14. Chapter Fourteen #2
I rush towards my dressing room when I stop… because the door is open. And Ekaterina is there, inside the room. I run and only stop when I see Ekaterina looking down at Ana’s dead body. In my rush to change clothing, I must have forgotten to lock the door again.
“What are you doing in here?” I ask.
She spins around with a gasp. “What is this, Lana? Why is… is that Ana? Is she…”
“What are you doing in here?” My tone is hard.
“Something in my gut told me to open this door. I don’t know why. You were acting strange all night.”
“No. I put on the best performance of my life all night.”
“Which is why I thought it was strange. You have never danced like that in your entire life before. It was almost… otherworldly. I opened your dressing room door and… Did you kill her?” she adds with a whisper.
“Ekaterina,” I say in a cold, cold voice.
I sound like my father. That makes me shudder.
“Leave and don’t speak about this again.
My husband will be here soon. He will handle this for me.
And if you’re here, it’s not going to be good for you.
You’ve never caused me problems like Ana did.
So I don’t want to see you die. If I were you, I’d leave and never speak of this again. ”
“But you murdered someone,” she gasps out.
“Ana attacked me with a knife. It was self-defense.”
“So then why didn’t you call the police?”
“Because my husband will handle it.”
“Why do you keep saying that?” she hisses. The panic is rising on her face.
“I think you know who my husband is. What organization he works for. Most of you ballerinas must know. Please, Ekaterina. You don’t deserve to die. So leave. Please.”
That seems to make her understand the situation. “Are you threatening me? I’m going to call the police.”
“No, you’re not,” my husband’s deep voice enters the room. He steps inside and looks around, not even seeming to be surprised at Ana’s dead body. “My wife is correct. If you leave now, you can still live a normal life. If you don’t…”
Ekaterina gasps. “This is insane. Insane.”
“Just get out,” I say. “Please.”
She looks between us and the door and makes a run for it. Neither one of us stops her. Nikolai calmly shuts the door.
“What if she tells someone?” I ask.
“She won’t. And if she does, no one will believe her. Or I’ll make her life hell.” His eyes flick over Ana’s body. “Care to tell me what happened?”
“She attacked me. I was defending myself.”
He grips my chin and tilts my head up. “Are you all right? Are you hurt?”
“No. No I’m not hurt.”
“Good.” He lets me go and nods at her body. “I’ve got this. Camille and the others will want to congratulate you. You should go out there and mingle until everyone leaves.”
“All right.” I head for the door but Nikolai’s next words make me stop.
“You were perfect tonight.”
The tightness in my chest lessens. Nikolai will handle this for me. He’ll take care of me.
I leave him to Ana’s body and approach the group of ballerinas in the large dressing room, all talking about the night. Ekaterina is nowhere to be seen.
Camille comes into the room and pats my arm. “You were honestly amazing tonight, Lana. Truly. I am not just saying that. I am glad you did the performance.”
I can tell she means it but I also know Camille is just happy the show went on. The more shows we perform, the more money she can make. “Thank you, Camille. That means a lot.”
“Where did all that passion come from?”
Nikolai. And Ana’s death. “I just worked hard at it. I’ve been working hard at it.”
“Well, you did a wonderful job. Keep it up for tomorrow night. We have a month of shows to get through. I want people to keep coming back. I heard so many audience members talking about your performance tonight. Don’t forget that.”
The other ballerinas all flock to me, offering me praise. It’s so different from their usual disdain. I know it’s all fake. They’re only praising me because I did well tonight – not because they like me. But I will take it.
This high I’m on is one I never want to let go of.
I speak with the ballerinas for a while before everyone eventually packs up and leaves. I remain behind, speaking to the stagehands. They’re shutting everything down for the night. The lights. The decorations. It’s all being put back into place for tomorrow’s show.
I return to my private dressing room to find Ana’s body gone. Nikolai isn’t here either. It’s like nothing even happened. I wait until I don’t hear anything outside this room and then I open the door a crack.
Darkness and silence. Everyone has gone home for the night. A chill runs down my spine. Suddenly, it feels like I’m in a horror movie instead of a romance one.
“Nikolai?” I call out. No answer. “Nikolai?” My ballet flats sound loud on the squeaky, old hardwood floor.
My white swan costume is still in place.
I never changed. For some reason, I couldn’t force myself to take my costume off.
