by K. K. Allen
Jimmy audibly sighed. “You don’t have to answer that, Bash.” He cut a look at Dirk. “We don’t have much time left. The last thing we want to do is make our entire cast uncomfortable, and I’m afraid you did a great job of that today. Let me do my job.”
Dirk raised his palms like he was about to call a truce. “Look. I’m just here to make sure we have a smooth show come Thursday night.”
“We’ve got it covered.” I could feel the heat of my words as they streamed through my teeth.
A challenge gleamed in Dirk’s eyes. “All right, Bash, I’ll back down for now. But I’ll be watching. If Kai so much as snaps a heel in the middle of a show, we’re going to have another conversation, and the next one won’t end well for you or for Kai.”
At that, I clenched my jaw so that I wouldn’t ruin the fact that Dirk had just backed down. I still didn’t like his threat, but I knew that was the best I would get.
“Just do us all a favor and let Jimmy do his job. Keep your mouth shut then, yeah?”
I walked away, fully aware of the kettle I’d just left on the burning stove. He was already sizzling, and since he wasn’t getting what he wanted, he would soon explode.
Chapter 33
Kai
Loud eighties music blared so loudly from the nightclub that I could hear it on my approach. I could see the dancing lights, the manufactured fog, and a room full of happy faces. I could hear the laughter, the screaming chatter, and feet stomping around the floor. Everything about the scene a mere six feet from where I stood was a celebration of everything we’d accomplished over the past two months.
I didn’t want to celebrate. I wanted to head straight back to my room, flip off the lights, and curl up in a ball on my mattress and forget everything about today’s rehearsal. Dirk hated me, that much was clear. And he’d managed to tap into every insecurity I’d ever had about dancing and made me actually question myself to the point that I’d considered how quickly I could pack my bags and leave the ship. But then I splashed some cold water on my face, looked up into the mirror, and realized his verbal attacks had nothing to do with me and everything to do with the man who’d slept with his wife.
Somehow, I’d become a target. Maybe Dirk found out that Sebastian and I were a thing and wanted revenge. Or maybe Dirk just wanted to get under Sebastian’s skin, but either way, the dice rolled had nothing to do with how great the show had been coming together, how hard I’d worked, or how much I deserved to be on that stage with everyone else.
“Hey, Kai.” Jake walked up behind me and wrapped an arm over my shoulders. “I was hoping you’d come.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” The sarcasm all over my expression before I smiled made him smile right back.
“Do you need to talk about it? Not that any of what Dirk was saying was true. You’re amazing, Kai. I wouldn’t want to dance with any other Grace.”
I smiled. Despite the effort he’d put into coming onto me when we’d first met, we’d become good friends and even better dance partners. “Thank you, Jake. But don’t worry. I know enough to know that I don’t know anything.”
Jake threw his head back, laughed, and squeezed my shoulders again. “Well, that makes two of us. What do you say? Want to hit the dance floor?”
“Yes.” My shoulders felt a whole lot lighter with Jake by my side. I sure as hell didn’t want to talk to Sebastian. I hooked my arm in his. “Only if you buy me a drink first.”
“You didn’t even have to ask.”
The moment we entered the chic modern nightclub, energy blasted my senses, soothing whatever worries still remained. The night was going to be a good one.
I was immediately handed a shot by one of the chorus dancers, Ronnie. He pointed at the glass, his token of sympathy for what he’d witnessed earlier. “You earned that, girl,” he screamed over the music. “Enjoy your night.” He winked and danced his way back to the bar.
Jake waited while I leaned my head back and tossed the drink down my throat, letting the tequila ignite a new fire in me, one that wouldn’t allow anyone—or anyone’s past—to sabotage my dreams.
I pushed my arms up in the air. “Woohoo!” I cheered, and the crowd around me cheered too.
Jake laughed and tugged me toward the bar. “C’mon.”
And that was how the night went. I drank too much, danced nonstop, and celebrated a role I’d busted my ass for.
