At that, the alpha’s expression grew serious.
“Can we go somewhere?” he asked. “Another practice space? Somewhere we can be alone?”
I let out a biting laugh.
“This is the only practice space Twirling Tutus has, Mr. Channing,” came my frigid reply. “We’re not rolling in dough, so we just have this tiny studio and a small office in back.”
The big man nodded slowly, eyes giving nothing away.
“The office then,” he growled, and against my better instincts, I led him to the secluded space. It was more of a broom closet than an office because there were no windows, and the air was stuffy and hot. Even worse, Thorn’s big frame took up all the room, making the space seem even smaller. So even though we were only a couple feet apart, I leaned backwards, trying to keep my distance.
“So,” I began again, voice well-modulated and what I hoped sounded like under control. “How can I help you?”
The alpha looked down before looking back up at me, blue eyes searching.
“How have you been Laney?” he asked softly. “You look good.”
That wasn’t what I expected to hear.
“I’m good, Thorn, real good,” was my terse reply. “Now how can I help you?”
Oh god, I just wanted this conversation to be over. In such close quarters, I was shivering at his closeness, my nipples hardening under my leotard, jutting out like little rocks. He always does this to me, Thorn always causes my temp to go up, and even now, six months later, it was happening.
A smile slid over his face, eyes gleaming as he took in my stiff tips.
“Still the same Laney huh?” he drawled, suddenly supremely confident. “That’s my girl.”
And that set me off. I couldn’t bear to hear his casual tone of voice, not when I’d gone through so much, suffered like an animal caught in a trap. So I let him have it.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I bit out. “No idea at all.”
The look in his eyes was silky.
“Oh really?” came that rasp. “You don’t remember? You sure about that?”
Because as if in a dream, one big hand reached up and crested over a hard nipple, making it jump out more, stiff and achy. Oh god, why was this happening? Why was my body betraying me? But I’m no dumb eighteen year-old naïf anymore. Even if I couldn’t control my body’s reaction to the billionaire, I could still control my brain.
So I slapped his hand away, jerking my torso backwards.
“You don’t touch me,” I hissed. “You don’t get to touch me.”
One black eyebrow raised again but at least Thorn didn’t protest. He put his hands up and said, “Fine, kitten, it’s fine. I won’t touch you for now, let’s just talk and clear the air.”
I knew I looked ridiculous, my nips standing on end, pointing straight at the CEO, with my cunt moistening despite my harsh words. And Thorn could tell for sure, that patrician nose wrinkled just slightly, like he could smell my wet pussy, and another smile crossed his face. But he didn’t say anything, choosing the neutral route.
“Quiet pretty baby,” he growled, eyes eating me up. “Quiet.”
But the time for silence had passed because I wanted answers. So raising challenging eyes to him, I bit out, “What are you doing here Thorn? Tell me now or get out.”
And this time, the harsh demand got a response. Mr. Channing nodded before opening his mouth, looking at me thoughtfully.
“I did a lot of things wrong, Laney. A lot of shit I regret, and I came here to tell you that.”
I looked away. That was the least of it, and I wasn’t going to dignify that with a reply. But Mr. Channing went on.
“I’ve been an arrogant asshole my whole life,” he began slowly. “I’ve always been this way, a user, and I didn’t realize how wrong that was until you came along.”
I swung to look at him then.
“Don’t put this on me,” came my biting reply. “I have nothing to do with you and your problems.”
But Thorn stayed calm.
“I know baby girl. You’re the best thing that’s happened to me a long time, probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me in my whole life. But I want to clear the air because the things Serena told you were true, to an extent. I admit it. I used women, I slept with a bunch of ballerinas at the Academy, I was a fucking tomcat. I used my position to dazzle girls, and they came like lemmings. It was so easy,” he said slowly. “Too easy. I was getting bored of it.”
I swung to look at him.
“Oh really?” came my sarcastic question. “Then why’d you fuck me? If I was so boring, then why’d you do it?”
The words were crude and disgusting, but Thorn wasn’t thrown off. Instead, his eyes narrowed slightly before going calm once more.