Page 29 of Master of My Heart

“How long was I asleep?” she asked, noticing it was dark outside.

“About eight hours. I s’pose you needed it.”

“I think I did.” She felt better than she had in days.

Sabrina followed Jayson out into the dining room and squinted in the bright light. Three men sat at the table, one of whom she thought was the guy from the snack room that morning. He didn’t frown at her this time, though.

“Guys, this is Sabrina. Sabrina, this is Micah, Kyle, and Scott. You met Micah’s grumpy ass this morning.”

She only looked at each of them long enough to get a sense of their basic attributes. Micah had short, wavy black hair and dark brown eyes. Kyle’s eyes were greenish-brown and he had light brown hair. Scott’s blond hair was curly and his eyes were the color of cognac.

“Hello, Sabrina,” Kyle said with a seductive grin, leaning back in his chair. Scott grinned in a similar manner. Micah only nodded.

Sabrina pressed her back against the wall. Ramon had a few regular poker games at his compound and she was often awarded to the winner. This isn’t Ramon’s house. Jayson wasn’t going to pimp her out to the winner.

“Give her a break,” Jayson muttered, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. “She’s had a tough couple of days.” He turned to her, motioning toward an empty chair. “Sit down. I’ll get you some pizza.” Nodding, Sabrina sat gingerly on the edge of it. “I usually have more guys here, but my non-dancing buddies are out of town.”

“Hence why I still have money in front of me,” Scott said, motioning to the pile of nickels, dimes, and quarters in front of him. The others laughed.

Sabrina offered a timid smile.

“Here ya go.” Jayson put a plate containing two pieces of pepperoni pizza in front of her. “Scott’s a terrible player,” he said in a stage whisper. “That’s why we let him come.”

Scott frowned as the other guys laughed. Then he shrugged. “Can’t really argue that.”

Sabrina closed her eyes and inhaled. The pizza smelled delicious and she grinned up at Jayson. “Thank you.”

He looked pleased. “You want something to drink? Cola?”

She nodded.

A few minutes later, Jayson placed a glass of cola on the table, then sat in the chair next to her.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

“Jayson says you made callbacks for tomorrow,” Kyle said. “Congrats.”

“Thank you,” she said with a nervous smile, glancing up at him out of the corner of her eye as she took a bite. He looked at her curiously.

“Where are you from?” Scott asked.

She swallowed her pizza. “Arizona.”

“I’ve heard it’s warm there,” Kyle remarked.

She smiled. “Yeah. I nearly froze on my way to the studio this morning. I don’t know how I’ll survive the winter.” She bit her lip, realizing she didn’t know if she’d still be here then. “If I make it,” she added with a nervous shrug.

Jayson squeezed her hand. “We’ll find you a nice warm winter coat.”

She gave him a thankful smile, warmth spreading through her like honey.

“You a soloist or principal back home?” Micah asked, picking up his pile of coins and stacking them neatly in front of him.

Sabrina looked at him for a moment, trying to figure out if his even tone meant he was hostile or not. She couldn’t read him with any certainty, which scared her. She depended on her abilities to read people in order to know what they wanted and to keep out of trouble. Jayson was easy to read. His expressions were open and unguarded. Scott and Kyle, too. But Micah... He guarded his emotions, and it made her stomach clench. Did he hate her? Did he want her? She couldn’t tell.

She swallowed. “I... Neither. The company I danced with wasn’t big enough to have titles like that.”

Micah raised his eyebrow. “And you thought you should audition here?” He snorted.

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