Lovers' Dance

Chapter 15.2

“No, no, no,” Dante said in a fit of temper as the pianist stopped churning his fingers over the keys. “What is that? What the hell is that? ’Cos it sure ain’t a fouettes pirouette.”

I sent a sympathetic look at the girl, her name was Ellen, and she looked like she was about to burst into tears in the middle of the stage. Me and my dancers were used to Dante’s temper if you didn’t perform exactly the way he expected. The temporary dancers weren’t. Dante lived the ballet, and his passion for it obliterated any sense of niceness. You danced the way he wanted on the stage, or you didn’t dance at all.

But I couldn’t let him scare the poor girl. “D, it’s an extremely hard move and—”

“Bri, come show them how it’s done,” Dante cut me off tersely and I rolled my eyes, wiping the sweat off my face. He sent me a hard brown stare and beckoned me over. “You too, Madi. Centre stage. Now.”

Bri and I exchanged a jaded look as we walked to centre stage. Ellen slunk back to the side and hid behind the other dancers.

Fouettes pirouette, also known as thirty-two fouettes turns on pointe. It was a difficult move to execute, and Dante wanted quite a few of the female dancers to do it for the upcoming production. I told him we didn’t need them to. Bri and I were technically proficient and we were the two female leads in the show. Bri was cast as the sweet, innocent princess, and me as the complex, conflicted ice queen. I was the baddie, yay.

We took our positions centre stage and, after a curt nod from Dante, we began to execute our fouettes pirouette. The only sounds on stage were coming from Bri and myself as our low laboured breaths seemed to echo in the large auditorium.

“That’s how you do a damn fouettes pirouette,” Dante said when we finished. He glared over at the other dancers, looking like a belligerent dark lord in his black leotard, and though he was a man wearing ballet shoes, no one would call him a prancing sissy. Not unless you wanted a fist in your jaw.

Eddie caught my glance and we smirked at each other. We were all exhausted. The past few days had been intense, and the way my toes were burning, indicated the need for bandages when I got home later.

Dante continued to chastise the other dancers and Liam waved to get my attention, then tapped his bare wrist. It was the signal.

I took a deep breath before saying firmly, “Let’s call it a night. We’ll pick up tomorrow. Ten am start people, don’t be late.”

Dante’s face had a building thunderstorm on it. He wasn’t ready to end tonight’s practice. The look he sent my way was one that spelt trouble. I arched my eyebrow at him in challenge. My seventy percent to his thirty percent, he’d better not make me remind him of it.

“Fine,” he groused, throwing his hands into the air. “We start afresh from tomorrow.”

There was a tangible feeling of relief from everyone as we called out goodnight to each other and started filing off the stage. Dante stalked towards me and I legged it.

“You can run,” Dante yelled.

Gerrard laughed as I dashed past him and Lisa.

“And I can hide,” I yelled back, darting through the other dancers down the aisles between the rows of seats. Some of them tittered in amusement. Some of them frowned. Dante and I tried to run our dance company informally, like a cohesive family unit. Happy dancers made for happy dancing.

I managed to get to the office without being collared by my best friend. Forget using the showers tonight, I needed to grab my stuff and go. The flashing light from my cell perched atop paperwork made me pause. When I unlocked the screen, there were six missed calls. Without even checking the call log, I knew who they were from. I dialled the last number I’d called.

“Where are you?” Matt forwent a greeting. Uh oh.

“About to leave the studio, Matt.”

“I’ve been waiting for you, Madison. I told you what time I’d be here.”

I exhaled loudly. “And I told you tonight wasn’t a good night to go on a date, Matthew.”

“It’s Thursday,” he shot back. “I decided we would go out tonight. You had ample opportunity to choose a night and you failed to do so. I’ve made arrangements and, if you’re not here in the next half an hour, we’ll be late for what I have planned. I’ve made numerous pots of tea for Nathan and Bella, was forced to order food seeing as we’ve missed our dinner reservations and I’ve actually loaded your dishwasher. How can you use so many dishes? It’s just you living here, poppet. And the Chinese take-away has increased their prices for their mediocre food. I don’t want you using them anymore.”

“Wait, what?” I grabbed my bag, wondering if I had time to change my ballet shoes and put on sneakers. “What are you talking about? Nathan and Bella are there? In my house?”

