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“I can’t…” I broke off, touching my ears. “I can’t…I can’t hear. How will I dance if I can’t hear the music?”
Something else was stolen from me. Another preciousness that many took for granted.
Viktor stood up, and his lips stretched with a knowing smile. He took his phone out of his pocket and quickly tapped something and then placed it on the bed beside me.
My heart did a pitter patter dance because I just knew. “What song is that?”
“Ave Maria,” he replied, our gazes never leaving each other. “I remember. You told me you loved dancing to this song. It is your favorite.”
Something so small, yet he remembered it. A choked sob escaped past my lips, and the tears streamed down my cheeks. “Please…don’t make me do this. I can’t…”
Viktor cupped my cheeks and swiped the tears away, like he has done so many times. His words made my chest clench tightly. “You don’t have to hear the song. You know it by heart.”
His hand came up to my chest, and he laid his palm right over my beating heart—that was racing for him. “So you just have to feel it from here. Feel the music and dance.”
He didn’t wait for my reply. Taking the ballet flats, he bent down and made me wear them. He tied the long ribbons around my ankle and up my calves.
The ballet flats looked even more beautiful on my feet—made just for me. A perfect fit. A perfect match. A perfect beginning.
Viktor pulled up and walked us in the middle of the room. We stood there, silently, just holding each other.
“Dance for me, my sweet Valerie.”
With those words, he left my embrace and went back to the bed. Settling on the edge, he placed his elbows over his knees and his chin over his interlocked fingers. He watched me, his fevered eyes solely on me.
His lips moved, and I watched him speak. “Let me see you. Show me your beautiful soul.”
My heart was beating in my throat when I saw him take his phone in his hand. “I restarted the song, Valerie,” he said, as if that was my cue.
My eyes closed, and I breathed in a deep breath. The muscles corded with tension slowly relaxed. My body felt like it was floating, the air light around me.
In my head, I remembered the song. The tune and the beat. Every step I took flashed behind my closed lids, like it was just yesterday. Extending a leg in front of me and with my arms in position, as I remembered, I twirled.
My body moved effortlessly as I danced for him. I danced to the rhythm of my own heartbeat—I danced to awaken my dormant soul that was now singing loudly for him.
I opened my eyes, and our gazes met. The world stilled even while I was twirling and dancing for him. His gaze never moved from me.
Like Viktor said, I didn’t need the music to dance. I didn’t need to hear it—I just had to feel it. And I felt it—the music, the steps…the dance.
With each beat of my heart, I felt Viktor.
I wasn’t a siren to lure him or a seductress to tempt him. I was just a broken woman who was dancing for the broken man she felt deep inside her veins.
Viktor stood up and walked to me. His arms captured my hips, and he brought me close into his body. His embrace was warm and firm—everything I wanted and needed.
His darkened eyes were fevered for me, and when his lips descended to mine, so softly and sweetly, he kissed me. Viktor wasn’t just kissing me, he was tasting my soul. Stealing it and locking it away, for it belonged to him now.
Driving his tongue past my lips, he forced me to take his kiss. I took it willingly and gave him more in return. His hands gripped my hips, keeping me anchored against his. I felt his hard bulge pushing into my lower stomach, and he captured my moan into the kiss.
We pulled away when we were breathless. His hungry eyes caused my thighs to clench in anticipation. My heart was racing, adrenaline rushing through me without any consideration.
My chest grew tight at his words. “I know you think this is what you are meant to do, to protect your family. But trust me. Let me be your strength, Valerie. Let me carry your burden, your sadness, your pain—your anger. Give them to me, baby.”
Unshed tears blinded my vision, and I blinked them away with quiet sniffles. “Viktor…”
He cupped my cheeks before continuing. “I know you’re strong. I know you can survive in this fucked-up world. But I don’t want you to just survive. I want you to live.”
I want to live too, I cried silently.
I couldn’t speak, but Viktor continued. His words enough for both of us. “I will make sure that you are standing on that stage, dancing your heart like you always wanted. What was once stolen from you, I will give it to you. They will clap for you. The audience will cheer for you. I will make your dreams come true, Valerie.”
