by Amy Daws
“I’m not sure I like being accused of shit for no damn reason,” I rebuffed, crossing my arms to match her provocative stance.
She didn’t seem interested in giving me my helmet anytime soon. Her eyes moved from my head to feet, and I swear I saw a shudder of attraction flash in her clear blue gaze. “I have plenty of reasons not to trust people like you.”
“People like me?” I aggressively nodded.
She returned the gesture. “You heard me.”
“Well,” I exhaled heavily feeling pissed the fuck off now. “It’s nice to know what you think of me.”
“You’ve not done much to show me a different side of you. All I know about you is you’re rich, you have horrid taste in women, and you drive a motorcycle. If that’s supposed to impress me, then you’ve got me all wrong.”
This girl was infuriating! “I don’t think I have you wrong at all. In fact, I think I understand you perfectly.” I leaned down so I could punctuate my point with a good old fashioned glower. Surely she could see we had something here. I couldn’t be the only one to feel it. I couldn’t be!
“And how is that?” she snapped.
I huffed out a large breath and racked my hands through my hair. All I could picture was her on that stage last night and how much her passion affected me. Changed me!
Overwhelmed at the lack of control I had right now, I strode over to her and grabbed her firmly by the arms. My helmet fell to the ground and she looked at me in shock. Before her sassy mouth had a chance to say something to piss me off further, I said, “I do understand you perfectly, Adeline. I may have only known you for a day, but I’ve seen things in you that I’m totally fucking intrigued by. Watching you with Sasha and her sister just now, it’s obvious that you don’t bow down to anyone. But you don’t scream at the top of your lungs. And that is hot as hell to me. You seem to be playing by everyone’s rules, but you are in no way a follower. And I think you might be a pleaser almost to a fault and on some level, I respect that. But what I am into even more…what I love so much I can’t even fucking think straight, is the fact that you have this quiet presence about you. I’m totally fucking turned on by it. Not to mention, you’re talented as hell. And as if all of the other shit wasn’t enough…you look the way you do.”
I watched her carefully as her chin dropped, and she stared at some inanimate object on the floor. My breath came heavily after my rant that even surprised me. She blinked her eyes in rapid succession like she couldn’t believe what the hell just tumbled out of my mouth.
“And you’re a lightweight, even if you won’t admi—” Her body crashed into mine as her lips seized my own in an aggressive, overwhelming kiss.
After the initial shock wore off, my hands groped firmly down her smooth back and cupped her ass, lifting her up onto my hips. Her legs wrapped around me like it was a reflex, not a thought. I stumbled briefly over a duffle bag with tutus flowing out of it and landed her on the edge of her tiny kitchen island counter. Her kisses were desperate as she nipped, licked, and sucked every damn bit of my mouth.
Needing to know if this was real or not, I brought my hands up to cup her face and pulled her away to look deeply into her eyes. Her brow crinkled with worry as whatever came over her lifted away. There was a new expression to her face now though. A tenderness that tugged deeply at some strange place in my heart. She breathed heavily, her chest rising and falling as she stared at my chest.
“I told you I was a mess, Leo. I meant it. I meant every bit of it.” Her voice was shaky, but her reserve toward me was faltering. I could see it all over her face. This was my chance.
“I like messy.” My voice was low and thick with arousal. I glanced at her lips. “Fuck, I think I might even like ballet now.”
Her eyes drifted from my chest to my mouth and then to my eyes. The tiniest of a smirk played at her lips.
That was my cue.
CHAPTER 13 ~ Adeline
I think I might even like ballet now.
Oh, I was certain Leo would be an avid fan of the art when I was finished with him.
My lips collided with his. I showed him just how passionate I was about my medium of choice—on and off stage. My fervor for dance didn’t stop when I stepped out of my pointe shoes. It accelerated whenever I was inspired. And Leonardo Richards was a fucking inspiration. Artistically grinding against him—just like I would if I was interpreting a sensual dance—I moved in sync with the pressure of my lips. I wanted, needed, him to know that when I kissed, I did it with my entire body; that I didn’t do anything half-ass. That when I was passionate about something, or someone, it moved me.
