“Raine, can I have a word?” hollered Nikoli, as I went to leave with Jared and Mona. I came to a standstill. I sighed and headed towards him.
“How do you think your lesson went?” He asked taking a seat on the edge of the table.
“I enjoyed it. I felt alive,” I mumbled awkwardly.
“Good. You did well today, Raine. Very well, but I think you’d benefit from extra weekend lessons if you’re up for them?” He asked, raising his eyebrows, and waiting patiently for my answer.
“You’re the professional, if that’s what you think,” I nodded, trying to keep my tone void of excitement.
“Well then, I guess I’ll see you Friday,” he said flatly. He moved and grabbed a pen and piece of paper.
“Actually, I was thinking of maybe trying Latin, too?”
His hand momentarily paused from writing and he glanced at me, “Latin? You do know that it requires you getting up close and personal, so to speak, with your partner?”
I nodded in agreement, but I had no clue what it meant, I’d never been into dance so I couldn’t tell one style from another. I made a mental note to check it out on Google and You Tube.
He licked his lips and stood upright handing me the slip of paper. I took it and looked at the numbers scrawled on it with a frown. “My landline and cell number, you need me anytime, you call me.”
“Do you give these to all your students?” I snapped.
He closed the gap between us, hooked his finger under my chin and raised my head. His eyes silently searched mine before he spoke. “No, Raine, I don’t. You’re the only student to have these numbers.”
My eyes widened with surprise, “But why? Why me?” I whispered.
He smiled. “Because you’re special, Myshka,” he replied then grabbed his bag and walked away from me.
CHAPTER NINE.
I couldn’t stop repeating Nikoli’s words in my head; You’re special, Myshka. No one had ever said that to me before, not even Max, and as much as this compliment from another man, a man who wasn’t my husband, had made my insides explode with joy and fleetingly made me feel devoid of problems in my marriage, I couldn’t help but feel where Nikoli was concerned, I was stepping into dangerous territory.
I knew nothing about him, yet whenever I’m around him I felt unburdened of my life with Max. I am able to see without any filters or restrictions because my spirit is freed from all of that, even if it is only for a couple of hours. The pain seems lessened and further away. Then as I make my way back to Max, I’m counting my heartbeats loudly until I cross over the threshold of our marital home. That’s when the pangs of misery reverberate once again throughout me, and the cage comes down, hemming me in.
“You’re looking good, Raine,” Max said from behind me, startling me from my daydreaming as I danced around the spare room.
I quickly dropped my frame and spun around. “Max,” I gasped, my hand grasping my chest, “I thought you’d already left for court.”
He smirked, moved away from the door jamb, and skulked towards me. “I did, but I forgot some important papers,” he replied lowly. His hands slid around my waist and my body went rigid when he leant towards my ear and kissed my neck.
I scrunched my eyes shut tight and silently willed him to move away from me. His hands slid down towards my rear, where he forcefully pinched my backside and pushed my groin into his, “Watching you dance without a care in the world, has made me fucking horny,” he growled and nipped at my ear with his teeth.
“Too bad you must be in court,” I forced myself to say with a smile.
“True, I hadn’t better start something I don’t have the time to finish. I’ll be home late tonight, but will you wait up for me?” He asked.
I swallowed hard and nodded my head silently. His piercing blue eyes roamed like a predator over my braless breasts, visible through the satin camisole I was wearing.
“Show me what you’ve got,” he said, before crushing his lips against mine, his tongue forced its way passed my lips and into my mouth to explore.
“Show you?” I whispered nervously, moving my mouth quickly from his, unsure of what he meant. I’d learnt over the years where Max was concerned, what he says and what he means are two very different things.
He laughed, the deep rumbling laugh that not long ago I used to love, but now it sounded like teeth grinding against teeth. “Dance with me, what else would I mean?” He stepped back and motioned me to hold up my frame.
Slowly I raised my arms and waited. He stepped into me and grasped my hand roughly causing me to wince. Then he pulled me closer and his hand slid under my other arm to my shoulder blade. It didn’t feel anything like Nikoli’s hold, Max’s was possessive and harsh.
As we started to step slide step, I felt myself tense up, I didn’t feel safe. My smooth footwork that I had been practicing so hard, came out like stomps, clumsy and with no elegance. I tried to concentrate, to pretend I was really dancing in Nikoli’s arms and not Max’s, but it was to no avail.
I could feel my breathing change and it became ragged, the sweat began to gather between the valley of my breasts at the annoyance radiating from Max’s face. It was pinched tight; his blue eyes were narrowed and his nostrils flared. I stumbled when he tried to turn me and I headed towards the floor, but instead of Max holding my frame to prevent me falling like Nikoli did, he let me go. My body connected to the oak flooring with a deep thud and a sharp gasp of pain flew from my mouth.