Chapter 35
brOOKLYN
“The fuck are you grinning about?”
I startle from my position on the studio floor, quickly glancing up at Val.
“Hmm? Nothing,” I blurt.
He smirks, his brow furrowing as he peers at me…no, past me .
“Who’s BDE ?”
I frown. “Wha—” I feel the color surge into my face before I quickly fumble to turn my phone over as Val hoots with laughter.
“Pro tip: if you’re gonna look at dick pics at work, don’t do it with your back to a mirrored wall.”
I groan, glancing back quickly at the wall of the studio I’m leaning against—mirrored, obviously—before turning back to him.
“I wasn’t looking at dicks , weirdo. But you already know that,” I mutter. “I was just texting a friend. Chill.”
His brow cocks. “A friend with the initials BDE ?” He snickers. “Don’t insult my intelligence. We both know that’s your guy.”
I inhale deeply, trying to will the heat from my face. “Why do you say?—”
“BDE,” he chuckles. “As in Big Dick Energy.”
I groan.
Val barrels on mercilessly. “ Wow , you know who would be devastated if he saw you naming your new guy BDE? I mean, if he knew we called him BDE in the first place?”
I cringe, already knowing what he’s going to say. “Val?—”
“Kir,” he sighs. “As in, the gold standard for Big Dick Energy.” He flashes a grin, shaking his head. “You’re seriously telling me whoever you’re fucking warrants the name more than that guy?”
No , I want to tell him. You’re right. There’s no man on Earth who warrants the nickname “BDE” more than Kir .
Obviously, I won’t be telling Val who “BDE” is in my phone. It’s not because I’m embarrassed about my relationship with Kir, or the age difference, or what he does for a living. The problem is that I dance for the Zakharova, which Kir owns .
But luckily, I’m saved from continuing the conversation when Madame Kuzmina sweeps into the studio, black skirts and shawls streaming behind her like raven wings. She clasps her ringed fingers together and fixes us with a stern look.
“We’ll be moving out to the stage for the last two hours of rehearsal,” she says matter-of-factly. “We have an important guest who would like to sit in.”
I glance at Val, then at Evelina, Milena, and Naomi, sitting and stretching. They just shrug, as confused as I am.
“ Now , ladies and gentlemen,” Kuzmina says sharply, turning on her heel and marching back out.
We all follow her out onto the stage, clustering in small groups while we await what comes next.
Madame Kuzmina smiles her usual pointed, slightly venomous smile at us. “I’m sure you all know Mr. Nikolayev?”
My pulse skips as she turns, gesturing with one glittering ringed finger at a figure in a dark suit who materializes out of the shadows beyond the stage.
A figure with piercing, dark devil eyes, which have landed right on me. A figure who sends a wolfish, hungry grin my way before he subtly lets his tongue drag over his bottom lip.
Heat explodes in my face as achy need coils in my core.
Those very eyes were looking up at me this morning from between my spread legs as I perched on the edge of the kitchen island. Those very lips were wrapped around my clit as he tongued me to an explosive orgasm.
“I’m not here, of course,” Kir smiles easily at the company, dipping his chin. “I was merely in the neighborhood and wanted to take in a bit of your talents.”
Val nudges me in the ribs, bringing his head down toward me.
“Fuckin huge dick energy,” he murmurs under his breath. “I don’t care who BDE is. There’s no way he can match HDE over here.”
I groan to myself, feeling my face throb.
…Remembering the way Kir put me on my knees right after the aforementioned “lips on pussy” situation this morning and fucked my mouth with his huge cock until he came down my throat.
I know he’s not here to “take in a bit of our talents” this afternoon.
It’s to look me in the eye, just like he is right now, and remind me what happens to brats. Because I purposefully WAS one earlier today.
In living with this man, I’ve started to learn some of his habits.
For instance, he always finishes everything on his plate, no matter how much food it is.
I’d guess it's probably a holdover from being in a fucking Russian prison camp as a kid, and food not being guaranteed.
How he maintains his athletic, chiseled physique is beyond me.
He also has this OCD way of “fixing” everything in front of him—making sure the silverware and napkin are just so when he sits down for dinner, or that his laptop, pens, and documents are positioned exactly the right way on his desk.
Another thing I’ve noticed is that when he’s got an important meeting, he makes a point to wear what I’ve realized are clearly a pair of “lucky” socks—very soft, black, with the initials “K. N.” embroidered on the ankle above a small skull.
Also when an important meeting is on the docket, he has this thing where he makes sure there’s nothing extra on his person, and that he’s only carrying what he absolutely needs. I’ve watched him take a pen out of his pocket, or a receipt. Like just having them there are a distraction.
