Center of Gravity

by K. K. Allen

  “Who is that?”

  “Rashni, the owner of Gravity.”

  My heart stopped. “You mentioned him before. Didn’t he—?” I couldn’t bring myself to ask. I’d heard a lot about Rashni. There were photos of him and groups of dancers all over the halls of the center, along with a plaque honoring his life. He died when he was thirty-four. I’d always wondered how. I knew that his wife owned Gravity now, but she was never there.

  “He always walked to and from the rec center when he taught. Never wanted to be seen as different by the community that had practically raised him. He’d built Gravity from nothing when he was a boy. The way it blossomed over the years was all due to his hustle. Hustle he wouldn’t have had if he hadn’t faced some of the worst times growing up. He wanted a better life for himself and others. He wanted a positive outlet to feed his creativity. Just like the zoo housed a place for creativity, that’s what Gravity became for others. To this day, I believe Gravity’s success is due to the origin of it all. Due to Rashni’s passion giving a home to others who needed that type of release. He beat the odds, and he wanted others to beat them too. That’s why he took me under his wing. He saw something in me, and he offered me a place at Gravity to make something of myself.”

  “Sounds like he was an amazing man.” I swallowed. “What happened to him?”

  “Wrong place, wrong time. Some thugs were crawling the streets, looking for money. One man pulled a gun in a convenience store, and he happened to be buying smokes. His fucking worst habit he refused to break. He tried to talk to the robbers, but when that didn’t work, he jumped the man with the gun and got shot in the chest.”

  I placed a hand on his knee and squeezed. “I’m so sorry, Theo. He would be so proud of you.”

  Theo’s jaw tightened, then he nodded. “I hope so. Rashni’s wife, Ananya, runs Gravity now, but she can hardly bring herself to come in.” He rubbed his chest and shook his head. “Shit, that got heavy. You should think twice about asking me questions. I come from a dark place that’s not always fun to go back to.”

  “Your past doesn’t scare me.”

  He gripped my eyes with his. “Maybe it should.”

  CHAPTER 35

  Lex

  Theo excused himself after dinner and started editing the video we’d taken earlier today. After his swift departure, I wondered if leaving was just an excuse to be alone following our conversation about Rashni. My heart broke for him, for Ananya, and for everyone who considered Rashni the hero he was to Theo.

  Before that conversation, I’d expected the night to go differently. I had wanted it to. We had had the perfect day, and I was starting to feel bolder around him, especially after some wine. I was desperate to feel Theo’s lips on mine again, to feel him between my legs. His hot breath on my neck.

  Flustered, I showered off our day at the zoo, feeling the effects of the sun that had stained my skin. The lightness I’d felt from the wine hit me again when I stepped out of the shower. I glanced at my reflection in the mirror. There was a glow to my skin, my eyes appearing brighter than before. My heart kicked, and I smiled. I felt happy, weightless, and free from all the insecurities that had clouded me over the years.

  I couldn’t stop thinking of Theo as I slipped on my rose-gold pajama shorts and matching tank. My hands swept over the silk, up my thighs, over my stomach, and stopped over my breasts, where my strained nipples poked through.

  Heat flashed through me as I remembered batting him away when he tried to touch me yesterday morning. I knew if I had the opportunity again, I wouldn’t bat him away.

  I closed my eyes, imagining what it would be like to be with Theo. To be wrapped in his arms, skin to skin, his hot breath on my neck, gentle grunts in my ear, his length pushing into me, deeper and deeper, until I unraveled like an untamed spool of thread.

  My eyes flew open, my breaths quick, and the space between my thighs heated as a full-body ache gripped me. I shook my head, pushing away my thoughts and letting out a breath. This was ridiculous. My throat burned as my heart pounded. I need water.

  The hall was quiet and dark, with no sign of activity in the room across the hall, where Theo’s bedroom was. I took the stairs to the main floor and entered the kitchen, flicking on the overhead light. I pulled out a water from the fridge and chugged it in long guzzles. After replacing the cap, I leaned against the counter, feeling restless and wide-awake. My eyes landed on the closed door that led to the studio, and I knew of only one way to expel the energy that flowed through me.