“Yes,” he said blandly, as if I should be aware of his plans. “I left you a message stating they’d be joining us tonight. Did you listen to any of my messages?”

“I told you I was too busy.” I tried not to lose my temper. Was he mad? How could anyone be so infuriating? My texts earlier in the day were quite clear: I couldn’t go out tonight.

But did he pay attention to that? Oh, no. Mr Matthew Bradley had made a decision and everyone had to go along with it. Nathan and Bella were in my house. I couldn’t remember if the hamper full of clothing was still next to the washing machine in the kitchen. Oh, shit. My cartoon panties were on the top of the pile. I had washed those clothes, hadn’t I? Yes, yes, I remembered turning off the dryer this morning before pulling the clothes out.

Damned, bossy tyrant.

“Matt,” I hissed down the line. “Are you crazy? You can’t do things like this.”

“I can do as I please, poppet,” he replied stiffly. “Now I expect you home in thirty minutes.”

The bastard hung up on me. I stared in shock at my phone, not believing he’d given me tone. Unbelievable.

“Argh,” I yelled in frustration. The office door opened and I yelped in nervous surprise as my best friend walked in. “Chill out, Dante. Let’s take a moment to look at things from a cool, calm perspective. Everyone is tired. We need a good night’s rest and tomorrow we’ll be better. No need for things to escalate. You know I can thump you, right?”

I was gripping my bag over my shoulder and eyeing the door behind him. If I did frontal flip, I could probably knock him down and escape before he chewed me out.

Dante peered at my face, then burst out laughing. “You’re such a chicken-shit, Madi. And you’re right. Sorry about losing my temper back there. You know how I get, but tonight is the only night we leave before nine.”

Chewing-out averted, I sauntered over to punch him lightly on the arm. “I’m going, D. See you tomorrow.”

He leaned his face forward, cheek being offered. I gave him a quick peck and smiled.

“Has Christine moved in yet?” I teased.

Dante grumbled in the back of his throat, and I hurried out the office with a murmured, “Lock up everything before you leave.” tossed over my shoulder.

One annoyed man down, one more to go. I couldn’t believe the nerve of Matt, yet my mouth was stretched in a guilty smile at the thought of seeing him. I’d been good all week, sticking firm to my resolution of slowly distancing myself from him. It had been easier than expected with Matt being busy himself. Last night when I’d been fighting the urge to commit a stalker-ish act of driving all the way to his place and peering into a window to glimpse him, an unexpected call from Aunt Cleo had stopped me. I missed her, a lot. The way she would yell at me for doing something she thought was stupid or reckless, the way she would berate Jenny for hanging out with her crazy friends, the way she would pander to Jamal…he was her firstborn and only son. Of course, she pandered to his lazy ass. The way she would demand a kiss from Uncle David whenever he left the house, even if it was to take the trash out. I missed my family. I knew Aunt Cleo would amp up her calls over the next few weeks. She always did around this time since I left the States.

And there was Matt. She’d raked me over the coals about our relationship, telling me Jenny had shown her the pictures on the Internet from the charity ball. Goddamn modern day technology. What the hell was Jenny doing? She should have my back. I needed to remind her of the times I covered for her.

I hurried out of my building and jumped into my temporary baby. Yes, the Porsche was being used while my true love remained with the mechanic. He still hadn’t figured out what was wrong with my Beetle. It took fifteen minutes and anxious moments of wondering if the speed cameras had caught me, but I got home as fast as possible.

The door opened before I could turn my key to reveal a devastatingly handsome, well-dressed Matt—with the twin eyebrows of doom lowered.

“Hi,” I said shyly. Why was I blushing?

“Upstairs, shower and change,” he ordered, pulling my key out and herding me inside the door.

“Hi Bella, you look nice,” I said with a nervous smile. Would she judge my semi-messy living room? Stupid Matt. Bringing people over without running it by me first. I turned my nervous smile on Nathan. “Hey, Nathan, how are you?”

“Poppet,” Matt said in a low warning voice before they could respond to my greeting. “Upstairs. Now.”

I folded my arms, giving him a haughty look. When he took a step towards me, I turned on my heels and moved towards the stairs. Bella laughed. I wasn’t afraid of Matt, I just knew you shouldn’t tease a lion. King of the jungle and all that jazz.