I want to live in this moment for as long as I can and I know the moment I put my normal clothes back on, that this night is officially over.
“Nikolai?” I walk around backstage but there’s no sight of him. Did something happen? Has Lev shown up and done something to my husband? My chest squeezes again. The excitement today made my anxiety disappear but now it’s back in full force. What is going on?
“Nikolai?” The lights above me turn on.
I hear a sound behind me. Turning around, I see Nikolai at the end of the hallway. The soft light just barely lights him up. “Nikolai,” I gasp and start to walk towards him but he holds up a hand.
“I want you to run,” he says in his dark voice.
“Run? Is something wrong?”
“Just run.” He stalks towards me and something in my body recognizes the danger I’m in.
I turn away from him and run like he told me.
My footsteps and breath are loud as I run through the backstage area.
There are so many nooks and hiding places all around but I don’t stop.
I don’t want to hide. I want Nikolai to be able to find me.
I don’t stop running until I make my way onto the main stage. The empty theater is eerie at night. The only lights in the room are the ones pointed at the stage.
I turn around as Nikolai’s footsteps clang on the ground. I keep backing away from him. The darkness in his eyes is frightening but also exciting. My body is on fire.
“It is time,” he says, stalking around me.
I keep my eyes on him but he keeps circling me, forcing me to spin around.
“I have watched you dance on this stage for months before I made my move. Before you even noticed me watching you. But surely you felt me. The eyes on you. My eyes on you. I know you did. Tell me, Lana. When did you realize I was watching you?”
“The night you came by the dressing room.”
“You never noticed me before then?”
I swallow hard. “I felt eyes on me. More so than the usual audience. But I didn’t fully know.”
“So innocent,” he murmurs. “You didn’t even know I was coming for you. But I’m here now. And you’re mine.” He lunges forward and grabs me around the waist. I let out a scream as he tears at my costume, ripping it. He tears it off me and my tights along with it until I’m fully naked.
“Take your shoes off,” he demands. I slip them off without any hesitation.
Nikolai lets me go and circles me again, taking in my fully naked body. I feel completely on display underneath the bright spotlight. The darkness in his eyes makes my lower belly tingle. The sensation between my legs grows.
“Tonight, you will fully give yourself to me,” he states.
“I will claim you on this stage. Take your virginity. You’ll bleed for me.
” I gasp, remembering Svetlana’s words. My husband is frightening me right now but he’s also exciting me more than I ever have been before.
“Do you like that? Do you want to feel the pain and pleasure when I fuck you?”
“Yes,” I whisper. My voice is soft but it carries through the large theater.
He stops right behind me and says into my ear, “Then let us begin.” I can hear him taking his clothes off but I don’t turn around. The sound of his belt coming undone and falling to the floor. The rustle of clothes. His shoes getting kicked off. “Turn around, sweetheart.”
I face him. He’s completely naked right along with me. The sight of his hard penis makes me gasp. I haven’t seen it yet and it’s more than I could imagine. Large and long and veiny. The power he exudes is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.
He grabs my waist and pulls me flush against him before capturing my lips with his. I melt right into his arms. The fear and excitement coursing through me is already making me feel close to my release. I might die tonight before this is all over.
But I’ll be reborn into the woman I was meant to be.
He lowers us both to the ground. The stage is cold on my body but I don’t care. The heat Nikolai is giving to me is enough to warm me up.
“Lana, straddle my waist.” I do as he says. I can feel his hard erection against my inner thigh. “You’re going to lower yourself onto my cock and take your pleasure for yourself.”
I gasp. “Shouldn’t you take me?”
“This is how I’m going to take you,” he growls, gripping my hips hard. “I want your virginity to be stripped from your body and I want you to be the one to do it. This is how you’re going to show me you’re ready to give all of yourself to me.”
“I’m nervous,” I admit.
His eyes soften. “You don’t need to be nervous. You want this, don’t you, baby?”
“Yes.”
“Then lower your pussy onto my cock. And I’ll claim your body. And I’ll leave you bloody but I know you’ll like that.”
I gasp as my body tingles. The spot between my legs is crying to be touched. He grabs my thighs and spreads them wider around his waist. His erection is so close to my entrance.
“Lower yourself onto my cock, Lana. Now.”
His command is exactly what I need. It takes my worries away.
I lower my hips down until I feel his length press into me. “It hurts,” I whimper.