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“I can get you back down here in twenty,” he deadpanned.

I covered my mouth with my hand to stifle a burst of laughter. “Oh, that definitely sweetens the deal.”

I knew by the gleam in his eye that he wasn’t satisfied, so it wasn’t a big surprise when he grabbed my free hand after looking back and forth, then led me across the lobby and into the darkened box office. “Jackson,” I whispered, though I didn’t exactly try to stop him from whisking me away.

Once he pushed me up against the closed door and covered my mouth with his, there was no stopping him, not that I would have if I could. Not when I had been wanting this and hoping for it all day.

“Tell me,” I whispered while his hot, urgent kisses trailed down my throat and tingled my skin. “Tell me what you thought.”

“Not until you give me what I want,” he growled, pinning me against the door with his body while his hands took a tour of everything they could reach. One hand slid under my tank top while the other cupped my ass through my leggings.

“What is that?” What was he doing to me? It almost made sense to hook my leg around his and draw it between my thighs so I could rub my pussy against it. It wasn’t my fault he made me ache like this.

His growl reverberated through my chest as his lips painted my skin. “I think you know, Frosty.”

There was nothing frosty about me, not when his tongue dipped between my breasts. The urge to give myself to him made me arch my back in sheer abandon. It was torture holding back the sounds of the pleasure he was bringing to life. If anything, that made it hotter—the edge of excitement at the possibility of being caught.

But as much fun as this was, one of us had to be cautious. “You know, we shouldn’t be doing this down here. Professionalism, remember?”

“We’re on a break,” he argued, grinding his dick against me through our clothes until I shuddered and bit back a moan.

“I promised I’d call home before Liam goes to bed,” I whispered, my fingers running through his hair.

There was laughter on the edges of his rough chuckle. “Okay, you got me. To be continued, though.” Taking my hand, he pressed it against his bulge, groaning and closing his eyes when I made contact. “At the very earliest opportunity.”

“You think that’s bad? You don’t even want to know how wet I am,” I whispered, my tongue dancing across his mouth before I gave in and pulled away to stop torturing him.

Okay, maybe he was right. I did like playing games, but only when I had the right playmate.

“Now,” I pointed out with as much of a straight face as I could manage. “I will not call home until you tell me what you think after the last run-through. Your son will be disappointed the longer he waits. This is on you.”

“You’re a cruel, cruel woman.” He didn’t look unhappy about it, barely fighting off a smile. “Okay. I’ll tell you, though, you must know based on my reaction back there. It was… incredible. Transcendent. Engrossing. Would you like me to go on?”

“Did I ask you to stop?” I countered, touching my forehead to his and releasing a deep breath. “I didn’t think I would feel this way about it. I mean, obviously, I know it’s good, but all the little differences actually make it better. The new dancers add a new energy. I don’t know,” I confessed while he chuckled and took my face in his hands. “I can’t pinpoint it. I only know it’s special.”

“Yes, I think that’s the right word.” He brushed a kiss against the tip of my nose before jokingly peeking out into the lobby from around the lowered curtain in front of the box office window. “The coast is clear. Let’s synchronize our watches before I make my escape.”

“You are such a dork sometimes.” Not that I would have changed him. I stepped aside so he could sneak away, then waited until I was sure no one would notice before ducking out myself.

The man was incorrigible, but I couldn’t get enough.

I had promised Liam I would come home tonight to tuck him in since we would be celebrating after our opening tomorrow. Mom wanted help choosing her dress for opening night, too, though it wasn’t the dress that was really important. It was being able to do this together, like I had always dreamed. Sitting with her the night before opening my show. My creation.

All of my dreams were coming true, one after another. It was almost too much to take in by the time I headed out to my car after rehearsal, feeling like I was walking on a cloud. “Get some rest,” I called out to a handful of dancers leaving in front of me. “You all did great today.”

“Oh shit!” One of the girls stopped all of a sudden, looking down at the wheels of one of the cars as she passed. Soon, all three of the girls stopped to examine them. “Are these tires slashed?”

“This is my car,” I whispered, going from one side of the vehicle to the other to confirm all four tires were flat, with clean slits in the rubber. “What the hell?”

The girls ran for their cars like they were worried the same thing was waiting for them, but it wasn’t. Out of all the cars in this small lot dedicated to employees and performers, only my tires were flat. “Maybe somebody I turned down for a role,” I suggested, shrugging it off when it was the last thing I felt like doing. I was shaking inside, nauseous, but I played it off while calling a tow truck. I would have called Jackson, but he was meeting with the casino owners, touching base over dinner, talking about future plans. This wasn’t a stop-everything sort of emergency. I’d handle it on my own.

Why would anyone do this?

Ordinarily, I would have told the girls to go on and waited for a tow truck myself, but those jagged slashes in the rubber unsettled me so much that I welcomed their presence. I didn’t feel like I had to keep looking over my shoulder.

At least, not very much.

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