Page 17 of Control

Glaring at him, I silently warned him to back off. Instead, he grinned, enjoying challenge.

“How did you get into ballet, Claire?” Amelia interrupted our exchange.

I cleared my throat, thankful for the intrusion. “It was always my mother’s dream for me to study ballet. She enrolled me in classes in Paris when I was a teenager.”

“Wow! You studied ballet in Paris?!Trèsfancy!” Nat exclaimed. “So, you’re French?”

“Of course, she is!” Amelia said. “Can’t you tell by her accent?!” She rolled her eyes at the seemingly obvious.I stayed silent.

Jai’s eyes tracked me. It was like he could see through me. Read my thoughts.

“Are your parents still in France?” Nat asked.

My heart stilled whenever anyone asked that question. “No, they passed away years ago.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Amelia offered a sympathetic smile.

This was the last conversation I wanted to have in the middle of a nightclub, let alone in front of the one person who was already making me feel so uncomfortable.

“What brought you to New York?” she persisted.

My thoughts raced to come up with an answer. I should have thought of an explanation to that question by now, since this wasn’t the first time it had been asked. But I was caught off guard by it tonight. I hadn’t thought anyone would bring up my dead parents at a supposed “girls’ night out.” Not even Lana knew the whole story. She just left the topic alone anytime she saw me grow emotional when it was brought up.

Jai’s voice sliced through my thoughts. It was the first time I had ever been so happy to hear it. “Waitress,” he called out to the seductively dressed waitress walking by. “Can we get some drinks for the ladies?”

“Oh my God. I’m so sorry.” Amelia clasped her hands at her chest. “I’m such a bad host. I didn’t even get you ladies settled with some drinks.” She set about ordering a round of shots in addition to asking us for our drink preferences.

The breath I had been holding in rushed out of my nose in relief. I turned to Jai, feeling his eyes on my body. As if reading my thoughts, he furrowed his brow, wordlessly asking me if I was okay.

I offered a weak smile. As he dragged his finger over his lips, I could tell his mind was full of questions, but he didn’t dare broach them with the audience in front of us. I was thankful that he was so cautious.

Lana caught my attention, her face pinched with concern. “You good?” she mouthed across the table. I nodded; grateful she was here with me as the waitress left us all alone again.

“I have an awesome idea. You should teach a class for adults!” Nat shouted across the table randomly.

“Oh yeah, we could get a few friends together for a workout,” Amelia agreed.

“Are we invited?” Jai asked, gesturing toward his brother.

“I only care about my wife dancing in private for me,” Shyam growled, eliciting a shiver from her as if a chill had overtaken her body.

“Whatever, man. Guess I’ll have a show all to myself.” Jai winked.

Nat pointed at me. “If my ass will look as good as yours, then I’m totally down for this class!”

“You haven’t even seen my ass,” I laughed.

“Oh, please. Who could miss that thing? The whole lounge was staring when you walked in here. You could bounce a quarter off that thing,” she said, mimicking a smacking motion in the air with her hand.

My face heated in embarrassment. I could see Jai’s cheeky smirk from the side. His eyes zoomed to my rear on the seat, his lids turning heavy with hunger.

“Craig!” Lana cried out of nowhere. We all looked over to her to see her wiggling out of the booth and jumping to her feet. The giant of a man came over to our table and kissed her head, dwarfing her with his size. The gesture seemed too intimate for just a fling. Lana was the type who’d drone on and on about a guy, but it would never turn into anything serious, so I had stopped paying any mind to her numerous man-obsessions. But this time, I couldn’t ignore the way they looked at each other.

“Everyone, this is Craig,” she said, introducing him to us. Her arms barely met around his waist as she hugged herself to his side. “What time do you finish work, honey?” She batted her lashes as she stared up at him, just waiting to hang on his every word.

I had only ever seen him once at the hotel party, but based on their interaction, I’d probably see a lot more of him in the future.

“Craig, you may take the rest of the night off,” Shyam said. It made sense that the Sethis knew who he was since he was a bouncer attheirclub.

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