“Twenty minutes, poppet,” he said sternly to my back. “Or I’ll come up there and dress you myself.”

I refrained from making a snarky comment and hustled. Damn. Matt looked good enough to eat. Forget cutlery, if he was a dish I would use my fingers, get sauce over my mouth, lick the freaking plate, then ask for more like Oliver in Dickens’s novel. He was gorgeous.

Twenty minutes wasn’t enough though, even with the quickest shampoo and conditioner I had ever executed. I knew Matt would be annoyed. He was anal about being prompt.

I frantically towel-dried my hair while riffling through my wardrobe. Bella was dressed in a lovely, floor-length dress, burgundy in colour and bringing out tones in her skin. The men were dressed up, not function dressed up, but wearing casual dinner jackets over their shirts. Where were we going?

I spotted one of my long dresses. It had been ages since I wore it. A year to be precise. A dark green satin dress with plunging neckline and open back. Was it too much? Man, I had forgotten about the slits up the side. But the shoes I’d bought to go with it were fierce. They deserved to be worn. I took the dress out and scowled at the neckline. Braless, I would have to go braless. I shook my head, worrying my lower lip between my teeth. Would Matt like the dress? Would he think it was trampy? I dropped the towel in my hand and slipped on the dress, to remind myself how it looked on my frame. I could always choose another dress, I just wanted to see how the green one looked.

The bedroom door opened as I was twisting side to side in front the mirror.

“Bloody hell, poppet,” Matt exclaimed, shutting the door. “You look fabulous.”

I grinned at his reflection in the mirror.

“It’s not too much?” I asked, unsure whether it was suitable for wherever we were going.

Matt walked over to where I stood. “No, it’s perfect, and I think I just came in my pants.”

“Shut up, you crazy man.” I laughed, smoothing my hands over my butt to check how bad the panty lines were. Barely noticeable—the dress was staying on. “Where are we going tonight, Matt? I need to sort my hair out.”

Matt immediately sank his fingers into my damp curls, a soft expression settling on his face as he rubbed my hair between his fingertips. He was fascinated with the texture. Many a times I had woken up to find him playing with it, trying to hid the look of guilty delight in his eyes whenever I told him to stop messing about with my hair. He didn’t understand the deal with us black women and our hair. Constantly curling it around his fingers led to split ends that I didn’t want.

“You didn’t kiss me hello, poppet,” he murmured quietly but with an expectant look on his striking features.

“Because you were being bossy and didn’t give me a chance to,” I retorted before sticking my tongue out at him. How could I consider giving him up? Should I confide what Grumps had said? Would he be upset or would he brush it off? Grumps was the patriarch of Matt’s family. Would he care how his grandfather had made me feel in the back of his fancy car? Or would he be furious and cause a major drama in their ranks? I didn’t want Matt fighting with his family. That was the last thing I wanted. Best to keep my big mouth shut. I would figure something out. I needed time…and a bit of distance.

There would be no distance tonight, though.

“It’s been days since we last saw each other,” he griped.

“We’ve both been busy,” I said, jerking my head away so he’d stop twirling my hair. “And I don’t kiss on the first date. Or is this technically our second date?” I waved my musing away and hurried to the dresser to grab a comb and start sorting out my hair.

Matt followed me, hand reaching up to snag a curl that he promptly began to twirl around his finger.

“If I recall correctly, I said no sex from now on,” he informed me. “We can snog all we want.”

I tapped his hand with the comb and he dropped the curl. “You left Nathan and Bella alone downstairs, Matt. Crap. I forgot about the clothes hamper in the kitchen. Can you bring it up, hon? And make sure you hide my underwear.”

Matt gave me a look. An exasperated look. Then he asked arrogantly, “Have I not loaded your dishwasher for you? Are you asking me to do chores? I have staff to do these things for me, Madi. If you need help around your house, I can employ someone to do so.”

It was moments like these I remembered exactly who I was talking with. A normal person would think nothing of going downstairs to get a hamper full of clothes and bring it back upstairs. A normal person might offer to fold and put away the clothes of their main squeeze.

Matt wasn’t normal, and it wasn’t his fault. He came from a privileged background of house staff and chefs to do his bidding. It wasn’t his fault, but it was ridiculous as hell he’d gotten insulted over my little request.