  I descended the dimly lit stairwell on my tiptoes, as though I was trespassing, but when I entered the studio and saw the moonlight cast through the arched windows and lighting the center of the room, all anxious thoughts dissolved.

  It took a few seconds to connect my phone to the Bluetooth speaker. I thumbed through my playlist and selected one of my latest favorites, “Confidently Lost.” I loved everything about the soothing track. Sabrina Claudio’s voice, the lyrics, the light percussion, and the highs and lows in the melody—it was all magic.

  My muscles reacted as soon as the first note sounded through the speakers. That was what it was like when the music overtook me, when my soul spoke through my limbs and pushed my every move to the max. Every sensation within me was heightened, and I sailed through the song as if the lyrics were crawling through me.

  As I stood in the center of the room and the final notes of the song faded, bare feet padded toward me, causing my heart to crash like cymbals.

  I looked over my shoulder, our eyes locking on an invisible beat. “Oh.” The word slipped past my lips at the sight of Theo approaching, his torso bare and his damp hair tossed wildly atop his head. My breath caught in my throat as I looked down at where his black sleep pants hung. They were just a drawstring away from falling to his knees, and I wanted to be the one who unknotted them.

  A new track started. The first chords of James Bay’s “Wild Love” surrounded us, and the intro sent a wave of chills over my body. He closed the distance, smelling of soap and mouthwash, as though he’d been on his way to bed. His arm eased around me, fingers skating along my gooseflesh until he reached my middle. Then he pulled me to him until my back was flush with his front.

  I sucked in a breath and looked up into the mirror. I had a clear view of his hooded stare as he leaned in to kiss my neck. “Dance with me.” His voice was gruff, filled with sleep and sex, making my stomach knot and my lids slam shut. Blood sped through my veins like wildfire.

  He took my hand with his, and he guided my hips left, then right—his palm still on my center. The thin fabric of his pants left nothing to the imagination either. He was hard and completely shameless about it.

  As his hand slid from my stomach to my hips and then around to my ass, every conflicting emotion I’d ever felt between us swirled through me. Our first heated exchange in the theater. That horrible moment during the audition when I knew he didn’t want me there. My shock when he barged into the staff room and caught me sleeping, followed by his request for help. Our almost kiss on the Santa Monica Pier, followed by our actual kiss in his car, one block away from Gravity. And now this. Him, dancing with me, for pleasure alone.

  I’d never before danced with someone and felt the lyrics so wholly. Partnering made me vulnerable—it gave a man permission to invade the deepest parts of me.

  And while one song transitioned to another, Theo still didn’t let go. Our breathing was heavy, every inhale as intense as our locked gaze in the mirror. He spun me, pulled me to his chest, and settled both palms on my ass. He squeezed, bringing the material of my shorts higher.

  My breath hitched and my palms rested on his chest, giving him unspoken permission to continue.

  He leaned in, his nose skimming my ear before his lips landed just below it.

  A moan slipped my throat. He kissed that too.

  I felt myself shake. He held me tighter.

  And then he was leaning me back, dipping me until my hair swept the floor. When
he brought me up, his eyes roamed my body until they reached my eyes. “What are you doing to me, Lex?”

  I leaned in, pressing a kiss just below his neck. “Probably the same thing you’re doing to me.”

  Theo’s fingers found my chin, guiding it up until he was peering back at me. Depth to depth, soul to soul. I’d never been so present with anyone in my entire life. “And what’s that?” he asked.

  “Breaking the rules.” I shivered at the sound of my own voice, so foreign, filled with flirtation and want for a man I wasn’t allowed to have. I worried that made me want him more, but deep down I knew that wasn’t true.

  He was nodding, a smile filling his mouth. Then he kissed me. A soul-stealing, heart-shattering, life-altering kiss that detonated everything I’d ever known inside of me. My mouth parted, and his tongue wasted no time tangling with mine. He lifted me off the floor, his hands back on my ass. My legs wrapped around his hips.

