Prima

by Alta Hensley

  Before long, Yuri was dragged away by some of the other dancers, leaving me and Clara alone.

  “Are you enjoying yourself?” I smiled at her, wanting to put her at ease.

  “I guess so.” She hesitated and then added, “But honestly, going out and getting wasted really isn’t my thing. Maybe once upon a time, but not anymore.”

  Her feelings matched mine exactly, which gave me the perfect opening. “How about we get out of here? Are you up to a nice, quiet walk back to the theater instead? I have my car there and well…”

  Shit, am I acting too forward?

  My pulse rate skyrocketed as I glanced down at her, waiting for her to answer.

  She looked over at the others, who were getting louder by the minute, and nodded. “Sounds like a great idea. I would love to.”

  I set the tray down and then took her arm. I wasn’t sure if anyone saw us leaving or not, but I didn’t really give a damn. Clara was worth whatever it took, even if that meant I had to put up with Yuri pouting for months.

  “Wow,” Clara said as we stepped into the empty theater fifteen minutes later. “It’s so quiet, but there’s still an energy in the atmosphere.” Turning, she smiled. “I know that sounds silly, but I swear I can almost see the musical notes swirling all around us. Do you stay here when it’s empty a lot?”

  “Not always,” I said. “Whenever I’m behind on bills and paperwork, I guess. But usually this place stays pretty active. And I don’t think you sounded silly. This has always been my happy place. It’s where I feel most comfortable in the whole world.” I didn’t really know why I was telling her that, but I couldn’t seem to stop the truth from spilling past my lips.

  “So,” Clara said as she shot me a killer smile, “do you know how to dance? Have you ever been on the stage yourself?”

  I smirked. “I could give you a run for your money.”

  She laughed and, when I only quirked my brow, she shook her head. “Really? You’re that good?”

  “I learned by watching the best.”

  “Did you ever go pro?” Clara asked.

  “No. I never felt the need. My father was always training someone else, and my mother was the true star. I didn’t really mind. I was incredibly proud of her and never felt the need to join her… at least not professionally.” I paused remembering the times we’d dance together in a darkened, empty theater like this one.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up sad memories,” Clara said softly.

  “You didn’t,” I assured her. “They are memories I’ll cherish until the day I die. I really loved the business side of running a company. I always knew I’d take over the family business one day and looked forward to the possibility of discovering someone with the talent, the fire, and the love for the ballet my mother had.” Looking down at her again, I smiled. “Someone exactly like you.”

  Without a word, Clara kicked off her shoes and ran up the stairs leading to the stage. Moving to the center, she bent down to offer me her hand. “Why don’t you join me and show me what you got. Dance rings around me, or are you all bark and no bite?”

  She gave what I supposed was meant to be a dog’s growl but came out sounding far more like a giggle. It was enough to have me grinning and kicking off my own shoes. Ignoring her hand as my weight would assure I’d pull her right off the stage, I planted my palms beside her bare feet and lifted myself up onto the stage. Only when I was standing did I take her hand, my fingers completely engulfing hers as I lifted it to my lips.

  “Believe me, little girl, I can bite.”

  She pulled away, turning back to give me a smile that had my heart skipping a beat and the glimmer in her eyes distracted me for a mere second, but that was enough to miss my cue. One moment she was standing before me, the next she slammed into me hard enough to send me stumbling backward.

  “What the fuck!” I shouted as my feet tangled and sent me tumbling to the floor where I landed on my shoulder. I groaned as Clara raced over to me.

  “Oh shit, I’m so sorry! I expected you to catch me. I thought you said you knew how to dance, and I leapt and figured you’d… never mind. It was a stupid thing to do. Are you okay? I’m so sorry,” she apologized profusely. “I was trying to be playful, and instead, I knocked you down! I swear, I really didn’t mean to…”

  Kneeling down beside me, she reached for my arm, but the moment she was close enough, I grabbed her and pulled her in for a kiss. Sure, the fact this tiny woman had the strength to knock me on my ass stung a bit, but I was faking the shoulder injury for the most part to get her the hell over here with her lips inches from mine. If I hadn’t been thinking about those lips, I could easily have caught her and lifted her over my head much as her partner had done earlier, but I didn’t care. This was so much more fun. I’d been wanting to kiss her again for a very long time now, and despite everything that should be warning me off her, I couldn’t seem to help myself, nor did I have any inclination to even try.