“Forget it, Matt,” I said, tugging through a knot, probably from him messing about with the strands. “Sorry for asking. Why don’t you go keep your friends company? I’ll try not to be too long.”

I gave him a tight smile, then turned away so he wouldn’t see my expression. Matt stood there for a moment as I focused on combing my hair. Without a word, he exited the bedroom leaving my damned door ajar. Five minutes later, he re-entered holding my full hamper of clothes. Not one peek of a panty on the top. He went over to the wardrobe and set it down carefully. I watched it with wide eyes.

“Happy?” he asked, still a bit peeved.

I tried not to grin, tried to keep my face blank, but he was so cute with that mad look on his face.

“Um, thanks.”

His grey eyes narrowed slightly at the way I kept trying to fight my smile. You would think I’d asked him to clean the whole house with nothing more than a toothbrush.

“Humph.” He snorted, then closed the distance between us. “Can I have my kiss now? You’ve worked me almost to death tonight.”

I giggled at his silly behaviour and went on tippy toes to offer up his reward for bringing the hamper. Matt kissed me hungrily, hands slipping over my ass as he pulled me up tight against his body. His tongue was insistent in my mouth, so much so I was going lightheaded from the lack of air. Or it could simply be due to the fact he was an expert kisser? When he finally stopped dining on my lips and stepped back, his gaze dropped to my boobs. My hardened nipples were prominent against the fabric. Maybe I had boob tape somewhere about. That would deal with my misbehaving flesh.

Matt ran a finger lightly over one nipple and I shuddered, responding immediately to his touch. “This is going to be hard, poppet.” he murmured.

I couldn’t stop the glance to his lower anatomy. Something else was hard, for sure. Matt saw where my eyes had rested, and he chuckled under his breath.

“But I promised myself to resist your charms until we’ve dated for at least a month.”

“Say what?” I dropped the comb, arms folding. “A month?”

“At least a month,” Matt confirmed with a nod. “Your hair looks fine, let’s go. Get your shoes.”

Still protesting over his words, I went to retrieve the pair of shoes from its box, lovingly slipping them on, then wincing as my sore toes felt the pinch. Matt led me out of my bedroom. I stopped complaining when we hit the landing. I didn’t want Nathan and Bella knowing our private business. Wait. Was she wearing a ring on her left hand? I pushed past Matt and ran down the stairs, ignoring his surprised yelp at my actions. I hadn’t had time to pay attention, what with Matt ordering me upstairs like a drill sergeant, but I was certain something big and sparkly was on her left hand. Could it be?

I jumped the last two steps, risking a snapped heel, or worse, a snapped ankle, but I was excited. Nathan and Bella both regarded me with alarm as they stood up.

“Oh my God,” I squeaked, striding up to the brunette and grabbing at her hand like a freak. She shot Nathan a nervous glance, then beamed when she saw my intent.

I squealed. Yes, it was a squeal. Embarrassing, but couldn’t be helped.

“Are you guys engaged? Of course, you are. There’s a ring on your finger.” I was manhandling her hand, trying to get a good look at the rock. “Look at your ring. Oh my gosh. When did this happen? How did he propose? Did he go down on one knee? Matt. They’re engaged.”

I pulled Bella into a hug. We barely knew each other, but she’d been nice at the charity ball and I was excited.

“I know they are, poppet,” Matt drawled as he came down the stairs at a more sedate pace.

“Congratulations,” I said, stepping away from Bella, then reaching out to hug Nathan, too.

It was awkward. I shouldn’t have done it but sometimes I was over exuberant. Nathan stood stiffly, arms at his side as I thumped his shoulders. He uneasily patted me lightly on the lower back, to which Matt jokingly warned him to unhand his woman. Yeah, it was awkward.

“Thank you,” he said when I stepped back.

I turned my attention back to Bella. She held her hand out so I could fully appreciate the magnificent ring Nathan had shackled her with. I loved the thought of marriage, just didn’t see it happening with me. Come on, I was a tad neurotic. A man would need to have his own level of crazy to deal with my brand of madness. Matt definitely wasn’t that kind of crazy. Grumps’s words echoed in my head.