So today, since I was trying to be a brat, I fucked with him twice. First, I took those socks and hid them. And second, I left something stashed in his jacket pocket that I know he discovered in the middle of his meeting.
The image of Kir holding court at a boardroom table and finding a lacy pink thong of mine in his pocket is both amusing and more than a little arousing.
As to why he’s here, that would be because of the socks and the panties, of course. But also , when he texted me earlier telling me he was going to “turn my ass red” over my shenanigans, I replied with a pic of my bare butt I snapped in the changing room along with the message “this ass?”
I didn't get a reply to that one.
Until now.
Madame Kuzmina has us set up for the various bits we’ve been rehearsing. As I get into position, I keep glancing over to where Kir is sitting in the center of the third row, one ankle crossed over the opposite knee, his arms spread casually across the backs of the adjacent seats.
His eyes never once leave me during the next two hours. I can feel his gaze sliding over my skin. Teasing the back of my neck or the small of my back as I dance, peeling my leotard and tights away and feasting on every inch of me.
By the time Madama Kuzmina has finished torturing us, I’m panting, my body exhausted and spent. But the heat he ignites between my legs is still there. The skipped pulse when I glance over and see his dark devil eyes remains, too.
Everyone starts to leave the stage to head back to the changing rooms. Then I glance back at Kir one more time, my breath catches, and I’m instantly rooted to the spot.
His dark eyes lance into mine. And slowly, almost imperceptibly, he shakes his head side to side.
“I think I’m going to stick around. Maybe get some lifting in downstairs,” I say casually to Val and Evelina. Evie looks at me like I’ve grown a second head.
“ Seriously ?” she blurts. “After that sucky rehearsal?”
Val frowns. “Are you fucking high? That was brutal today. You can appreciate the severity of the situation with Evie using the word sucky , which is basically her way of saying ‘fuck this fuck-ass shit’.”
Poor Evelina turns pink as she rolls her eyes. “Jerk.”
“See?” Val sighs. “You’re turning her into a real potty mouth here.”
I laugh as I punch him in the arm. “Don’t be a dick.”
“ Speaking of ,” he says, waggling his eyebrows. “You were in the middle of telling me about your new guy earlier before Madame Sadism so rudely interrupted.”
Eveline turns, arching her brows at me. “Are you dating someone?!”
“ No ,” I growl, glaring daggers at Val.
“Not dating. Just fucking,” he shrugs.
“ I am not !” I hiss.
“Well, you’re totally sleeping with someone. So which is it? Are you dating BDE or just banging him?”
“Wait. Who’s BDE?” Evelina frowns.
“Brooklyn’s new boyfriend.”
“I do not have a?—”
“Sorry. Rich fuck buddy.”
“ Val !” I mutter.
Evelina’s brow furrows. “I'm lost. What does BDE stand for?”
I groan as Val grins, like he’s about to descend from the mountain with man’s first fire.
“The B is for big,” he starts.
“ Val, ” I sigh. “Spare her? Please?”
“You guys realize I’m not that sheltered, right?” Evelina pouts.
“Oh, but honey…” I smile, putting an arm around her. “You are .”
Val cracks up while she harrumphs dramatically, pouting. “Will you just freaking tell me what it means?”
“ Big Dick Energy, baby ,” Val crows.
Evie frowns. “Okay, what does that even mean?—”
“ Kir ,” Val sighs. “If you’re trying to figure it out, just think of our boss.”
I groan on the inside. Evie’s brows knit as she valiantly tries to put it together. Suddenly, her face lights up.
“Ohhhh!” she giggles, blushing deeply. “I think I get it!”
“Atta girl,” Val grins, patting her head.
I will the heat from my face. “Well, this has been educational. I’m going to go stretch and then get some lifting in.”
“Say hi to BDE for us!” Evie blurts, giggling as the two of them amble into the wings toward the dressing rooms.
Madame Kuzmina materializes next to me, eying me curiously, clearly wondering why I’m still here.
“I—I was going to stretch and get some weight training in,” I explain quickly.
“Do you need the lights on?”
I shake my head. She eyes me keenly.
“Good work today,” she says. “You’re becoming a much stronger dancer.”
“Thank you,” I smile at her.
Oddly enough, she smiles back. “Ivan Yelchin would be a fool not to take you. But, I will say, we’ll miss you here when you’re gone.”
When my eyes go wide with shock, she just smiles quietly.
“The ballet world is a small world, Brooklyn.”
“Madame, I was going to tell?—”
“You don’t owe me anything,” she says with an arch of her brow. “And I take nothing personal about you auditioning with a very fine company.”
I smile wryly. “I appreciate that. Really. And look, I love the Zakharova?—”