I saw no sign of Dirk or Claudette, thank God. I did catch glimpses of Sebastian, who sat at the bar. He seemed to have his eyes on me whenever I looked over at him, but he didn’t make any attempts to talk to me, which I appreciated—not here, not during a celebration. However, the moment I excused myself from the party, hours later, and jetted toward the nearest set of elevators, he was right on my tail.
He didn’t speak. Didn’t even look at me. He just followed me and waited for the doors of the elevator to close before making any sort of move. “Today was fucked up. I’m sorry, Kai. Dirk won’t speak to you like that again.”
I wished I could believe him, but I was still furious. “It doesn’t matter. I know he only said those things to rile you up. And it worked. Jimmy kicked me out of rehearsal.”
I looked at him, wishing I hadn’t. His green eyes looked so lost, so sad, that all I wanted to do was throw myself into his arms and go back to the way things had been over the past two weeks.
He cursed under his breath. “C’mon, Kai. What did you expect me to do? Just let him go after you for bullshit reasons? If I hadn’t stopped him, he would have just kept doing it. You know what that kind of thing can do to a person, let alone an entire cast? I can’t apologize for sticking up for you.”
I sucked in a breath, and a shaky one came out. I’d worn my bravado confidently all night. I laughed, I danced, I sang, but nothing made me feel as good as being together with Sebastian and finally giving in to the force of gravity and letting whatever felt natural lead the way. I wanted that back. I wanted us without the baggage.
“I’m just so pissed at you,” I finally said. “Why did you have to sleep with Dirk’s wife, of all people? He’ll never let you live it down.”
Sebastian nodded, and he swallowed. “He won’t. You’re right.”
I felt myself shaking. An entire day’s worth of my emotion was finally unleashing on the one person who should be my strongest rock. “This is my career.”
“You think I don’t know that? Look, I’ll take care of Dirk. You just focus on the show, okay? I’ve been dealing with the guy for years. None of this should fall on you.”
Angry as I still was, I nodded thankfully, trusting that his words were true. I wanted to feel like Dirk couldn’t touch me. “Okay.” But Dirk’s shitty directions today weren’t the only reason for my anxiety. “Sebastian, why is Claudette here? I thought they divorced.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know the status of their relationship. Maybe they’re back together, but Dirk wants to bring Claudette on as your understudy.”
“What?” I felt like I’d just been slapped. “Madeline is my understudy. You can’t take that away from her.”
“Which is why I told him no. Jimmy had my back. Claudette’s going back to New York.”
“And that’s it?” I searched his eyes with mine. “And then this drama with her is over? Because I can’t take any more, Sebastian. Your past can’t keep getting in the way of my future. Our future.” I took a step forward in an effort to plead with him, like I had the power to change anything.
“Yes,” he said. But something in his expression told me he didn’t quite believe it. I hoped that was just my paranoia.
Sebastian held out a hand when the elevator dinged. I took it, and we walked down the hall in silence. We stopped at my door while I placed my keycard on the sensor.
“Come to my room,” he pleaded.
We’d been spending every night in his room for the simple fact that his bed was bigger, but tonight, I hesitated.
“You can’t be mad at me because of my past
.”
I released my card from the door and turned to face him. He had a point. I still loved him even though I’d never uttered the words aloud.
“So what happens now?” I asked.
Sebastian wrapped an arm around my waist and cupped my cheek with his other hand. “Everything goes on as planned except…” His eyes searched mine as if he couldn’t figure out how to phrase his next thought. “Just watch out for Dirk, okay? Keep your distance. And tell me if he confronts you in any way. Everyone knows we’re together, but we probably shouldn’t rub it in Dirk’s nose. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to use it against us. The less ammo he has, the better.”
I swallowed. “Okay. I get it.”
Sebastian pressed his lips to mine before pulling back with a smile. “Now. How about a massage?”
A flight of flutters took off in my chest, and I smiled. “I think it’s the least you can do for me, Mr. Chase.”
