Well, that he absolutely could control.
He’d asked if I could tolerate him, like it was a challenge—and I wasn’t going to lose. “Yeah,” I said dryly. “I’ll survive.”
I needed more space from him and stalked over to the dresser, setting a hand on top to use it as an impromptu balletbarre. When I began work on placement, I had expected him to take this as his sign to leave, yet there was no sound of him moving to the door.
He remained, watching.
Fine. He wanted a show? I’d give him one.
“Have you ever been to the ballet?” I turned my back to him and checked my form in the mirror hanging over the dresser.
“What do you think?”
I rolled my eyes, pulling my leg up into agrand battement, my working leg pointing straight up to the ceiling. I could see him in the mirror, so if he’d been paying any attention, he would have seen my annoyance. But he wasn’t looking at my face. In fact, it looked like he hadn’t realized I could see him, because his expression?—
Oh, God—it dripped with pure desire.
My mouth went dry and a muscle low in my belly clenched. It made my heart beat wildly out of rhythm.
As soon as his gaze found mine, his face went blank and he bolted from the room.
Uh oh, the voice in my head whispered.
I wouldn’t last five seconds if he looked at me like that again.
9
JASON
That was a fucking disaster.Maybe I should let Caroline replace me.
I shouldn’t have listened to Laurel’s conversation or barreled into her room when I realized she wanted me gone, and I certainly shouldn’t have put my hand on her. I could not make myself let go.
You’re irritatingly attractive.
Her words played on repeat, tumbling through my mind. The excitement it gave me was all kinds of inappropriate. I’d tried to push her away, even when I wanted her near. And I didn’t trust anyone else to take over her protection detail. I was the best, and didn’t she deserve that? Hadn’t she earned it with her toughness?
Like an idiot, I’d thought she couldn’t see me when she’d lifted her sculpted leg high into the air, moving like it was effortless for her. Fuck, it was wrong, but I wanted those legs wrapped around me. I’d stood there lusting after her and realized too late she’d seen it all.
No wonder she felt uncomfortable.
Caroline lifted an eyebrow when I returned to the living room.
“She said it’s fine,” I mumbled, but she didn’t look like she believed me. She disappeared into Laurel’s room to confirm.
The girl who found me irritatingly attractive stayed there even when Caroline left. Every once in a while I’d hear a soft thud or the dresser rattle, sounds of her moving around. It was hard to get my head around the notion that my witness was dancing in the next room.
It went quiet after a while and stayed silent long enough for me to believe she’d gone to bed for the night, which allowed me to relax to a degree. Though I was tired, I’d rather keep my interactions with her limited, so I offered to take the first night watch.
My plan backfired horribly when she appeared in the living room dressed in regular clothes again, her hair still damp from the shower she’d taken. She walked past me and went to the fridge. The bottle of beer with the familiar label on the door rattled when she pulled it open, drawing her attention for a moment. It must have been left over from some previous use.
“You can have it if you want,” I said.
She made a face. “No, thanks. Osterhägen tastes like swill.” She hesitated. “What?”
The smile on my face must have set her on edge. “Nothing,” I said. “You just didn’t strike me as a connoisseur of beer.”
She didn’t respond. Instead, she retrieved the half-eaten burger and sat at the empty spot beside me at the dining table, making a production out of finishing her meal.