  I didn’t know where he was going when he started walking with me, our lips twisted together. But when my back landed against the mirror and his hips pushed into me through our clothes, nothing else mattered.

  My mouth separated from his in a gasp. He took the opportunity to move to my collarbone, sliding his tongue across it before bringing it back to my neck. “Were you hoping I’d come down here and see you?” His teeth nipped my skin, and I could have sworn I felt him smile, knowing.

  My body hummed. “Maybe.”

  “I know you were,” he murmured.

  So cocky. It made me even hotter, and I knew if he pushed into me right then, I would be slick and ready.

  “Did you wear this outfit for me too?”

  My heart was beating out of control. “Maybe.” I swallowed and gasped when his hot mouth hovered above my hard and aching nipple. My eyes squeezed shut, anticipating his next move.

  He brought his mouth down and wrapped his lips around me through the satin of my top, his tongue darting out and swirling in a slow circle. I gasped again when he bit down slightly, shooting sparks off within me.

  This was how it was supposed to feel. Passionate in a breathless sort of way. And wrong in a way that also felt right.

  “You aren’t wearing a bra,” he growled. “That wasn’t very nice of you.”

  God, the things his gravelly voice did to me. I slid my fingers into his hair and ran my teeth along his ear then along his tight square jaw that I loved to hate. When I reached his neck, he pumped his hips into me so hard through our clothes, I thought they would tear off. He ground his hips and whispered my name.

  “Fuck,” I moaned as the ache grew stronger.

  His fingers pressed into my jowls. He tipped my chin back, his eyes blazing as he stared back at me. "What did you say?"

  I could barely breathe, let alone talk. But I tried. "Fuck," I whispered and watched as his expression grew fiery.

  He shook his head. “Your mouth is too pretty for dirty words.” He leaned in, his lips at my ear. My lids slammed shut as I sucked in another breath. “The next time you talk like that, I better be inside you.”

  CHAPTER 36

  Lex

  Theo swung me away from the mirror, our mouths never separating. He carried me through the studio doors, across the foyer, and up the stairs to the kitchen. My ass crashed onto the cool granite of the counter, his hands greedy as they gripped my thighs through my shorts then slid up to fill his palm with my breast.

  “I shouldn’t be touching you like this.” He groaned the words as if they pained him. But if he was trying to stop himself, he was doing a shitty job.

  “You really shouldn’t be.” My voice was dark and dripping with a challenge. “There are rules, Theo.”

  “Fuck the rules.” His eyes opened on mine. “I want to break all the rules with you.” He kissed me again, this time slowly, inhaling through his nose.

  My heart was like a hummingbird in flight, whirring away. “Then what are you waiting for?” I swallowed, knowing exactly what I was giving him permission to do.

  That was all it took. Permission. Words. His mouth crushed mine, his breath heating as I shuddered in his hold.

  “I love your mouth,” he spoke between kisses. “And your skin.”

  I gasped at the feel of his mouth sliding down my silk top between my breasts and over my stomach until he was at my waist. He peered at me as he played with the waistband of my shorts, his finger gliding between the fabric and my skin. I shimmied against the counter, helping him slide them over my ass and down my legs to reveal matching rose-gold silk panties.

  A curse left his mouth when he saw them. “You’re soaked, Lex.” His gaze flew up to mine. “I haven’t even touched you yet.” His thumb moved over my wet opening, circling it slowly as he gazed drunkenly into my eyes.

  Could someone like me really have this effect on him? It sure as hell appeared so.

  I spread my legs, and he looked down to catch the movement. His jaw hardened—this time for a different reason. He hooked his finger around the thin fabric and tugged it to the side. “I’m going to make you feel so good.”

  The hint of the smile on his face had me curious. It was a warning, but it wasn’t until his thick finger entered me that I registered what he meant. My head fell back at the intensity. He brought himself closer, wrapping an arm around my waist and crushing my chest to his. “Tell me you feel this.” He sank deeper, making my insides flutter.