He pushed open his door with a grin, gesturing for me to enter. “After you, Ms. Ashley. Feel free to leave your clothes on the floor.”
Chapter 34
Sebastian
My offer to massage Kai had been a purely sexual one, but once I oiled her down and started working on her back, I definitely felt the tension she was carrying. The stress from that day was surely the cause of the bulk of it, which was why I did what I could to relieve her of her aches and pains while my own aches and pains were seconds away from bursting through my knickers.
“Your hands are magical.” Her words sounded like they were floating on a moan. “This is a way better stress reliever than running.”
I adjusted my position, fighting the urge to strip down and give Kai the happy ending she deserved. “Not for me.”
She chuckled. “Want me to do you next?”
I had to bite back the urge to flip her over and fuck her for teasing me. “You’re going to be Jell-O by the time I’m done with you. Do you just want me to work on your back?” I pressed my thumbs on either side of her spine and dragged them down to the top of her bum. I smiled as she wiggled below me.
“I don’t know. You’re the professional. You picked up that fancy massage oil and everything. Do you recommend tending to any other regions?” Her tone reeked of flirtation with a touch of innocence, but I’d quickly become accustomed to Kai’s ways. She loved when I took the lead and surprised her, but only because I knew her boundaries.
“I think it’s better if I show you.” I smacked her bum cheek and watched it jiggle inches from where I ached the most. “Flip over.”
I moved off her, allowing her room to turn then moaning with approval at the goddess on my bed. “Damn,” I sighed.
She was completely naked, her perfect brown nipples hard and crying out for my attention. I ran a hand up her stomach with a feather-light touch, stopping at the peaks of her breasts before circling them with the pads of my thumbs.
“I can see how much pain you’re in. Lucky for you, I know just the cure.”
She grinned and reached for the oil then handed it to me. “Knock yourself out, sir.”
I glared back at her. She was fully aware of the current situation of my arousal, but she was a vixen—one I couldn’t turn down or get enough of.
“Oh, I will.” I poured a generous serving of oil into my palm and patted her stomach with it before smoothing it out on every exposed section of her skin.
When I reached her breasts and started massaging the liquid in with both hands, her eyes fluttered closed, and she moaned like she was in a dream. Fuck me.
“Sebastian.” She practically purred as I slid my hands from her breasts and worked them down to her perfectly smooth center. “That feels so good,” she moaned again as I spread the oil over her sensitive bundle of nerves.
As she sighed and reacted to my delicate touch, I couldn’t stop watching her. Kai was the type of raw beauty I’d never known existed until she showed up in my life, demanding to be taken seriously. I was a fool to think I could resist the pull she had on me. My resistance only made me fall harder in the end. I was definitely a goner—gone over the girl with pink tights and fire in her eyes, gone to the moon in love with a woman I wanted to protect with every fiber of my being.
I slipped two fingers between her legs, taking her the extra mile with a rhythm much like a foxtrot as I fluttered inside her: quick, quick, slow… quick, quick, slow. Finally, the crescendo came, much as in one of my compositions, where I brought her to the edge and held her there for as long as possible… until she couldn’t go anywhere but over.
Her cry of ecstasy soared from her throat as she convulsed around my fingers and practically squeezed the life out my most precious assets. That was probably not the time to tell her that my hands were insured.
I swallowed her final moan with a kiss then bit down on her lip. “You always come harder when you’re pissed off at me.”
She chuckled. “You’re so cocky.”
I pressed my pelvis into her. “I know.”
“Your turn.” She sat up, her lazy eyes locking on mine before pulling my mouth to hers in an explosive kiss I could feel ricocheting in the organ pounding rapidly in my chest. “Lie down, Sebastian.”
I did as she asked, bringing her mouth with me, not ready to part from her flavor. She was like shaved ice served with a layer of sweet cream at the bottom. I thought I’d gotten my fill of all the sugary goodness but then reached the bottom and realized she’d saved the best for last.
