Page 11 of The Devil and His Goddess

“I’m not denying you saw someone,” Aiysha said as she set her food in front of her place on the couch and my meal in front of mine. “You probably saw that girl. She was walking up with our food when you saw someone, right?”

Could that have been it? It was just the girl? She’d been about my height of 5’4” and slim. The person I’d seen had been like a giant and wide across the shoulders. Not to mention, the girl was blonde and had been wearing a red jacket and jeans. I’d clearly seen all black and a hoodie pulled down to hide what was beneath.

But maybe I was wrong. My mind was playing a trick on me since I’d received that text this morning. Because the girl who’dbeenoutside and had a prime view of the front of the house hadn’t seen anyone coming or running away. If there truly had been someone there, she would’ve seen them.

With a reluctant sigh, I sat down next to Aiysha. “You’re right. I guess I overreacted.”

“No biggie, girl.” She nudged me gently and sat back with her pad thai in her lap. “Now start the show. I’m dying to watch more of my favorite polygamist family.”

In agreement, I grabbed my food, pressed play, and let the drama on screen rid my mind of figures lurking in the dark.

Chapter 5

Perseus

I WATCHED THE DANCERS FILL the seats of the theater from the wings of the stage. For a lot of them, this was their first time seeing all of the updates I’d done to the grand space.

Plastic chairs had been replaced with soft, inviting padded upholstery in a wine red color. The floor of the stage, which had been covered in numerous nicks, cracks, and even sagging strips, had been replaced with all new ballet-ready flooring. The carpet leading down the center and side aisles had been ripped up and replaced, ridding the mildewy stench from the theater in favor of fresh paint, polished wood, and clean air.

My chest filled with pride as the many dancers looked around and pointed at all the new features in awe. I had put a lot of thought and care into every little detail, and I planned on handling the ballets themselves with as much respect as the building upgrades.

My attention drifted to a trio, who slid into the third row seating in the middle section. I zeroed in on the dark-headed beauty among them. Harper was bundled in a gray peacoat, and she already had her hair up in a typical ballerina bun. The red-head beside her was pulling hers up into the same style while the Black man they sat with talked. They laughed at whatever he’d said, and my gut clenched at the sight of my goddess smiling. She was stunning, and I couldn’t wait to see that vision of perfection get covered in sweat, tears, and cum. That would be atruemasterpiece.

She’d spotted me Saturday evening when I’d appeared outside her house. I hadn’t expected her to see me so quickly, and around the same time, a car had pulled in. I’d had every intention of posting outside of her house to fuck with her, but with all the extra presences, I’d decided to come back another night. Hell, maybe I’d go back tonight. Torment my prey by watching her from the dark. Turning her on without even lifting a finger. My dirty goddess liked the depraved and unknown.

I slid farther back into the shadows of the stage wings as my dick got rock hard. Unless I wanted to give my new company an eye-full of my straining cock, I had to keep a level head and not think about my plans for her. As much fun as being horny in public was, now wasn’t the time.

I checked my phone and watched the clock change from 7:59 to 8:00. I ran a hand down the front of my dark gray button-up shirt, shoved my hands in the pockets of my black dress pants, and walked out onto the stage.

I flashed a charming smile at the gathered dancers below. I made sure to meet Harper’s gaze, which she quickly ignored by looking away. I clenched my fists in my pockets.

Wrong move, Goddess. Each time you dismiss me, the worse your punishment will be.

“Good morning, everyone,” I greeted, my voice booming through the room of nearly eighty dancers. “Welcome to your first day back for an all new season.”

The crowd cheered and clapped, and even from on stage, the excitement of the people below was nearly palpable. Ballet was what everyone here worked so hard for, and they were finally back after their time off. If someonewasn’texcited, they were in the wrong business. It took a real love and passion to make it in this industry.

“I know I introduced myself at the party on Friday night, but in case some of you missed it—” I made a point to find Harper’s gaze and smirked when I saw the pink rise on her cheeks “—I’m Perseus Mavros, the new artistic director and owner of the Silverlight Ballet Company.”

Another round of applause.

“When I bought and took charge of the company, it had been at one of its lowest points. As you can already see,” I said, gesturing to the stage and room with a wave of my hand, “I will be changing that. Note I didn’t say ‘plan on changing.’ Iwillchange it. We will grow and thrive as a company from this point on. That means new talent, innovative ballet productions alongside the classics, and a ballet experience unlike any other. I do not run things like other ballet directors who you might’ve worked with. I have my own way of doing things, which you’ll learn as we go.”

The thunder of claps this time came with a rush of elation and determination, and the force was hard enough to shake mountains. Everyone clearly supported my announcement and was eager to see it come to fruition.

When the room quieted, I swept my gaze over the gathered assembly and continued, “With a fresh season underway, I’ve packed multiple ballets into our schedule. We have a whole group of new dancers joining the returning ones, which will allow us to do more dances than previous years. To start out the season, we’ll be working on two productions. One at the home theater and another at the downtown theater.Swan Lakewill be our opening show at the downtown theater. Here, we’ll be doing an original ballet with music written by myself and Zagan Kraev, and dances choreographed by myself and fellow choreographer, Rupert Holdenberg. It’s calledDancing in the Dark.”

Excited whispers were exchanged among the dancers below. Their first show. That was always a thrilling thing to learn and look forward to.

“This week will consist of a lot of ballet classes where my assistant and I will watch all of you to determine what show you’ll be doing, what role you’ll be given, and who the principal, soloist, and corps de ballet are. Understood?”

With the acknowledgement of the crowd, I dismissed them to head to warm-up. I returned to my office so the group had time to stretch and really get ready for my observation. I answered a slew of emails and did much of thebusinesspart of my new role. Despite this part of the job being rather boring, it was worth dealing with. Having my own ballet company to manage and run to my liking was the greatest thing I’d ever done, and I’d barely even started the new position.

I glanced at the time and realized the classes had started. I wove through the building until I reached the section that housed all of the practice rooms. Everyone was in the largest of the rooms for now, but once we narrowed down which dancers would be doing what, we’d split them into different practice spaces.

Portable barres had been set up in aisles throughout the room, and the dancers were currently going through barre techniques with the dance masters and répétiteurs. Classical music played softly to give them something to work to, but it wasn’t so loud that it distracted from the instructor.

Rupert was already sitting at a table at the head of the room, studying the group as they went through different pliés. He nodded when he caught sight of me approaching, and I clapped him on the back as I took the chair beside him.

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