  “I feel it,” I gasped. “Don’t stop.”

  His smile was at my neck. “Oh, I won’t. Not until you scream.”

  Damn it. Why did he have to be so cute … and arrogant … and sexy. And—God, yes—he was good with his fingers.

  He added another digit, the thickness filling me, stretching me. His mouth found my neck and tickled it with a graze of his lips until he reached my ear and nibbled. Too many sensations were knotting my belly, the tension so powerful I knew it wouldn’t be long before I combusted around him.

  His lips practically swallowed mine with his next kiss. It was just the way I’d always imagined kissing Theo, with those fleshy lips like two firm cushions devouring me. He was persistent yet patient as his fingers pumped me relentlessly, working me to a release.

  But just as my muscles tensed and I started to feel the first hint of an orgasm, his fingers pulled out, and he shook his head. My insides screamed to feel him again.

  “Patience, Lex.” He stepped back, his amused eyes scrolling over me.

  “What are you doing?” My breathing grew rapid as I wondered what form of torture he was planning next.

  “I’m about to make you come all over my tongue. And then all over my cock.”

  And with those words, he tore my panties down my legs before flinging them across the room.

  He grabbed my feet on his way back up and placed them at the edge of the counter. “Arch your back for me.”

  I must have hesitated too long, unsure of what he meant. His hands moved under my ass, guiding my pelvis into the air so my back was arched and only my shoulder and head were pressed into the counter. “Oh,” I said as he pushed my knees apart, spreading them wide as he pulled me forward to the edge.

  My head grew warm as I felt him breathe against my opening. “I love how flexible you are,” he murmured before swiping me with his tongue. I closed my eyes, anticipating what was to come. Fearing it but wanting it more.

  There was so much I hadn’t told Theo yet. So much that hadn’t come up in conversation. Like the fact that I’d never had sex before. I hadn’t even had an orgasm that wasn’t self-achieved. I didn’t know how he would take that. I didn’t know if it would completely ruin the buzz, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to bring it up tonight.

  His tongue tasted me again before his mouth closed around me and sucked on my clit. My toes curled, and my eyes went wide. “Holy crap.”

  He chuckled, causing a vibration that made my eyes roll into the back of my head. Theo was way too good at his … ministrations. I shouldn’t have been happy about that, consid
ering he’d probably had tons of practice, but in that moment, I was deliriously okay with it.

  He took his time, using my reactions as a way to control the way he moved his mouth against me, teasing me.

  “Theo,” I finally begged. I was so close to the edge and so afraid he would pull away again.

  This time, he didn’t. His mouth stayed on me as he added a finger, curling and uncurling it inside me to a speed that matched my heart rate. I came hard, my back still arched, my cheek pressed into the light-gray granite, and my scream loud and unashamed.

  He stood as my pelvis sank back down, my tired legs slipping off the edge of the counter. He pulled me to a sitting position, and our mouths crashed together. It took a moment for me to realize the new taste on his mouth was mine.

  His hands drifted up my skin, bringing my top with it. It landed softly on the counter, leaving me completely bare for him. His eyes darkened as he took me in.

  “Jesus, Lex. You are insanely beautiful.” His fingers wove through mine as he stared back into my eyes. “How are you single?” Heat crawled up my cheeks.

  I sank my teeth into my bottom lip, wondering if this was the time to tell him about my misfortune. That it wasn’t easy to find a boyfriend when your best friend, an attractive male, was always by your side. Or that one fateful night had made me fearful of intimacy until recently.

  I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but Theo shook his head and kissed me softly. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter. You’re mine tonight.”

  I tried not to let my mind linger on his last word, a word that made me wonder if that was all this was. A one-night thing. He swooped me up into his arms and carried me up another flight of stairs as though my weight was inconsequential and set me on the edge of his bed.

  His pants tented where his erection stood, and I reached for him, dragging a finger across his skin where bare skin met the elastic waist of his pants. But as soon as I reached for his string, he stepped away with a smile and made his way to his dresser on the other side of the room.