I swung to look at him then.
“Don’t put this on me,” came my biting reply. “I have nothing to do with you and your problems.”
But Luke stayed calm.
“I know baby girl. You’re the best thing that’s happened to me a long time, probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me in my whole life. But I want to clear the air because the things Serena told you were true, to an extent. I admit it. I used women, I slept with a bunch of ballerinas at the Academy, I was a fucking tomcat. I used my position to dazzle girls, and they came like lemmings. It was so easy,” he said slowly. “Too easy. I was getting bored of it.”
I swung to look at him.
“Oh really?” came my sarcastic question. “Then why’d you claim me? If I was so boring, then why’d you do it?”
The words were crude, but Luke wasn’t thrown off. Instead, his eyes narrowed slightly before going calm once more.
“Because baby girl, you made everything different,” he began slowly. “You were different from what I expected. You were giving and loving, with a real zest for life. You love music, you love being a ballerina, and it showed in your dance.”
The words ripped me in half but I wouldn’t give in. He’d hurt me so badly that I couldn’t cave. I wouldn’t let myself cave. So I acted mean and nasty, trying to get a rise.
“So?” I spat. “You’re saying that the fat girl got further than you think. So what? That’s hardly a compliment.”
He frowned.
“First you’re not fat, sweetheart,” he growled. “Gorgeous is more like it. Sure, you don’t have the typical ballerina body, but so what? Audiences love that plush form and you know what? Your dancing sells tickets, and that’s more than what any artistic director could hope for.”
“Second, you’re so different,” he continued, wonder creeping into that low voice. “You’re different and it’s a breath of fresh air. The ballerinas I’ve been with in the past only wanted to know what I could do for them. Whether I could give them a solo, or whether or not I could put their name in capital letters at the top of a program. But you never asked for that.”
“I did,” I burst in then. “I danced the solo in The Plumed Feather, don’t you remember? And you’re the one who made it happen.”
“Yes,” agreed Luke, “but you never asked for it. See baby girl? That’s the difference. The other girls always had their hand out, coaxing, demanding, even forcing me sometimes. Yes, I can be forced. But it wasn’t like that with you. You, sweetheart, are truly giving, going where the music leads, giving it your all. And I love that about you.”
My mouth snapped shut. Even the mere mention of the word “love” made me go tense like a rabbit. I had to get this situation under control. I had to take the wheel and drive this conversation like a boss.
So steeling myself, I looked fully into the billionaire’s eyes.
“What are you here for Luke?” I asked, voice on edge. “I don’t have anything for you. We’re finished, remember? The scene with the gun, the crazy lady, and all that?”
The alpha looked at me thoughtfully before answering. And when he did, his voice was quiet and low.
“I’m here for you, Kitty,” he rumbled, eyes searching mine. “I’m here to see if we can make it work between us. No more games, no more hook-ups, no more misunderstandings. I want to try, baby girl, really try this time.”
My heart leapt inside, but outside, my expression remained frozen.
“Really?” I asked sarcastically. “You want to try after disappearing for six months, and then re-appearing like magic?”
Luke took a deep breath, that big chest expanding while looking me straight in the eye.
“I didn’t come to see you because I needed to look deep in myself and figure out what the hell was wrong,” he ground out.
I let out a half-hearted yelp.
“What was wrong with you? That’s a nice change. I thought it’d be what was wrong with me.”
I expected Luke to storm off or slap me across the face for my nasty words. But the alpha knows how to handle animosity, and he took another deep breath.
“Yes, what was wrong with me. Like I said before, I was a tomcat and I wanted to stop that shit. I wanted to be a real man for you, and to get all my business in order before approaching you again. Because I love you, Kitty Jones. You’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time, maybe ever. And I was an idiot for letting you go, and for letting that woman manipulate our relationship.”
I shook my head, eyes blurring with tears. Because this was what I wanted to hear. It was what I’d lain in bed at nights dreaming of, my hopes so high that I couldn’t even admit it to myself. And now the billionaire was saying that he wanted to be with me.