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She crossed her legs, and his gaze followed the curve of her calf to her thigh. The skirt she wore crept up almost obscenely.

Before she realized where his gaze was, he looked back at her face. She was staring out the window with an almost faraway expression on her face.

“Ballet.” She looked at him and smiled sadly. “I used to be a ballerina.” She chuckled, but it was humorless. “Sounds kind of ridiculous when I say it out loud, like I’m a little girl with a dream of what I want to be when I grow up.”

He didn’t know what to say, not when the pain was clear in her voice. She cleared her throat, and the smile she gave him was forced, but he didn’t delve deeper.

If he wanted her trust, wanted her to relinquish herself to him, mind, body, and soul, he needed to tread carefully. It was clear this was a very sensitive subject for her.

“Mr. Moore, can I get you anything?” Sandra appeared almost out of thin air and leaned in close to him. The scent of her cloying perfume was suffocating.

“I’m fine. Thank you.” He gave a pointed look at the flight attendant and saw the expression on her face. It was one he had seen countless times. With the kind of wealth he had, it was inevitable to attract attention of the sexual kind.

Women flocked to him, despite his adamant arguments he was not interested. He may have accepted their company before he met Stellan, but since taking on his submissive lover, there hadn’t been any other female or male who held his attention.

That is until he saw Blythe Winters in his office. He had known he wanted her before she even turned around and looked in his eyes.

“Maybe Miss Winters would care for something? Another glass of champagne perhaps?” Blythe’s smile this time was genuine, and he felt something inside of him shift.

“I’m fine. Thank you, Mr. Moore.”

Dietrich didn’t know which he liked hearing best, “Sir” or “Mr. Moore” come from those pretty, red lips of hers. When he realized Sandra had yet to leave, he waved her off and said, “Thank you, Sandra, but I think Miss Winters and I are content for the time being. If we need you, I’ll be sure to call.”

“Yes, Sir.” Sandra turned and disappeared toward the back of the cabin and behind the galley door. Hearing the flight attendant use the same title Blythe used didn’t have the same effect on him.

“So, Miss Winters, I’d love to hear about your endeavors en pointe.” She looked down at her lap, and her dark blonde hair made a curtain around her face.

He found he didn’t like her hiding what she felt from him. He leaned forward, knowing that he was overstepping the boundaries he set for himself, but unable to stop himself. He tilted her head up with his finger under her chin.

Her light green eyes widened at his blatant close proximity. He brushed her hair away from one side and curled it around her tiny ear. He let his finger trail over the delicate shell, marveling that her flesh was soft and smelled of soap and something lightly floral.

“Mr. Moore?” His name came from her as a whisper, and he found his gaze trained on her mouth. “What are you doing?” There was uneasiness in her voice, and that sound is what had him realizing what he was doing.

He let go of her and leaned back in his seat. The temptation to touch her had been too strong, and he had crossed a line because of his selfish needs. He would have Blythe Winters and so would Stellan, but all of that was in due time. Pushing her too fast would only end up in pushing her farther back.

That was something he wasn’t about to risk.

“I apologize, Miss Winters. That was completely inappropriate, but please don’t hide yourself from me.” He offered her a smile he hoped reassured her.

“It’s fine. Everything is fine.” She pushed her hair off her shoulders, and he wondered if he rattled her that badly. “My mother put me in ballet when I was five, after my father… left. I guess she thought it would keep my mind off things and help me stay busy. I took to it pretty fast and stayed with it all through high school. I knew I wanted to continue with it, and so I decided to venture away from home and start fresh in New York.”

Her voice was a bit shaky, and he wondered what had happened in her life and if she would trust him with her past. She took a deep breath and continued.

“I started going to school and training when I first came to New York. Everything was going great, but then I hurt myself on stage, and it ended before it even really started.” She grabbed the blanket that sat on the empty seat beside her. “Nothing violent happened and I didn’t have an affair with my instructor.”