She slid my boxer briefs down slowly, as if unsure of what she would unleash once the chains were removed. And there he was, springing to life, eager and ready for whatever Kai had planned. Her eyes traveled over it as her fingers gently moved up the terrain, exploring like it was her first time. And in a way, it was. She’d never taken me in her mouth, never tasted me before riding me like a fucking queen… my queen. My Kai.
I gasped the moment her hot mouth took me in, wetting me delicately before fitting me so far down her throat I thought she’d gag from my length. She moaned around me, sending vibrations from my dick to every other morsel of my being.
I threaded my fingers through her hair, wanting to feel her move as she sucked me, bobbing and moaning in her delight.
“Yes, Kai. Yes.” Those were the only coherent words I could utter as she built me up until I knew I would come in a matter of seconds. God damn, this woman will be the end of me.
“Stop, Kai,” I pleaded. “I want to fuck you.”
She had just taken me all the way down her throat, and her eyes met mine as she started to slide me out with one long suck.
“Fu-u-uck.”
She knelt atop me like a good girl at the confessional. But I didn’t want her to confess her sins with me tonight. I wanted her to be the reason she had to attend church in the morning.
I scrambled off the bed and rolled on a condom then moved back to Kai. I picked her up and wrapped her legs around my waist and moved her to the back wall of my room. A porthole window had a ledge there that I’d dreamt of having Kai on. It was the perfect height and the perfect width. So that’s where I placed her, never taking my mouth from hers.
When I sank inside her again and again, her back against the ocean and her hands digging into my shoulders, I realized all the shit I’d been through over the past seven years had only led me to Kai. And it was worth every tortured second.
Chapter 35
Kai
A strip of velvet was covering my eyes, and a strong hand wrapped mine as Sebastian pulled me through the crew deck’s sliding glass door. The last four days of dress rehearsal had gone by relatively smoothly. I became a pro at ignoring Dirk’s angry stares as I became more comfortable on stage. That night would be our first performance, and excitement was bubbling in my chest.
The ship was about to sail away from the dock, and we had only thirty minutes before we needed to be in the theater for our final dress rehearsal. But Sebastian insisted I come with him to the crew’s private sail-away party. He also insist
ed he put a blindfold on me because he had a surprise.
A gust of wind whipped my hair and cool air swirled around me as I stepped onto the outside deck. Sebastian was right behind me and leaned into my ear. “You can look now.”
I reached for the blindfold and pushed it off my eyes to find my best friend standing there with a giant grin on his face and his eyes sparkling brightly.
“Surprise!”
My heart felt like it was going to explode. I ran forward and threw myself into his arms. “I don’t know how you managed this, but I’m so happy you’re here!”
Wayne chuckled and held me an arm’s length away. “This was all Sebastian.”
I looked over my shoulder, my throat tight as tears threatened to spill down my cheeks. “But how? The cruise is sold out for months.”
Sebastian shrugged. “There are always a few cabins reserved for friends and family of the crew. You couldn’t let Wayne miss your debut on the stage.”
Wayne hugged me again. “Hope you don’t mind, but I brought some friends.”
Shane stepped around him, throwing up his hands. “The party’s here!” He looked ridiculous in a Hawaiian shirt completely unbuttoned, a straw hat way too big for his head, and black shades resting on his nose.
Then I noticed Lex and her boyfriend, Theo, laughing behind him.
We all exchanged hugs before I turned my focus on Shane. “You realize it’s December in LA right now, right? Aren’t you cold?”
He waved a hand in front of his face. “It’s all in the mind, baby girl.” He pulled the straw of a colorful frozen drink to his mouth and sucked, shivering when a dose of it went down his throat.
“Aww, where’s Amie and Tobias?”
“They have three games this week, but Amie wanted me to tell you to kick ass. She really wishes she could be here.” Lex was talking about basketball games since our friends, Amie and Tobias worked for the NBA.