  As we kissed and she allowed me to pull her even closer, the passion we’d shared that first kiss paled in comparison to that threatening to consume me now. I could tell this wasn’t only a kiss. It was actually leading somewhere, and I was incredibly ready to follow the heated path it was taking. I didn’t even care we were inside my theater where anyone could find us.

  I just wanted Clara.

  So, as she started to work on the buttons of my shirt, I followed suit. Reaching behind her, I slid the zipper of her dress down as she slipped her hands inside my now gaping shirt.

  “Not enough,” she growled, tugging the hem out of my waistband.

  Chuckling, I dropped my hands lower and said, “I agree.” Sitting up allowed her to pull my shirt off and gave me the opportunity to drag the dress over her head.

  “Incredible,” I said as she froze for an instant while I gazed down at the black bra that barely covered the swells of her breasts, leaving the dove to rise and fall with every breath she took. Beneath the lace, her nipples were as hard as diamonds, straining against the delicate fabric as if protesting their confinement. I could sympathize completely as my cock was doing the exact same thing against the zipper of my pants. Sliding my hands over her shoulders, I cupped her breasts in my palms, the stark contrast of her alabaster skin against my tanned arms assuring my attention riveted on the plump mounds.

  Dancers weren’t known for their curves, but Clara broke that mold as well. Her breasts were nicely rounded, filling my hands completely and, when I brushed my thumbs over the peaks of her nipples, the moan she gave was every bit as glorious as I’d imagined.

  Yes, there were many reasons why we shouldn’t be in this position. Why I shouldn’t be doing this. But I really didn’t give a shit. I liked Clara, I wanted her, and nothing else mattered.

  “Oh God,” she gasped as I slipped my hand beneath the waistband of her matching lace panties. “Alek…”

  “You’re so beautiful,” I whispered against her skin as I gently guided her backward, her flexibility enabling her body to bow in a way that had her legs pinned beneath her as I pressed her down against the stage. “I cannot believe you’re here with me.”

  My fingers dipped lower to find her slick with arousal. I was almost beyond the point of no return, but I’d not yet crossed that line.

  Lifting my head, I found her eyes. “Are you sure this is what you want? I’m not gentle in bed.”

  “Good.”

  “Clara—”

  “I’m not asking for soft and gentle, Alek. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt anything. And you’re the only man who has ever had me feeling this way. God, please, just make me feel again…”

  I pulled away and looked down at her, suddenly a bit unsure as the weight of her words hit me, but before I could stop or say something that would put the brakes on, she reached up and yanked me down.

  “It won’t be ladylike, but I won’t hesitate to knock you over again unless you show me exactly what sort of moves you have.”

&nbs
p; The taunt was what I needed… that and the waves of lust I could feel encompassing both of us. “Careful what you ask for,” I said, standing but only long enough to strip off the rest of my clothes.

  Her eyes never left mine until I dropped my hand to fist my erection. Then she smiled and licked her lips.

  “Enough talk. Fuck me, Alek. Fuck me hard. Fuck me fast. I want more. So much more.”

  11

  Clara

  I was strong.

  But not strong enough to resist him.

  On this stage, at this moment, he was shredding my vow of celibacy as easily as we’d shed our clothing.

  I was nothing but a woman. A woman with a burning need and a hunger I couldn’t control.

  Regardless of how I’d changed over the past years, I knew I was toxic. I came with a whole lot of baggage. And on top of that, Yuri had already warned me off of Alek. I shouldn’t be here, doing this, but how the hell was I supposed to resist?

