Page 86 of All the Promises We Break

“It is if I make it one. But then she’ll make it tough for me and Eli. She’s already not happy with us being together, let alone married. She’s made a huge stink about it since before the wedding. This woman was here today. She told me I need to choose my path, AnSa or the audition. If I don’t choose, she will choose for me. I know what you’d say. You’d tell me to tell her to screw herself.”

“Well, yes, however, I feel like there is more you’re not telling me.”

“There’s another woman. She’s the one Eli actually arranged the audition through after I’d missed the first one right after his accident. Jill, that’s her name, she knows about the other woman making waves and gave me an alternative. I can dance for her and still do as much or as little as I want with both sides of me, AnSa and dance.”

“I’m not seeing the problem, Dylan. You can bow to the will of another, or you can soar like you just did in here.”

“The company I’d be turning down would be the one I’ve wanted to be in since forever. It was my dream.”

“I think you’ve answered your own question, sweetheart. You said it was your dream. Just because your dream changed doesn’t mean you’re giving up or giving in. It means you’re becoming who you’re meant to be. As angry as I was, knowing you were working for the Sawyers instead of alongside me, I now see it’s where you were meant to be.

“Look at what you created and put out there today. You could have never done that with me. The way I would have had you doing things would have crushed your spirit. For that and a host of other things, I’m sorry. So I go back to my initial question, does everyone know how impressive you are?”

“Everyone but that bitch, apparently.”

“Then show her who you are.”

Elijah

Dylan said she’d be late. That’s fine. Then she said she’d be even later. She ended her text message the normal way we do, but her words felt anything but normal. I can tell when she’s masking. It was more than the day and her foot. As the clock strikes seven, I’ve had enough.

I’m going to find her. I grab my suit coat, keys, and pull on the door handle. From the other side, Dylan tumbles gracefully into my arms from in the hallway. Her hair flies all around us. She’s in her flowing olive-green practice costume and the white sneakers I love so much.

“Holy shit,” I call out, as I take her dance bag from her shoulder.

“If you want to dance with me, all you have to do is ask.”

“I was coming to find you.” I set her back on her feet as I smooth the hair away from her cheeks. “Are you okay?”

I think she’s about to answer my question when she sheds her sneakers and leaps around my waist, linking her ankles behind my back with her arms wrapped at my neck. She slides her fingers into my hair and gives it a gentle tug.

After slamming the door with my left hand, I toss my keys to the table and cradle her neck and back. Her skin is so warm to the touch. My fingers easily tangle in her blonde mane. Our lips begin a tango before my brain can even process what’s happening.

In the waltz toward our bedroom, I press her back against the doorframe as she nibbles on my ear. My fingers rake down herrib cage as she gives me a small purr as a token of her pleasure. “Bed. Now.”

Besides I love you, those are the two best words I could have heard. We spin twice more, then lower us to the bed. I release her body from my grip to press my hands into the bed alongside her sun-kissed bare shoulders. Her hair is splayed across the turned-down sheets we left from this morning. She unhooks her legs with pointed toes, sliding free from her boy shorts and skirt with a smile that gives life and breaks your heart in the same beat.

I back away from her body for a moment to capture her foot in my hands. Her chin tucks toward her chest so I can see her eyes. They radiate with anticipation. I make her wait. It’s one of her favorite things. I settle my thumb just above her arch and let her beg me with those same eyes for that first curve down toward her heel.

I press a little harder than usual. Her back arches up as her fists make more of a mess with the sheets than they already are. As she pounds her right fist a couple of times, her left hand sneaks up to pull the loops free over the buttons hidden under her hair, allowing the top to slip down off her breasts. They’re looking perfectly at me. She knows I won’t be able to resist.

I release her foot. She uses its newly found freedom to push the back of my thigh, so I fall forward to get closer to my potential feast. With a little giggle from her, I give her an equal growl as I tease her nipples one at a time. Her ability to focus on the pleasure I’m giving her and seek her own desire at the same time is impressive.

Her hands work my belt and zipper with a hurried ease. Those strong pointed toes disappear inside my jeans and slide them down. Even lying on her back, she’s still dancing. She frames her body to give to me of herself and get what she wants in return.

I let go of her left nipple with a graze of my teeth and a little snap. This time she’s the one who is growling. I erase the rest of my clothing in a frenzy. The way I want her right now is how I wanted her the first night we met. The only difference is now I hover then strike.

Our chests touch. Then I pull back. I kiss her navel. She squirms and tries to grind up against me. Dylan sucks her bottom lip in as I tease her. A rub here, a moment where she thinks I may take her then I pull back. Her pained groan is the green light I was waiting for. She’s had enough.

Dylan grabs the back of my neck, aligns our bodies, and with a silent signal, I drive myself inside her. We sigh in unison. We have a combined mission. We want to make the other come harder than we ever have.

I don’t know what happened in the time we were apart today. What I do know is that it brought an enhanced Viper home with Dylan. I think our neighbors even know how grateful I am for it.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Wes

I can’t remember a time when I’ve felt this settled. I feel like I really sleep. I feel like I really breathe. Is that what happens when you let stuff go and let someone in? My only vice now is Hayley.

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