Chapter 5
CHAPTER
FIVE
ADAM
As much as I want to fuck her this instant, I decide against it. I liked the way that she made the first move so much that I want her to do it again when we fuck. So I’m going to make her want it… crave it even.
“Get some sleep,” I murmur.
“Sleep?” she asks.
Chuckling, I dip my chin in a single nod. “Sleep, Austin. Tomorrow, you’re going to give me all of the loan information, and we’re going to get all of this situated.”
She shakes her head a couple of times before she speaks. “My problems are not yours. I don’t need anyone to swoop in and save me.”
Her words cause me to throw back my head in laughter. They are hilarious, not just because I’m going to do it, but because she thinks that she can tell me not to. I am going to swoop in and save her and she is going to earn it.
So it will be give and take.
She’ll earn it.
“I’m from Pineville,” I murmur. “And we’re going to get to know one another. But while that’s happening, I’m also going to be taking care of you, and that includes this debt that isn’t even yours.”
I watch as she presses her lips together, rolling them a few times, then she releases them. She doesn’t speak right away, but I can tell that whatever it is she has to say is on the tip of her tongue.
“I can’t let you do that,” she eventually murmurs.
Lifting my hand between us, I use my index finger and my thumb to pinch her chin. My gaze focuses on hers, not letting her look away from me. Those eyes stare into mine, and I can’t wait for them to look into my own when I’m buried deep inside of her.
“It’s not your choice to make, baby.”
And it’s not. It’s my choice to take care of her. “What about my job?” she asks. “Is that also not my choice?”
My lips twitch into a smirk. Leaning forward, I touch my lips to hers. “I don’t want to share you, Austin. I want all of you.”
“I can’t quit dancing. I need money, even if that money isn’t for my mother’s bills. I do need to pay my own.”
Leaning forward, I touch my mouth to hers. “We’ll see.”
And that is all that I give her because that is all that she needs. Pressing my lips to hers, I rise to my feet. She wraps her legs around my waist, and I know that I’m going to regret not fucking her in the morning.
But I don’t fuck her. I carry her to bed, break the kiss before I lay her down and cover her with the comforter. She looks up at me, her gaze sleepy, her lips curved into a small smile, her lips swollen from my mouth.
Forcing myself to straighten, I take a step backward, then another. “Are you going to stay?” she asks.
I groan because I know that if I stay, it will not be on the couch, but instead, I’ll be staying inside of her.
“I have work to do,” I confess.
“Work?” she asks with a hum. “What do you do?”
I almost laugh, mainly because she saw me walk into the club before hours. Chuckling, I lift my hand and run my fingers through my hair, tugging on the ends. “Today, I’m the boss, baby.”
“And tomorrow?”
I could tell her that nobody knows what tomorrow brings, but instead, I shrug a shoulder. “I’m here for the foreseeable future. But then, when I’m no longer needed, I’ll be back to Pineville.”
She closes her eyes. “Dallas is close to there, isn’t it?” she asks.
“A couple hours away, why?”
Austin lets out a heavy sigh. Then, her voice comes out in a whisper. “They have an amazing ballet company.”
Then her eyes close, and she falls asleep. Like a fucking weirdo, I stand above her bed, watching her as she sleeps. A ballet company. She doesn’t want to strip. No, Austin needs to dance.
And for whatever reason, I feel as if I’m the man who was meant to make her dreams come true. Forcing myself to walk out of her place, I leave her asleep in her bed and head back to the strip club.
AUSTIN
I’m not sure how long I sleep, but I feel warm, overly warm, as the sun shines on my body. Forcing my eyes to open, I look over to the nightstand clock and blink at the numbers that greet me.
How on earth?
I can’t remember the last time in my life that I slept past seven in the morning, even while working at the strip club until three. But now I’m staring at the time in disbelief because it’s well after ten.
Pushing myself up to sitting, I throw my legs over the side of the bed and stand slowly. Shuffling toward the bathroom, I take care of business, wash my hands, and then make my way toward the kitchen and, more importantly, coffee.
Standing in front of the coffee maker, listening to it percolate, I can’t help but think about my life just six short months ago. I was living in my one-bedroom apartment in Houston. I loved that place so much. Spending every waking hour of my day dancing. I miss it every single second of my life.
I haven’t trained in over six months, and I can’t seem to make myself practice. Ballet is a dream that once was. I’ve already made the decision that that part of my life is over.
What I need to do now is focus on paying that debt and then figure out how to make a life for myself after it’s paid in full. I have zero clue what I am going to do or what I can do. I don’t think that there are many job opportunities for aging out-of-practice ballerinas.
When my coffee is ready, I pour a cup, then add some creamer before I walk over to the window that overlooks the parking lot of my crappy apartment. Taking my first sip, my back stiffens when I hear a knock.