Page 143 of Doubts & Fears

“Yeah, pick something a little less dangerous.”

“Don’t tell me how to do hand-to-hand dancing. I used to do this with my father and Pasha all the time. Since neither of them is available, Jake will do.” She moved back to the balancing equipment and did the move once more. She was a straight line, not a wobble in sight.

“Why the interest all of a sudden?” I frowned as I looked up.

I would never tell her, but I’d checked out Pavel Lenkov’s most recent videos, and he was truly amazing. His style of dance was unique, powerful, and every single woman he danced with looked like they were madly in love with him.

“I blame Marcel,” she said upside down as she split her legs in the air while balancing on one hand. It looked fucking painful.

“Marcel?” I was having a hard time focusing on anything but the width of her spread legs. I looked around and saw several guys looking in her direction.

“Yes, I blame Marcel for many things. He thinks I should consider reconnecting with Pasha. How hard would it be to get a trapeze bar for me to use here? I’ll pay for it. I have money. I could really use one. Oh, and a trampoline. That would be helpful too.” She lowered herself from her precarious position.

“You’re all over the place. Come, we’re leaving early today. We can talk about it over lunch. Jake has a class to teach.”

“Not hungry. I’ll just take a little jog on the treadmill and wait for him. Wearedoing this, Jake, so be ready.” She pointed at him.

“Kinsley, dear, no matter how much you want to use my head to stand on, there’s no way Ivan will let you. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to be satisfied with the hand stabilizers,” he said with a soft smile, knowing me.

“I don’t want to use your head to stand on, although I could do that as well. Let me feel the top of your head again. I—”

I grabbed her, threw her over my shoulder, and carted her away. She thrashed, and I smacked her ass hard. She yelped but continued thrashing, so I smacked her twice more, harder, and then rubbed her ass as I walked toward the office. Turning the corner, I froze, then put Kinsley down.

“I can’t believe you spanked me. What is it with you and Alek today? Didn’t get enough sleep last night? Stay up too late torturing Allison?” she exclaimed.

“Mother, you’re here,” I said over her shoulder. At that, Kinsley whipped around.

“Allison from the other night? And did you say torture? What on earth is going on?” she asked, confused.

Two bright-red spots spread across Kinsley’s cheeks. Her mouth opened, and I groaned. Before she could regain her composure, the words tumbled out. “Mrs. King, it’s good to see you again. I’m sorry about that, it was an exaggeration. Yes, Allison from the other night.”

The tone in her voice went from embarrassment to downright sarcasm when she said Allison’s name. I was fascinated and curious to see how she was going to handle my mother. I ran my hand down her arm, but she brushed it away.

“Ivan is currently acting like a Neanderthal, which is usually Alek’s thing, but yeah. He’s upset—Ivan, not Alek—because I didn’t eat yet, which now that I think about it, is a Nik thing. Oh well, where was I? That’s right, Ivan doesn’t want me to use some of the equipment here in the gym. He thinks I’m a child when I’m not,” Kinsley rambled as she rubbed her ass.

I leaned down and whispered in her ear. “Jake is not equipment. Stop rubbing your ass. It’s distracting. And if you so much as mention spreader bars or edging, I’ll ensure you can’t sit down for a week.”

“Oh, you haven’t eaten lunch? Maybe we could do lunch together. I’ve been meaning to drop by and check on you. You know, the last time you came by, you gave us quite the scare.”

“Mother, I already made plans. I can’t cancel.”

“You did?” Kinsley asked, her voice soft and sweet.

“Okay, well, what about tomorrow or the next day? Maybe we could get together then?” She was being rather insistent. I wondered exactly what she wanted to get Kinsley alone for.

“I’d love that, Mrs. King.” Kinsley smiled. The poor girl couldn’t see the ulterior motive.

“Perfect. Why don’t you give me your number?”

“Mother,” I said, and Kinsley heard the warning in my voice.

She stepped in front of me, hands on her hips. Her anger flared. “I know you’re not taking a tone with your mother, are you?” For effect, she stood on her tiptoes and poked me in the chest. “Apologize, Blade,” Kinsley barked, to which my mother laughed.

“Indeed, Son, don’t you take that tone with me. It’s just a lunch date. If you want, you can come along with us.”

“Sorry. I’ll text you Kinsley’s number later,” I grumbled, feeling chastised. This girl and her grip on me.

My mother gave me a kiss, and after saying goodbye to us both, she left. I grabbed the keys and Kinsley’s hand. Her eyebrow raised in question.

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