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“Very, answer the fucking question.”
I locked my arms over my chest, lifting my chin defiantly. “He’s my director. He’s not supposed to be nice but I can take care of myself. That wasn’t necessary. What you just did is only going to make things worse around here.”
His eyes darkened and I wanted to kick myself for what I’d just said. But then I circled back to the real issue. This man had no business being here. No claim to me or my life.
Yet…
“You need to leave.” I stepped toward him.
“You need to do what is expected of you. You had a deadline of nine p.m.” He stepped toward me.
“I’m not athingor apet. I’m a person. How can you demand anyone else show me something you refuse to offer yourself?” I took another step toward him, pressing my blunt nail into his chest, the tip of my French manicure a huge contrast against the dark gray shirt that stretched quite nicely over his chest.
“Respect is earned and not given. I’m more than willing to match your energy, Cress.”
Oh god, the temptation of the way his voice wrapped around my name like we were already intimately acquainted was not what I needed at the moment. The sinister look in his eyes and lax easy smile didn’t help either. “Nine p.m. was the deadline for you to discuss your options with Christian…”
“Options. Neither of you gave me options. You made demands.”
“There’s always an option as long as you’re prepared to handle the consequences of your actions.”
Consequences...
Dishonoring my family.
Throwing Jona to the wolves. This wolf…
Feeling the overwhelming guilt of leaving my family in the position to fend for themselves in an impossible situation.
I could make this work. This man was everything I would choose for myself. Handsome, established, sexy, and bad news…
The problem being I had not chosen him. Circumstances had. But regardless he wanted me. I could see it. Feel it even if I didn’t understand how that was possible. There was a connection of sorts between us that made absolutely no sense.
“Why me?”
“You were at the same meeting yesterday. Christian explained why you.”
My hungry eyes flitted all over his face, gauging his truth, searching for answers. “He explained why our families needed to reconcile the sins of the past by aligning. I’m asking you why me and don’t give that bullshit about my sister not having anything to offer. Truthfully, neither do I because I don’t want this or you, so why me?”
Something shifted in his eyes. A flicker of emotion he was guarding ferociously. “You have plenty to offer, little dancer. I’ll be here tonight for your show and we’ll have a late dinner together.”
Another demand. My throat tightened and my stomach flipped with anticipation of him being here later to watch me dance then us sharing a meal together.
“What happened to what I do being my choice…”
“It will be your choice, Cress. I’ll see you this evening.”
I was left with my mouth hanging open, nipples hard, body humming with a new, unfamiliar energy. I watched his back while he walked away so callously arrogant as if he just knew I would comply with any and all of his demands.
I allowed myself another shaky breath as energy buzzed, igniting a hum of promise that lingered even after he was gone.
This was going to destroy the woman I had worked to become. I could already feel my foundation cracking.
Once I was back in my dressing room, Christian was the first call I made. I couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought to defend me and instead took Elias’s side. He knew how important my position and reputation here was. Elias had just shit all over that. Everyone would want to know why Shilo folded so easily to my brother’s demands.
As soon as his voice flitted through the line I was digging in. “What the hell was that, Christian? Since when do you take demands from anyone other than our father?”
The line was quiet for a long moment before my brother exhaled his frustrations. “You brought this on yourself, Cress.”