  Alek was gorgeous as hell, seductive as sin, and we had a lot in common on top of the out-of-control sexual attraction. How could I be expected to keep away from someone I thought I could fall for hard?

  Alek was my next addiction. I knew this. I could feel it. But I had no desire to fight the urge any longer.

  There was something between me and Alek. Something intense, a powerful connection that wouldn’t quit, and that wasn’t something I’d ever experienced before. I really wanted to explore it further, no matter what the consequences were.

  “I warned you,” he growled, lying above me, his palms braced against the wooden planks of the stage. “Don’t forget that.”

  His lips brushed far too lightly and much too briefly over my mouth before moving down to trace along the column of my neck, causing me to groan and quiver as I turned my head to the side, allowing him easier access. His tongue licked along my collarbone, and goosebumps broke out over my flesh. I was so immersed in the sensations he was creating I hadn’t even noticed his hand had slid beneath me to unhook my bra until he yanked the garment off me.

  “Alek…”

  “Shhh,” he said with a smile and a look in his eyes that had my pussy clutching in expectation of what was to come.

  Perhaps I should have been shocked this man did not immediately get down to the business of relieving his own need, but instead, he shifted position to prop himself up on one elbow while the index finger of his free hand traced along the outline of the tattoo on my breast. His touch was featherlight, and yet I felt a burning rivaling that of the needle that had entered my skin again and again to apply the ink.

  “Tell me the story,” Alek said as his finger continued its journey. “Why a dove?”

  He hadn’t asked why I’d gotten a tattoo, why I’d broken one of the unspoken cardinal rules for ballerinas. Instead, he simply asked why I’d chosen that particular one. I could lie and make up some story, but I didn’t.

  “To set myself free,” I began softly. “The dove represents an end of the chaos and traumatic cycles I constantly felt swept up in. Once I accepted the only way to move forward was to stop and accept the mistakes of my past… I was ready for a time of renewal. It’s to remind me new beginnings are possible. That I can leave the ugliness and hurt behind.”

  “And fly toward a new horizon,” Alek said softly a moment before his head lowered and he kissed the ink as gently as he’d traced it. “It’s a beautiful symbol for an incredible woman.”

  My eyes welled, so I shut them. I’d given him a glimpse inside my heart but was not yet ready to allow him to see my soul.

  I couldn’t be quiet… not when he touched my skin again, this time his tongue finding my nipple. I moaned his name again, back arching, breath coming in pants as his lips closed around my left nipple. As his tongue flicked across the throbbing bud, I could also feel the heat of his erection pressed against my stomach meaning he’d returned to the position of using both his palms to support his weight above me.

  That was not where his cock belonged… not where I wanted it.

  I attempted to rectify that fact, my legs useless as they were still tucked beneath me.

  “No.”

  The word was uttered against my breast, his teeth never releasing his treat, and yet it was said with an authority I couldn’t debate. Neither could I change my position with his weight pressing me down. That didn’t mean I couldn’t move. I arched my back and shifted my hips, his cock sliding against my skin, warmth telling me he was as aroused as I, his cock leaking pre-cum on my belly as his lips and tongue left wet heat against my nipples.

  “More,” I said, making my own demand.

  I hadn’t been lying when I said I didn’t want it soft. His warning had stirred my desire into a boiling cauldron.

  I wanted it rough.

  I wanted it dark and dirty.

  I felt like there was a demon inside me, a raw animalistic side of me ready to spring free and rut with the panther I’d visualized this man as being. I’d begged him to make me feel something, and he was fulfilling that plea… still I needed more, so much more.

  As his mouth moved down the valley between my breasts, tongue sliding along flesh burning hotter every moment, I slipped my hand between us. And the moment his lips closed around my right nipple, I closed my fingers around his thick, throbbing shaft. His groan had my hand tightening around a girth that caused my pussy to throb.

  God, he was big. Huge, hot, and so wickedly mean as he didn’t immediately move to slip inside me but only began to thrust his hips ever so slowly, fucking my fist even as he continued to taste, lick, and bite my breast.