“Shall we go now?” Nathan asked Matt, with a questioning eyebrow raised as Bella advised me of the colour and clarity of her ring. The carat—Nathan must be as rich as Matt. It seemed he’d gone all out on Bella’s engagement ring.

Matt came over to ease me away from Bella. “Get your bag, poppet. We’re leaving.”

Grinning at Bella, I went over to grab my everyday bag and take out my cell, wallet and Oyster card. Once I’d transferred the necessities into a black clutch that had been lying unused on my desk for weeks, I was ready.

“What did you do with my keys?” I asked Matt, who was ushering Nathan and Bella to the front door.

“They’re in the kitchen. I’ve got mine. Let’s go.”

Biting back a retort, I went to get my keys. Couldn’t risk not being able to get in again.

Matt was impatiently tapping his foot as I hurried to the front door. “You have no real sense of urgency, do you?” he asked dryly.

I cocked an eyebrow at him. “Bearing in mind, I wasn’t planning on going out tonight and I don’t know where we’re going, I don’t think you should be complaining about my sense of urgency, Matt.”

He watched me for a second, then sent me a boyish grin. “God, I love you, woman. You’re bloody cheeky and, for the life of me, I can’t understand why I absolutely enjoy that trait of yours. Something I wouldn’t tolerate with anyone else, mind you.”

“Is it because I’m cute and chocolaty?” I teased as he locked up. I could start back being distant with him tomorrow. Tonight, I wanted to hold my boyfriend’s hand, maybe get to second base. He seemed serious about this dating thing again. A month? Seriously?

Matt checked the door was secure, then slipped a hand around my waist as we walked towards his car where Bella and Nathan stood waiting.

“You’re not cute,” Matt said firmly. “You’re exquisite, and the chocolaty comment makes me a bit uncomfortable, but it’s true nonetheless.”

“You enjoy mixing your milk with my coffee, Mr Bradley?” I whispered as we drew nearer to the car.

“Stop,” Matt said sharply. “I dislike you joking about this topic, Madison.”

I stiffened next to him, suddenly feeling like a reprimanded school child. It was a joke. Maybe tasteless, but a simple joke.

“Sorry,” I mumbled under my breath. He was like the wind. One moment playful, the next turbulent and cold. Might as well buy him panties and a box of tampons. Was he experiencing male PMS?

His hand constricted on my waist as he felt my stiffness. We were almost at the car.

Matt leaned down to whisper in my ear. “Forgive me, poppet. I’m being an arse again. Joke all you want—”

“No, you’re right,” I interrupted quietly as he pulled his car keys out. I gave him a small smile, then stepped away. We never talked about our differences in race. Not really. I’d make a joke and he would frown and tell me to stop showing my racist tendencies. Then I would laugh, and he would smile at me before changing the subject. It obviously made Matt uncomfortable. I made him uncomfortable. Grumps was right in a way: Matt was in a situation he’d never been in before. Grumps had said, once the novelty wore off, Matt would no doubt resume his old life with his old companions. Grumps was well aware of Matt’s prolific love life. He’d sounded—dare I say—impressed when advising me someone as experienced as Matt would eventually yearn for more than I could give him. It had grossed me out, having Matt’s granddad talking about sex with me. Eurgh.

Watching me like a hawk, Matt opened his car and we filed in, the exaggerated clearing of his throat reminding me to buckle up. Nathan and Bella were cosy in the backseat. I was stressing over Matt’s reaction to my teasing comment. We’d been on the road for about ten minutes before hitting red lights. Matt reached across to grab my hand and bring it to his lips. He winked at me as he pressed a soft kiss on my palm, willing me with his eyes to smile.

I did. My mood improved considerably by his tender action. Nathan made a comment from the back about Matt needing both hands to drive and we all laughed.

“Where are we going?” I asked Matt as he rested my hand over his firm leg and resumed driving.

“A private auction, poppet,” Matt advised, malevolently cutting off a car that was trying to undercut him. He was as aggressive as me behind the wheel.

“What? Now?” I asked in surprise, glancing at the dashboard. “It’s gone ten pm. What sort of auction starts this late? I hope it’s not anything illegal, Matt. I will turn you into the cops if you’re involved in anything shady.” I yanked my hand from his thigh and twisted in my seat to peer at Bella and Nathan who were chuckling in amusement. “You guys, too. What is it you Brits say? Ah, yes,—I’ll shop you.”

