Page 51 of When Hearts Awaken

A true predator will lull their prey into a false sense of security. “That’s thecorte, and much, much better, Taylor,” I rasp.

Playtime is over.

Charging forward, I watch her eyes widen as she is forced to follow my lead and I maneuver her in a new direction. She submits to me…so fucking beautifully; I don’t think she even realizes it. Her body is mirroring every single move from me, like we were made to dance together.

“Sacada. And no, I learned dance because my uncle is a world-renowned choreographer who encouraged my siblings and me to love the art of physical movement.”

The music swells and retreats, much like the changing distance between us. Taylor spins in a series of twists before I pull her back to me. Her eyes widen, her face flushed, her mouth parted as she rakes in breath after breath, exhilaration bathing her features.

A sweltering image enters my mind—her same expression. Us in bed, our bodies entangled. Her shattering around my cock after I rain a few well deserving slaps on her ass. Her eyes glazed over, in complete submission to the beast inside me. My nostrils flare, hot blood flowing straight to the semi in my pants.

I wonder if every interaction between us since that blistering punch has been some sick and twisted foreplay.

But she had to ruin the moment by opening her mouth.

“Something about your uncle rubs me the wrong way. It’s a gut feeling. I don’t know what, but I’m going to find out.” Taylor throws out a seething glare.

Anger churns through me. “What happened to you? Why are you so bitter and furious at the world? My uncle is a good man—one of the best Vaughns in our family. Why are you creating shit out of thin air?”

Her eyes darken at my rebuttal, and she dodges my attempt at pulling her back to my side. She spins around and walks away, not answering my question. Running away again.

I don’t think so.

In a few strides, I catch up to her, grab her wrist, and twirl her around. “Do you just need to blame someone for hurting you in the past? What better person to blame than your new boss, who might not promote you because you’re clearly not ready for it?”

She lets out a growl and hurtles toward me, but I counter her movement with a dramatic sweep of my leg.

“Arrastreand thenvolcada,” I heave out the moves as I keep her off balance so she has no choice but to lean on me or else she’d fall flat on her ass. “I looked into my uncle, Taylor. There’s nothing. You’re holding onto something that doesn’t exist.”

Her face turns red, moisture gathering in her gray eyes, and the sight of her tears hurts more than any hit she could’ve inflicted on me. “You don’t knowanythingabout me and what I went through.”

She slams her hands on my chest and pushes me back across the dance floor. “You think I’m just an immature brat who’s making shit up for attention.” I catch her hand on top of my chest as I stomp on the floor, rooting myself in place.

She circles me slowly before stepping into my space and pulling my head down, all to the beat of the music. “You know nothing about me!”

I growl, unable to stop myself as I charge forward and sweep out my leg, forcing her to lean against me once more. “Then tell me. Tell me why you’re hot and cold, angry one minute and vulnerable the next. What are you hiding, Taylor? What happened to you?Tell me so I can fix it!”

The words tumble out from my mouth with no forethought, but as the blood rushes in my ears and my hands tighten against hers, I realize how true they are.

I want to know what caused her to be like this. I want to find out so I can destroy whoever made her this way.

“You like the idea of fixing me, huh? Fix the poor, traumatized ballerina because Mr. Rich Guy has nothing better to do with his time?”

My hand tightens around her waist, and I pull her toward me. The fucking minx. Maddening. Stubborn. I’m getting through to her, and that’s why she’s fighting back so hard. I want to break down every single one of her walls and find out what she’s hiding. I want to see that sweet smile I saw earlier at the ceremony when she was teaching the little kids.

Taylor gasps, her body surrendering when her mind wouldn’t. Her back dips toward the ground, but I catch her at the last moment. My arm snakes around her waist as her leg bends and lifts. My other hand slides up her slender calf, dragging the soft fabric up her supple thigh before hooking her leg around my waist as we dip together, her warm heat pressing against my hard groin.

“Have you ever considered you’re wrong about me?” I rasp into her ear.

She lets out a moan. So soft I could barely hear above the music, but I feel every vibration, and it sets my body aflame. She dips her head back, her chest arched toward me, hard nipples saluting me through the fabric.

“That some of the wealthy are actually good people—like your brothers and me. That we actually care about you, even though there are days when I wonder why I even bother.”It’s because she’s real, unapologetic. She doesn’t care what others think of her. She’s brave. She’s everything you’re not.“Ask yourself, why do you push us all away?”

I press my lips to the outer edge of her ear and there it is…that alluring tremble again.

She melts in my arms, her body curving backward, and I chase her motion, unable to resist the lure of her pulse fluttering in her neck like a hummingbird’s wings. My nose dips to the crook of her neck and I inhale deeply and close my eyes.

The sweet scent of vanilla and something darker, nuanced and layered like this maddening woman in my arms. My fingers dig into her smooth thigh, kneading the muscles there—so strong yet so feminine—and pull her body up so she grinds on me, every inch of her plastered against my front.

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