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I wasn’t injured. But making sure Istayeduninjured was just as important as any recovery. I flinched as he gently flexed my foot back and forth. “Tell me where it hurts.”
“It’s just sore. Achy. Nothing sharp. Promise. I’d tell you if there was something wrong.”
He nodded, moving to my other foot and repeating the process. “I’m going to help you while these rehearsals are happening like this,” he said. “After as well, but I’m not taking risks with your feet. Or any of the other dancers. I’ll talk to Gabriel about pulling people out of rehearsal for some evaluations.”
“Thank you.”
The smile he gave me turned my stomach into a gooey mess. Along with the sweet scent of butterscotch, I would be a puddle by the time this was all finished. “I’m going to go downstairs and get some ice packs for your feet while you get undressed. Then I’ll make sure everything’s loose.” He winked.
It felt as strange for him to leave the room while I stripped as it would be for him to stay here and watch me. God, I wanted to let loose the way Petra had.
He saw it and stepped closer once more. “No one ever knows when or if they’ll meet their match. Yes, it’s a bit of a letdown for us to be in the midst of something so intense when we want to fall into bed with you. But I hope you know that being scent-sympathetic is more than just sex for us, baby girl. It’s so much more than that.”
A gentle kiss had me melting and falling into him with a soft whine. “I know,” I sighed. “Doesn’t mean I like it.”
His laugh reached deep down within and stirred both lust and longing. “I don’t either. Get comfy okay?”
“Okay.”
I was colder when he pulled away, quickly stripping my clothes off without even stepping off the table. Pulling the sheet over me, I breathed out some of the tension. This was nice. I could live with this kind of pampering even after this performance mess was over.
“You ready, baby girl?”
“Yeah.”
At least I knew I wouldn’t be the only one both enjoying and suffering when he touched my skin.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
________
GABRIEL
Iwatched Jace lead our weary Omega out of the kitchen. Her whole frame drooped, and I didn’t think she could see it.
“This isbullshitand you know it, Gabe. Just because I’m in better shape than Sloane is doesn’t mean I don’t feel it. The show needs to be pushed back.” Ash had fire in his eyes.
“I know,” I said. “But as much as I wish there was something I could do, there isn’t.”
“Why the fuck not?”
I took the stool Sloane had vacated and ran a hand through my hair. “Because Ian is very convincing. And I can do a lot of things. Ican’tfight an entire board of trustees who are fully behind Ian’s new vision for SCB.”
He shook his head, moving to serve us both some food. “What the hell did he say to them?”
“A longer version of what he told you in the company meeting. He spun a version of the company that not only performed more often and brought in more income, but made ballet more accessible to people by performing beloved classics.
“The company still has a good portion of the sets and the costumes from the last production ofGiselle, so he’s foregoing part of his artistic vision in favor of getting the show up quickly. Because the contracts are different, the scene and costume shops have already been working. We just couldn’t do the same for the dancers.”
Ash shoved a plate of spaghetti in front of me and didn’t bother to sit down before eating his. “Still.” His mouth was full, and I fought off a grin, knowing it wouldn’t help right now. “You’ve been doing this for a while. You didn’t think it was a bad idea?”
“No,” I hung my head. “If I’m honest, I didn’t. And if you’d been in that room I don’t think you would have either. Ian is passionate and knowledgeable. He’s also got complete confidence in himself and his vision. The way he laid it out seemed sensible and easy.”
“Right,” Ash muttered. “Not actually how it’s working out.”
“I know. I’m man enough and Alpha enough to own when I’ve made a mistake. This was one. I’m going to do what I can for the rest of the season. The rehearsal schedules are on my desk and I started going through them today. I don’t care about a gap in the performance schedule. This will not happen again. But tickets have been sold and more than half the trustees will be there on opening night.”
“Gabriel…”