  Two could play this game.

  Releasing my grip, I raked my nails down his length. Dancing required they be kept short and neatly manicured, but they still caused a reaction — just not the one I’d expected as I tried to take control of this little scene.

  Before I could blink, Alek sat up, flipped me over onto my stomach, and slapped my ass hard. Taking hold of my hair, he yanked back and brought his lips to my ear. “This is my theater. You are on my stage. You may be my partner here, but make no mistake, I master every move, counter every action. You follow my lead, little girl,” he growled as his mouth moved to my neck and he sucked my flesh between his teeth.

  “I’m not a pushover,” I said with a gasp as the suck became a bite. “I demand a lot in a partner…”

  “You don’t do the demanding,” he said, fingers closing around the flesh he’d smacked and squeezing hard. “I do.”

  God, the feminist in me knew I should protest that Neanderthal claim, yet my body didn’t give a shit about political correctness. All it cared about was feeling his hands on it — on every inch of it. I wiggled my ass beneath the hand still resting on my cheek.

  “Was that spank the best you got?”

  “Fuck,” he whispered as my heart thundered joyfully in my chest, but the sensation was countered by the agonizing pulse between my legs begging for release. “Fucking hell, Clara, you’re more like me than I ever could have hoped.”

  A sharp tug had my head lifting and turning as his lips found mine, the kiss as demanding as he’d promised, his tongue pushing inside to dance with mine. I bucked up, not caring how wanton I must look as I ground my ass against any part of him I could reach.

  His groan was as beautiful as any symphony I’d ever danced to, the fist in my hair serving to reassure me he was in control — that there was no need to fear he’d drop me as we performed together in perfect harmony.

  12

  Alek

  I groaned at the incredible feel of her grinding against me. She arched her back, breathing heavily with desire which had my cock harder than I’d ever been before. There was something so sexy about this girl. Miss Simyoneva wasn’t the virginal little innocent she appeared to be. I got the impression there was a lot more to her. She’d said she needed to feel she kept herself under rigid control. I intended to strip that away. I really wanted to unlock that part of her she’d denied herself for the last
few years.

  The thought of corrupting Clara, of bringing her out of her shell, was too damn tempting, and I almost couldn’t stand it. She thought she knew what she wanted, but I was about to show this little girl how hard and fast I could go.

  She thrust against me, alternating her pressure and speed, screwing with me, taunting me even though there was still the barrier of her panties between us. I grinned even as I gritted my teeth. If I wasn’t careful, I might forget the foreplay and go straight to the fucking under the constant power of her touch.

  Shit. She really was the female version of me.

  As if my brain had switched up a gear, I grabbed hold of her hair again and yanked it harder in sexual warning.

  I was in control, and the sooner she learned that, the better.

  Much as I was enjoying myself, I didn’t want to come yet, not when there was so much of her body left to explore. And with how hard my cock throbbed, I needed to regain the upper hand. I still hadn’t felt how hot I was making her. I didn’t know what was waiting for me inside her panties, and I needed to feel, taste, and smell every last bit of her arousal. I’d been secretly fantasizing about what it’d be like to be inside her ever since the moment I first laid eyes upon her body, and I didn’t want to lose the opportunity to explore what mysteries were hidden behind her casual, no-nonsense style. And to hear her mewls and moans with every stinging pull of her hair, I knew this woman was mine.

  Giving her ass another hard slap, I flipped her again, this time onto her back. Even as she gasped at the sting of the single swat, I slammed my body into hers, kissing her hard, feeling her bucking against me. I knew she wanted me, that she would love for me to simply take her, but that wasn’t going to happen — not yet. Not when I hadn’t seen her face contorted in pure pleasure and lust. Clara seemed so put together, so highly strung most of the time, and I really wanted to make her fall apart, to cause her to open up. Wanting to taste her, I ran my mouth down her body, pausing to feast again on her nipples, tugging one and then the other away from her body with my teeth. This brought on a beautiful hiss as she arched up to lessen the pull.