And I moved right back. I rocked my hips against him, rubbing up and down the length of him and enjoyed the sweet bliss of his moan. I tore from his mouth when I slid my fingers through his hair and yanked back. I swallowed his moans, refusing to break this kiss that breathed zeal into my body.
I pressed my heels against his back. He didn’t fight it, fight me, or fight this obvious chemistry exploding between us. I ached for his touch using my entire body. He pushed up my legs and cupped my ass with his hands. His thumbs slipped underneath the thin lace that composed my undergarments. It sent a wave of exhilaration through me. Even so, the sensation was nothing compared to the fucking bliss that followed when he thrust his hips against mine. The pressure—oh, sweet hell! The pressure of his hard body pressed up against the wet lace was enough to do me in.
Keeping me pinned against him, he slid his hands up the small of my back. His thumbs rolled over my stomach as his fingertips inched upward, drifting over my bra. My nipples hardened.
Breaking the kiss, he swore and withdrew his hands. I wasn’t ready to slow down, not yet! A whimper slipped from my lips. He silenced my fears with a heated expression of absolute arousal.
He reached up and untangled my hands from his hair. I dropped my gaze, attempting to reel in my desires. However, he stopped bringing them down when my fingers brushed against the hem of his shirt. He was waiting, not stopping. He wanted me to trust him; even in my intoxicated lust-filled state, I understood that. That he somehow knew I wanted the honor of my trust hit close to home.
“I want you to see me, the real me, not some jacked-up version of a spoiled rich kid like your ex.”
“I want it too.”
He shook his head so fucking slow that it was painful to watch and do nothing. “I don’t think you understand what it is that I really want.”
“Yes,” I said and swallowed the lump in my throat. “I do.”
It had everything and nothing to do with our desires. It had everything and nothing to do with the number of clothes we dropped to the floor. It had everything and nothing to do with the passion burning us alive. What we wanted had nothing to do with a one-night-stand and everything to with the possibility of something more.
“Which is why I can’t sleep with you.”
He took my hand and kissed the back of my wrist, using all sorts of tongue as he sucked on the tender spot. How the fuck did he know that spot was there? I didn’t even know it was there!
“So just tell me when to stop. Trust that I will.”
That word was more powerful than I dared to dissect right now. How could I trust him when I couldn’t trust myself around him?
Nevertheless, I slipped my hands up over his chest. It was excruciatingly slow, but I drank in his sight as I lifted his shirt up inch by inch. Finally, I slipped it over his head. It slid through my fingers as I marveled at his perfect, chiseled body. His body was sculpted like he’d been created just for me. My mouth watered as I memorized the lines of his shoulders, the bulge in his arms, the hardness of his chest, the ripples of his stomach, the fuck-me-stupid v-line that cut to his pants. How could someone be so—
“Fuck, Adeline,” he said, drawing my attention back up to his face. “You’re beautiful.”
My gaze had to be a reflection of the passionate stare he gave me. I leaned up to him and he gave me the kiss I so desperately wanted.
His body damn near engulfed mine when we embraced.
I rolled my hands over the perfection of his chest. My panties were soaked just thinking at the possibility of him inside me. Damn it! I wanted him so bad.
He lowered my back against the counter. For what felt like an eternity, I just laid there as he gazed down at me. He took his time, memorizing my panting body.
Only when an eager moan betrayed me did he touch me again. He slipped his hand down my leg and around to my shoe. Keeping his focus on me, he undid the clasp. The shoe dropped. He undid the other shoe and then brought my foot up. I easily raised my leg to the height of which he wanted. He held my foot like it was a piece of glass. He placed a kiss on my ankle and then made his way up my leg. With each kiss, I drew closer and closer to the edge. With each kiss, his grip tightened.
“Tell me to stop.” His voice was thick and heavy between my legs.
“Don’t stop.” I gasped, gripping anything I could get my hands on.
