Page 106 of Dance of Devils
Oh my.
A matching set ofsuperelegant lacy white bra and thong panties.
As I’m staring at the outfit, I realize there’s more. On one of the sitting chairs across from the couch is the gorgeous Hermes bag that Kir gave me before.
Wait. That’s impossible. That was in my car the night I ran from James, and it wasdefinitelypart of the stuff that got looted before I could get back to Pearl.
Then it hits me: it’s not the same bag, he just got meanother one.
I'm half expecting to see what I do when I open it, but it still hits me hard.
It’s all here again. Brand new, and mine.
The Nikolay Grishko warm up sets. The Luckyleo leotards. The Repetto slippers.Anothernote mentioning the two-hundred pre-ordered pointe shoes from Freed of London.
My heart lurches as I bring a hand to my mouth.
How the hell is this reality?
I take a quick shower in the ensuite bathroom, then change into the clothes Kir’s laid out for me. Which feels a little strange for a second, like I’m a doll he’s dressing up.
But that quickly goes away when I slip on some of the most expensive, beautiful clothes I’ve ever even seen. I look at my reflection in the mirror and tingle. I barely recognize myself.
With a smile on my face, I step out of the gorgeous bedroom. I have no idea where I should be looking for Kir in the vast mansion, or what I’m supposed to do next. But then the smell of coffee fills my nostrils, and I follow the scent.
As I go down the hall, I catch sight of something outside in the driveway as I pass a window. Before I know what I’m doing, I race through the house until I find a door, and tumble outside.
There, in all her cracked, dented, dirty glory, isPearl. A huge smile spreads over my face as I run over to the old girl, running my hand over the front fender. A mix of happiness and darkness swirls within me as I slowly walk around the car.
Happiness, because somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered that today was a street-sweeping day where I’d parked her. Which would have meant her getting towed if she was still there when the sweeper came through.
After Kir told me “you live here now”, I’d sort of resigned myself to the fact that Pearl was lost forever and felt a pang.
That's where Ilived. For ayear.
It feels like I spent the entire time I was doing that trying to normalize it in order to survive it. But after one night in Kir’s house, that normalization has broken apart.
How the fuck did I ever make it?
I smile a melancholy, wry smile, running a hand over Pearl’s side lovingly before I turn and head back into the house. The invigorating smell of coffee finally leads me into an enormous kitchen, and I stop suddenly when I see Kir already there—leaning against the kitchen counter in asinfullywell-fitted dark suit, no tie, reading theNew York Timesas he sips his coffee.
My core clenches when I zero in on his dark-framed reading glasses.
Like…are you fucking kidding me? It’s ludicrous: this man just keeps getting more attractive every time I see him. And the fact that he’s reading a physical paper instead of a phone or a tablet? It gives him this even more distinguished refinement that tingles through me.
I clear my throat and he looks up, his brows lifting and the corners of his lips curling upwards as he sweeps his gaze boldly over me.
“Beautiful,” he murmurs, setting down his paper and coffee.
“It’s...” I shake my head, my face burning. “Thank you.”
He nods. “My people are going out today. Your closet will be full by tonight.”
I blink quickly. “My…closet?”
He cocks a brow. “The walk-in changing room. Off your bedroom. My people have your sizes, and the personal shopper I use is quite good.”
A walk-in changing room.
