Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 104185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
When I grabbed the discarded tomato from Jason’s burger and passed him my pickles, Bill’s curious gaze noted the exchange. His expression was puzzlement, like he found this act unsettling, but I didn’t dwell on it.
I ate quickly, avoided Jason’s gaze, and when I finished eating, I asked Derrick to escort me to my room. The plan had been to change into my pajamas and try to get some sleep, but I was so drained, I wound up nodding off on the couch with my clothes still on.
A hand shook me awake.
I bolted upright, and I couldn’t imagine anything more disorienting than waking with Jason looming over me, a strange look filling his deep eyes.
“Nothing’s wrong,” he assured me. “Grab your dance stuff.”
“What? What time is it?” I glanced around for a clock, but I was too distracted to find one once I discovered he was the only other person in the room.
So much for avoiding him.
“Ten thirty,” he said. “Which means we’ve got about thirty minutes.”
I stood and followed his request, moving to my bag and fishing out my leggings. “Thirty minutes for what?”
He had a cryptic look on his handsome face. What the heck was going on? When it was clear he wasn’t going to tell me, I went into the bathroom and changed quickly. As soon as I was done, he was waiting with my coat in one hand and my pointe shoes in the other.
I wasn’t prepared for the effect that had on me, and my pulse jumped.
Derrick stood guard outside my door, and as soon as he saw us, he ticked his head toward the stairs, like he was in on it, and I got the strange impression that whatever this was, it was off the record.
“Where are we going?” I asked when we reached the bottom of the stairs.
“That way.” Jason pointed across the street.
We hurried over the broken pavement of the parking lot, one man walking on each side of me. It was freezing in the wind and made me pull my coat tighter as we made our way toward the restaurant. It had to be where Jason had bought our lunch; I recognized the logo from the takeout container.
The marshals didn’t escort me to the front entrance. We rounded the building to where a cook stood holding a back door open.
The industrial kitchen was quiet other than the dishwasher. Was the place already closed?
It was. I followed the men past steel tables and racks of glasses into the dining room, where a few servers were counting their tips at a booth. The one closest to Jason stopped mid-count, rose from his seat, and gave us a curious look. As if he were waiting for something.
Jason said nothing. He dug his wallet out of his back pocket and passed a handful of cash to the server. Once the transaction was complete, Derrick moved to take a seat at the empty bar while Jason directed me toward a pair of curtained glass doors.
I didn’t ask any questions because there was an urgent energy radiating from him, and it seemed like talking would waste precious time.
The banquet room was softly lit by the chandelier overhead and the few faux trees decorated with white lights. Whatever party had been in here was over. The staff had broken down nearly all the tables and stacked them, leaving the center of the large room clear.
Jason followed me in and shut the doors, closing us into the room together. He motioned to the space. “Hardwood floor.”
If I wasn’t in such a hurry, I might have taken a moment to comprehend what he’d done. But I was too busy, already seated in a chair, winding the ribbons around my ankles.
16
JASON
I pulled down one of the chairs from the stack by the door, sat down, and forced myself to stare at my phone, so I wouldn’t watch Laurel as she began to stretch. Her black leotard and tights fit her body like a second skin, allowing me to see every sexy curve, and I’d struggled with temptation enough. No need to make it worse on myself.
Occasionally, I’d glance up to see her fluttering across the floor or spinning in impressive circles that somehow didn’t make her dizzy.
It was so goddamn hard not to watch her, but I felt like I shouldn’t. Like this time was personal, and I wasn’t sure she wanted to share, or if I’d earned the right to watch.
But after twenty minutes, she suddenly stopped dancing and stalked toward me.
She flung a finger at my phone. “Give me that.”
“You want to call someone?” My expression was dubious because that was a big deal, and she wasn’t allowed to do it from my phone.
“No. I want to put some music on.” The hopeful look on her pretty face made me weak. “Please?”