Nathan’s chuckles turned into a loud uncivilized bray of laughter before he said to Matt, “Some girlfriend, mate. Whatever happened to loyalty between couples?”

Observing Nathan and Bella, I snorted in derision. “Loyalty, my ass. I’m not doing time for anyone, not even a cutie like Matt.”

It was Bella’s turn to let out a loud exclamation of amusement. Nathan shook his head as he corrected my pronunciation. “The word is arse, not ass, Madi. How long have you been living over here?”

“I’ve tried to tell her, mate.” Matt said lightly. “But her Americanisms are entrenched. You should hear the way she pronounces ‘Salisbury.’”

“Don’t you guys read the Bible?” I jumped to my own defence. “King James version. Check the spelling.”

Nathan regarded me with trepidation. “You’re not one of those Christian fundamentalists, are you?”

Matt choked on his breath before sending me a mischievous sidelong glance with the corner of his mouth curling up. “If, by fundamentalist, you’re alluding to someone who has no qualms about—”

“Shut up,” I squeaked, certain he was going to say something completely embarrassing and smutty. He twisted his head to grin at me. The gleam in his eyes confirmed my suspicions.

“Let’s just say Madi makes me feel close to heaven.” The lewd way Matt wagged his eyebrows at me had my cheeks blazing.

“Matt,” Bella chastised, herself looking a bit embarrassed. “Behave.”

Both men laughed at us while Bella and I huffed with righteous, ladylike indignation.

“Are we heading into Central London, Matt?” I asked to staunch his sexy chuckles.

“It’s a secret location, poppet,” was all he would say. When I asked Bella and Nathan, they, too, repeated his answer. Crazy ass. I hoped tonight wasn’t going to be some weird—

“You’re not going to auction me off, are you?” I could hear how ridiculous the words sounded as they left my mouth. Matt turned his head to give me an intense look. We had hit a red light. His grey eyes observed me clinically for a moment, and I tried my best not to freak. Why was he looking at me like that? Shit. He wouldn’t dare take me to some illegal flesh trade, would he? Would I fetch a good price? What the hell was I thinking?

“Poppet,” he finally said as the lights changed. Amusement started to leak into his grey orbs, replacing that clinical look. “Sometimes I wonder what goes through that head of yours. Auction you off? How utterly ridiculous.”

“What do you expect me to think?” I rallied, feeling a tad foolish. Speaking without thinking was a bad trait to have. “A late night auction? Whereabouts unknown? Crazy gazillionaire? I read the news, you know. Stuff like that could happen. Nathan could keep it out of the news, keep my disappearance secret.” I continued to explain my previous silly comment. Should I stop digging the hole now?

Matt shook his head and sent me a sidelong amused glance. “Why don’t we have quiet time, poppet? Just don’t speak for a while.”

I shot him a glare as the back of the car erupted into laughter, then the corners of my mouth curled in a smile. He grabbed my hand and rested it on his leg. It was a strange thing between us, strange and comforting. The constant need to touch whenever we were in close proximity.

“Okay, Mr Bradley,” I teased. “I’ll keep my big mouth shut until we get wherever we’re going.”

“Wise choice, poppet,” Matt agreed, then licked his lips as I stroked his thigh lightly.

The car descended into a relaxed silence as Matt drove. It didn’t take us long to hit Central London. I lived in Greenwich, Zone 2. Central London was Zone 1, and I loved being close to where the action was.

There was traffic on the road, even at this time, and Matt peered at his watch.

“What time are you going in to the studio tomorrow, poppet?” Matt asked, breaking the silence with his casual question.

“Seven-ish.” I replied. “Why?”

“After the auction, I’ve arranged for a boat ride on the Thames. I don’t want to keep you out too late.”

Boat ride on the Thames at night? I could live with the lack of sleep. I beamed like a kid who found out Santa was their long-lost great-uncle, and he was coming for a visit with his sack of toys.

“It’s safe to assume from your expression that you’re okay with that,” Matt said dryly.

I nodded. This was going to be a great date as long as I didn’t get injured on the boat, and Matt wasn’t planning on selling me to the highest bidder at this secret auction.

To hell with Grumps and his five C’s personality. I was riding the Matt train for as long as my ticket allowed...