He mumbled something incoherent under his breath. I damn near came when I looked down the length of my body only to see his beautiful fucking hair between my legs. He was fixated with how my body quivered from his touch. Then he noticed I was staring at him. With our gazes locked, he opened his mouth and licked my skin on my inner thigh.
I held his gaze as long as I could. In the end, controlling my body was no longer my decision. It was his. I was so swollen and ready that the faintest sensation would undo me. That he left my panties on didn’t matter at this point. Gripping my hips, he blew warm air between my legs. I heard myself cry out, but couldn’t silence them, even if I wanted to. The sensation was too much. With my feet on his shoulders, my back arched, he brought me to completion.
I lay on the counter and concentrated on breathing. I dared not open my eyes. My sight was so blurred I couldn’t focus. He lifted me up and waited until I could see straight.
“God damn it, you’re fucking gorgeous.” He picked me up again and walked us over to my small couch.
My cheeks burned. I was gorgeous? Had he seen himself? More sightings of his half-naked body curled up next to me was extremely favorable.
“I’m instating this rule that I need your utmost compliance.”
“Which is?”
“You’re forbidden to wear a shirt in my apartment.”
His smile reached his eyes and he chuckled, “Put it in writing.” He sat down on the couch with me still in tow and tucked my hair behind my ear.
His eyes widened. “Oh shit.”
Alarmed at his change of demeanor I asked, “What?”
“Well, I sorta forgot about this rule I had.”
I raised my eyebrow. What rule?
“See, it is reasons like this, when you respond with a raised eyebrow or crossed arms that I need the rule enforced.”
I narrowed my eyes. What game was he playing? I wasn’t about to be another play thing until he got bored. I wasn’t—
“You have to tell me what you’re thinking,” he said, interrupting my thoughts.
“That’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard. Not everything I think should be said out loud.”
“Fine,” he said. “Stay wound-up tight when people are around, but when it’s just you and me I have to know what you’re thinking.”
“Oh, and do you foresee us having a lot of alone time?”
He smirked in this completely irresistible way. “Hell yes.”
His fingers slipped against mine. He brought my hand up to his lips and placed the softest kiss on my skin.
I said, “Fine, but as a probationary trial only.”
“Then let’s get started with a difficult one.”
Damn it all to hell. All the blood drained from my face. He failed at pretending not to notice. I prayed he understood how big of a deal this was for me to open up. When it came to my heart, I didn’t trust it, not after what Blake had done.
“Well, I’m starved and I would like to take you out on a proper date, but I have no idea what you like, except for way too many shots of Jack Daniels.”
CHAPTER 14 ~ Leo
And just like that, we were sitting across from each other at Manhattan Diner sipping on coffee and eye-fucking the shit out of each other. The energy between us reminded me a lot of last night during her performance and my half hard on was really pissed at me for being a damn gentleman and not just taking what I so badly wanted only 30 minutes ago.
But the fact was…she fucked Blake last night. That detail had not escaped me. I was not much of a sharer. I prefer to be number one with the girl I’m in to and so far, I felt like number three. First Blake, then her dance partner—who I hoped was gay—and then me. I was not cool with that.
As the waitress set down our breakfast orders, Adeline eyed me hard. “So you’re going to tell me I have to tell you everything I’m thinking, but the same rules don’t apply to you?” she asked as she scooped a forkful of scrambled egg whites into her mouth.
“What exactly do you think I’m hiding?” I replied wondering how she could read my fucking mind already.
“Well…one second you’re between my legs and the next second, we’re at a diner.” She paused briefly, taking a sip of her coffee and eyeballing me over her large mug. “I’ve spent my life interpreting body language, Leo, and I feel like something in your demeanor just shifted.”
Had something shifted? I sure as shit didn’t want it to. I just knew I wanted to know more about this girl and who else she kept company with. Starting with the men in her life.
“Tell me about your dance partner,” I said as a demand, not a question.
Her eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Ivan? You want to know about Ivan?”
