Page 42 of Dance with Me
His fingers smoothed over the hair at her temple. The gesture was soothing and almost too sweet. She wanted to tell him to stop, but what came out instead was, “That feels nice.”
He kissed her again, on the cheek this time, his lips lingering and his “signature scent” surrounding her.
As the painkillers drew her under, his voice was the last thing she was aware of.
“You can lean on me.”
It would be nice, but no. She couldn’t. She had to prove she could make it on her own.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. And then she was out.
The phone ringing next to her head startled her out of a deep sleep. She swiped it on and held it to her ear, gritting her teeth at the pain that radiated up her leg. The meds were wearing off. What the hell time was it? She felt around for her glasses.
“Natasha?”
Shit, it was her mother.
“Hola,Mami.” She gave up on the glasses and closed her eyes. Where was Dimitri? Not that she wanted his help, but he was the only one who knew where her pills were.
Esmeralda barreled on in Spanish. “Gina called. She said you’re hurt?”
“Just a sprained ankle. I’ll be fine.”Madre de dios,this was the last fucking thing she needed right now.
“Are you still going to be on the show? You can’t dance if you’re injured.”
“It’s not that bad, and I still have time before the show starts. Don’t worry.”
“Okay, because I haven’t bought my plane tickets yet, and if you’re not going to be in the show, I won’t buy them.”
Was this woman for real? This was about her stupid trip? God, she was so selfish.
Natasha gritted her teeth in an attempt to keep her tone measured. “I’mfine.I just have to stay off it for a few days.”
“Where are you? How are you going to do anything if you can’t walk?”
“I’m staying with a friend.”
“Who?”
Carajo.“Just a friend.”
The silence was full of disapproval.
“You’re staying with a man, aren’t you?”
“Ma, please—”
“You never listen to anything I say, but I’ll tell you, this is a bad idea. Why do you think he’s taking care of you? He wants one thing. That’s all they ever want. You can’t rely on men.”
“This is temporary—”
“¿Claro que sí?Well, what do I know. I’m just your mother. It’s not like I’ve ever been lied to by a man before.”
Natasha rolled her eyes and bit back a sigh of disgust. When her mother got sarcastic, she turned downright nasty.
“You’ve chosen a hard life. I tried to warn you away from it, but no, you insisted on being a dancer. What happened, it got too hard and you’re looking for a man to make it easier?”
“No, Mami.” Natasha rubbed at the headache forming behind her brows. “You have it all wrong.”
