictive side to her can’t be questioned. She was definitely in rehab and no matter how ‘cured’ she might claim to be, you can’t guarantee the craving for drugs or alcohol is truly gone. And finally, and definitely not least, there is the matter of you know who.”
I did, and the very fact a seasoned reporter spoke of Kosloff as if he were some character in a book who shall not be named told me Baker wasn’t just a tad bit concerned. I didn’t like the idea of having anything to do with the mafia or the men who ran it no matter what country they were in. That was something my father’s death had indelibly instilled in me.
Never get involved with the bratva as that road only led to one destination.
Pain.
“Did she tell you the details about everything that had happened with the man?” I asked, hoping to get a clearer story.
“Unfortunately, no,” he said. “We talked about it a little, but in all honesty, every time I attempted to dig deeper, she skirted the issue. I was afraid to press as I didn’t want her to walk out. I wanted it to be a positive interview. One more focused about her future. Unfortunately, that was my downfall in the end anyway. The editor wouldn’t publish it because it wasn’t juicy enough. All they really wanted was the dirt.”
“That’s typical… a fucking shame as I’d had higher regards for the Chicago Sun Times than for your typical tabloid, but hardly a surprise,” I murmured, barely listening once he’d admitted to backing off in the interview.
Instead, my mind was all over the place. What the hell was I going to do now? Was I really willing to break all of my cardinal rules for this woman? Sure, I felt an intense connection with her, but I couldn’t honestly deny there was a good chance it was a physical thing. If that was the case, then it would fade away eventually anyway. Brief infatuation was really not worth risking everything I’d spent my life working toward.
But sweet Jesus. That kiss.
How could I even look her in the eye again? How would I be in the same room with her without remembering how she’d melted in my arms from the heat of that kiss? This was the exact reason why I knew I shouldn’t get close with anyone at work. It would be damn near impossible to be around Clara again without these questions churning my insides, much less having to deal with the memory of those soft lips and that incredible body against mine.
Imagining Yuri finding out about the kiss was enough to have me shutting it all down even more. If he were to hear anything about this, then my little brother would have a real reason to give me hell. He’d enjoy every fucking moment, too, and that was the last thing I wanted.
But it would be deserved. I couldn’t flaunt the rules and taunt the devil and not expect to be placed squarely in hell.
9
Clara
My heart pounded at rapid speed as I gripped the barre backstage, waiting for my cue to make my very first appearance on stage. Tonight’s performance signified the beginning of my new career. This made all my recent decisions so much scarier, much more real, and the full force of my new life was really beginning to affect me.
Training was one thing. It had been hard enough to win the other dancers over — which I’d succeeded at least a tiny bit — but it was a battle I still fought day by day. I was also acutely aware winning the respect of the ballet world as a whole was going to be something else.
Moving mindlessly through one position to the next to give myself something to do, I used the time to steady my nerves, attempting to calm myself. I knew once I stepped onto the stage, I was heading back into the limelight, and all that came with it.
I was not only scared for me about going into this. Although I was really not looking forward to the idea of even more negative publicity, I worried what that negativity would do to others who didn’t deserve it. I was also scared for my grandmother and her health. She had been thrilled, over the moon for me to return to the one thing that had always made me so happy, especially when she saw how serious I was about my comeback. But I was afraid about having to leave her alone. She’d been okay so far. We’d been introducing the help of home healthcare nurses, and all had been fine, but I was still around at the moment. It wasn’t always going to be that way. If tonight went well and sponsors began
to want me again…
“Okay, Simyoneva,” Yuri said in a quiet but firm tone as he maneuvered through the obstacles of ropes, lights, props, and dancers as if they didn’t exist. “I’ve been thinking about it. Because of the fact that somehow more press than the few we contacted found out about this little show, and because of how we are trying to move forward and not look back, you know I’d already decided we need to do zero interviews before the opening curtain. And depending how the performance goes tonight, maybe none after.”
I didn’t know if I wanted to jump up and hug the man thanking him for saving me from the ugliness I well knew could be hidden behind supposedly innocent questions, or to shout at him in anger asking what the hell he was thinking. Not only were interviews part of the gig, they were part of my contract. Alek expected me to not only perform flawlessly on stage, he was counting on me putting myself out there and building up the ballet company. I’d not said anything when Yuri informed me pre-performance interviews had been nixed. Even if some of the dancers considered it a sign I wasn’t trusted not to destroy the company’s reputation, I’d convinced myself allowing the mystery to build a bit had its benefits. But if I didn’t show my face after the curtains closed, how would the other dancers see me? I’d lose any respect I’d worked my ass off to build over the past few weeks. And there was the matter of the penalty I’d be expected to pay for failure to live up to my contract. Even though exactly what that would entail had remained unanswered, I wasn’t especially eager to find out.
Mysteries ran both ways, and I wasn’t ready to find out what price Alek would extract from me. He’d been avoiding me ever since he’d seen me naked… or rather, ever since he’d eye-fucked me from a distance and then practically shoved his tongue down my throat moments later before abruptly releasing me and stomping out of the room. I felt my body heating at the memory and instantly shut down that path, looking up at Yuri, ready to argue with him.