I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly. Damn I was so not playing it cool here. She smirked ever so slightly and set her mug down, resting her slender arms on the table.
“Ivan and I have been dancing together since I came to New York,” she started. “We were both top of our class at our performing arts schools and when we came to Joffrey, we were just a natural fit. We both take the craft seriously and we both understand the pressures of the ballet world.”
“Is that all?” I replied.
“Is what all?”
“You two ever date?”
Her face blanched slightly, and I felt my cool factor go down a peg. I was not being subtle. I’d known this girl less than twenty-four hours and already I was being a whiny bitch.
“Never dated. Well, not really. Ivan has trouble calming himself down sometimes after a rousing performance, and he tends to take that excitement back stage. He also has a tendency to turn his dance partners into his girlfriends, and I think he assumed the same thing would happen between us. When I didn’t feel the same, it took some adjusting for him. But now we’re best friends. He’s a good guy.”
Fuck. What she said did nothing to calm my nerves. “And Blake?” I asked, knowing we’d need to discuss him at some point.
She sighed heavily and closed her eyes as if in pain. I hated it. I hated that she seemed to still care about him. I hated that he so obviously still affected her. I hated that he ever laid a damn finger on her.
“Maybe we start with what you know, and I’ll fill in the blanks,” she added with a resigning huff.
My jaw ticked in annoyance. “I don’t know much…except for the fact that he was engaged. It was a secret from everyone except…” I stopped myself before saying brotherhood. Fuck, this girl made me lose all my common sense. I’ve never had an issue not talking about the brotherhood before, why the hell does she make me so loose lipped? “His frat brothers,” I finished weakly.
“His frat brothers…” she drawled out slowly. “And how did you find out?”
“I am in the same fraternity.”
Her eyebrows rose. “I see. So you’re just like Blake and his pack of followers?”
“No.” I dropped my fork, and it clacked loudly on my plate of food. “I’m nothing like Blake. I told you, Adeline. I’m not friends with
him. I am a member of Gamma Phi fraternity but that is a small part of who I am. Not everyone at Gamma Phi is like Blake.”
She remained silent, carefully gauging me.
“And before you start thinking crazy things, I wasn’t hiding that information from you. Last night you were a bit too buzzed for me to get into it. I was going to tell you, but I could tell you had hang-ups about the fraternity. I just didn’t want you to focus on that. I wanted to give this a real shot.”
She smirked at that. “So continue then. How did you know about me and Blake then, if even his family didn’t?”
“He told everybody. It was a bit of an uproar.”
“An uproar.” She laughed viciously. “How old are you, Leo?”
“22,” I replied, wondering where she was going with this.
“Me too, so that makes Blake four years older than us. Tell me, why does a twenty-six-year-old man, who’s already graduated from Columbia, still have such a close tie in with his ‘frat brothers’? We were engaged after he’d already graduated.”
I shifted nervously in my seat. “Life in a fraternity is like that. We maintain contacts to help us network in New York City business. The whole town is run by people like this. Surely being in the ballet world, you know what a mind fuck Manhattan’s society is.”
“I do. But there’s something more going on with Blake and his brothers. Why am I a secret? Why would he tell his brothers about our engagement, but not his family?” Her face fell with shame for a brief second.
I wanted to punch the shit out of the table and pretend it was Blake’s face. Instead, I took a long sip of my cooling coffee and tried to formulate a reply that wouldn’t get me into trouble. There were things I still couldn’t tell Adeline. Maybe ever. Secrets that I swore to protect. The fact was, I knew exactly why Blake broke it off with her. But it didn’t mean I respected it.
Blake was still the biggest asshole at Columbia. He was a senior and the president of Gamma Phi when I started as a green-eyed freshman. Coming in as a legacy to be greeted by him didn’t exactly warm my heart. The other pledging freshman drooled at the attention Blake gave them. Aside from Chase and I, they all wanted to be in with him. I think it was that air of confidence and power Blake possessed. He was always the central lifeline to every party and that was appealing to many.
