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My legs had turned to jelly and my stomach was coiling into knots as I tried to work faster. I heard him call my name above the loud noise of the water. I felt like I was physically going to throw up any second now. I washed the shampoo from my hair and body, paying careful attention to the one place Nikoli had spent the most time touching, my neck, then turned off the shower. With a deep breath, I left the cubicle and wrapped the towel around me. When I walked out of the room Max swooped towards me and picked me up, forcing my legs around his waist.
“Max,” I grunted when he pushed my back against the wall. “What are you doing back so early?”
He leant forward and pressed his lips to mine, all I could think about was Nikoli’s lips and his ki
ss as I opened my mouth slightly and let him in. “The jury returned the verdict early, I won another case, baby.” He laughed and kissed the side of my neck. I froze. Not my neck. Playfully I pushed his head away and congratulated him as I tried to wriggle free of his grip. He stood me to my feet and let me go with a wide smile. When I side-stepped him, he yanked the towel free and I closed my eyes coming to a standstill. “I want to celebrate,” he whispered in my ear. Coming behind me, his hands settled on my breasts. He kissed along my bare shoulder and as I tried to stem the queasiness flowing through me, I was reminded of the dull throb between my legs. The throb Nikoli had left me with.
As I lay on the bed with Max using my body for his own pleasure, I committed my next sin, I imagined he was Nikoli. As the memories of us all over each in the club, the feel of his hand on my neck and the burn of his lips on mine, began to play on a loop in my mind, I came undone underneath Max, but it was Nikoli’s name I was silently screaming.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
“Do you plan to do some actual work today, Niki?” Petra asked from across the office as she filled out the latest batch of certificates.
My mind was elsewhere, mainly on Raine as I sat staring at the letter in front of me, trying to focus on the black ink against the white paper. I sighed and let it go from out of my hands. “Have you read this?” I asked raising my head to look at her, ignoring her earlier question.
“Of course, I have. I read everything that comes through here,” she replied with a shake of her head, then shifted her attention to look at me, “That look you have spread over your face had better be an indication that you’re seriously going to think about this and not a look of I have no interest.”
I folded my arms across my chest and raised my legs onto the desk, “It’s not happening.”
Her back stiffened and she began to tap her pen against her desk, letting her annoyance at me be known. “You’re letting Raine cloud your rational thinking, Niki,” she replied swiftly. “This is important for you! They want you to be a judge at the Russian Ballroom championships, how can you even say, it’s not happening?”
My lips reverberated against each other in boredom as I listened to Petra whittle on about this big opportunity, and the money involved, not to mention a reason to go back to Russia. I watched her eyebrows furrow, her head bob back and forth while her arms moved animatedly around her, and all I could see was our mother, she was so much like her especially when she was passionate in her argument. I snickered at the thought, causing her to launch the pen still in her hand, straight at me as she snapped at me in Russian, and then I knew she was truly pissed at me.
“I am paying attention,” I snapped back. My legs moved from the desk with a thud. I rose to my feet and planted my hands on her desk. “If this letter had come two weeks ago or even a week ago I’d have agreed to do it, but not now, I can’t.”
“Yes, you can there is no such word as can’t, you just don’t want to do it because of Raine,” she growled leaning over the desk and eyeballing me. As much as I loved to duel with Petra, I had no argument this time because she was right, I wasn’t going to Russia for six months and leaving Raine behind.
I looked away from her first and dropped my eyes to the cluttered desk she called neat and organized. My ears prickled at the sound of students filtering into the studio the other side of the door and my heart nearly missed a beat at the thought of seeing Raine again after yesterday.
“I’m telling you this, do not turn down a great opportunity for yourself because of her, she doesn’t belong to you! If you can’t be without her then I suggest you find a way to get her away from her husband’s clutches and take her with you!” She continued in a harsh, hushed whisper. She came around to my side of the desk and patted my shoulder. “Please, don’t make any rash decisions. You’ll regret it, Niki.”
Grabbing the clipboard from her desk, I cut her a cold, hard glare and left the office. The second I stepped out into the studio my eyes instantly found Raine’s and my troubles quickly evaporated into thin air when I caught the sparkle in her eyes and the smile grow on her lips, then my view was obstructed, when Mona’s face appeared directly in line with mine.
“Niki, I have a problem. I have a function to attend on Saturday night and have no plus one, are you free at all?” She asked. For a fleeting moment, I stood staring at her like she had just spoken a foreign language as my brain tried to comprehend what she had just asked me.
I cleared my throat and side stepped her, “I don’t think that’s appropriate, I’m your teacher and you’re my student,” I replied casually. It took all my strength not to sear my lips on Raine’s when I walked past her.
“We are all adults here, we ain’t in no high school now,” she complained as she followed behind me.
“Maybe so but my answer is no. Besides, I’m taken,” I replied as my eyes glanced towards Raine again. She was like a magnet, drawing me in deeper each time I was around her. I could tell I was going to have a hard time concentrating on today’s lesson. It hadn’t even started yet and I’d already mentally kissed her, peeled off all her clothes and claimed every inch of her body for myself.
“Oh. You are? Well, that’s too bad,” Mona sighed then skulked over towards Raine muttering something I couldn’t make out.
Petra clapped her hands calling for everyone’s attention, the loud chatter fizzled out as they all sat on the floor. “For the next six weeks, you’ll be learning the Paso Doble,” I began as my eyes swept across the room. “It is French for Two Step, because the steps are organized in patterns of two; left, right. I took Petra’s hand and we began to demonstrate the pattern to the class. “Steps are usually taken with the heel forward but leaving the back leg in place long enough to create a long, straight leg line.”
The door crashed open interrupting me from my flow and all heads swiveled towards the late comer, immediately it pissed me off. I couldn’t abide late-comers to dance especially when it meant I had to repeat myself and it disrupted my class.
I heard the sharp intake of female breaths and the echoing sounds of ovaries exploding around the room. “You are?” I snapped when all six foot of him stood smiling boyishly, his eyes feasting from one female to another, including on my Raine. She seemed oblivious to the man with dark soulful eyes, curly black hair, and tall athletic body, as she sat inspecting her sneakers.
“Late, obviously,” he laughed, dragging his hands through his shoulder length hair.
So, he’s a comedian as well as cocky?
I let go of Petra and walked closer towards him, “Are you here to learn to dance, or waste my time?” I asked with my hands hanging loosely on my hips.
“Latin, right?” He asked, mimicking my stance causing a bout of heated anger to flood through me. Attempting to keep some level of professionalism, I pursed my lips and nodded. “Excellent,” he said walking past me, brushing his shoulder into mine. My head turned and my eyes followed him. I watched the smarmy way he winked at Mona, Sophia and even Petra, then he annoyed me even further when he took up the floor next to Raine, “I’m Ruben by the way,” he called back to me.
I took an instant dislike to him. He’d been in my class barely three minutes and I was already fighting back the temptation to plant him straight onto his cocky ass.
