AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I force my smile even wider even though every muscle in my body is screaming in pain. My cheeks hurt. I want to ask for a break, but one look around the room has me deciding against it. Mother was right when she said people would start to talk. All of my fellow colleagues watch me with intense scrutiny, more than a handful of them whispering to one another under their breaths. Their judgment weighs heavily on my skin, cold and clawing.
“Do you think she did it?” someone murmurs. I try to block out their voices and listen to the music. I need to focus.
“No way. She doesn't seem the type.”
“I don't know. She's getting up there. Maybe she got desperate?”
“Stop it, guys,” Kseniya tells them. “Nikita's the nicest person here. She'd never do such an awful thing.”
Inessa clears her throat loudly. “Quiet! If you want to gossip, do it outside.”
“Sorry, ma'am,” comes the chorus.
The music ends and I finish well after the final bar. It's embarrassing. Heat pools in my cheeks. That definitely could have gone better, and the perfectionist in me is screaming bloody murder in the back of my head. I have to be so much better than this.
“Again,” I say, even though my lungs burn and my muscles are strained to the point of snapping.
Inessa crosses her arms. “No, that's it for today.”
“But—”
“We have to move on and you need to rest.”
I want to argue, but out of the corner of my eye, I see movement. A large, hulking shadow at the back of the room.
Leo.
I was so focused on practice I almost forgot he was here. My stomach flips at the thought of him seeing all my mistakes. Did he really stay to watch that disaster? And why is hestillwatching me despite the fact that practice is over?
My heart stutters when our eyes lock. He's just so intense, but in an entirely different way than I'm used to. Dealing with Inessa and the rest of the dancers brings with it a certain level of judgment and snobbery. They know all the steps, what the dance is supposed to look like, and if my technique is perfect—which, at this stage, it's not. I don't think Leo understands ballet to quite the same extent. If anything, his gaze is full of intrigue. He's studies me, watching like a hawk.But I do know what to make of the dark hunger in his eyes and the way he shifts out of his chair and starts toward me.
I'm not nervous, per se. More like unsure. He's just so mesmerizing. Even though the other dancers have taken to the floor, there's no question all eyes are on him. He's far more interesting, a stranger to this place, yet he easily commands everyone's attention.
The man is—in a word—magnetic. I’m seeing him in a different light, now, away from the privacy of his cabin. I’m seeing him among other people, and he still dominates the room.
“That was beautiful,” he says, his voice far gentler than I would have expected to come from a man of his size and stature. Then again, I’ve heard this tone before, early that morning, when he asked me if I wanted him to have me for breakfast. I said yes. I’d say yes again in a heartbeat.
For the first time in hours, my smile is bright and genuine. “I could have done better,” I confess.
“I was surprised to see you here.”
“You, too. I heard something about you being a new sponsor?”
“My company wants to find ways to give back to the community. Being a patron of the arts seemed like the way to do so.”
“What kind of company?” I ask, thirsty for any and all facts. We never spoke much about our lives outside of that cabin.
“I'm part-owner with my brothers. The Nicolaevich Brothers Taxi Company.”
“Oh, I thought you were an accountant.”
“That is my main role with the company, yes.”
:I've seen your taxis around the city! You guys are my go-to whenever I need a last-minute lift. Your drivers are always nice and speedy.”
“I'm glad to hear it.”
“Well, we're always grateful for the support.”
