Her phone rang, and she looked at the screen for several seconds before deciding to answer it.
“Hey, Dad.”
Just like that, the tightening in my chest returned and I began counting in sets of five. It was a weird habit, but it helped ease my tension.
“I know, Dad. I fell asleep early last night.” She glanced at me and smiled shyly.
She hadn’t slept early, because I kept her up most the night, and when she finally did sleep, I spent entirely too much time watching her.
“I’m not coming home for spring break, Dad. We’ll catch up after the commencement ceremony.”
She quietly listened to her father for a few minutes before telling him she loved him, too, and hung up with a sigh.
She got really quiet afterward. I didn’t want to broach this topic, but I hated the way she was getting lost in her thoughts.
“You don’t get along with your father?”
She snorted. “We get along fine. We just don’t connect on any level. He wants things for me that I’m not sure I want.”
“The business degree.”
She nodded as I pulled into a parking space in front of the building she directed me to with a point of her finger.
“The business degree. Whom I should marry. Basically, he thinks I’m not capable of running my own life.”
“So what is it you want for your life?”
She turned her body half toward me and nervously twisted her hands. “The only thing I’ve ever been sure of is my love for dance. It’s the only thing I’ve ever been passionate about.”
“And Daddy doesn’t approve.”
“He’d always seen dancing as an insignificant hobby, but my mom had encouraged me to follow my dreams. When Mom passed away, Dad took her words to take care of me out of context.” She turned away and gazed out the windshield, and for a few moments she seemed to be somewhere else.
When she spoke again, her hollow tone sent a chill through me. “Something happened when I was younger that made him really overprotective of me. He blames himself. Sometimes, I think I’ve dealt with it more than he has.”
I turned her head toward me, and she blinked as she focused in on me. I knew where her mind was going, and neither of us needed that at this point. “You can’t live by his outline on your life in order to alleviate his guilt. If dancing makes you happy, then put everything you have into it and don’t let it go. We don’t get many chances at happiness. Don’t let anyone stand in your way.”
She stared at me as if she were amazed I had any kind of insight into the situation.
“You’re not as closed off as I thought.” She reached out, ran her hand down my face, and yeah, she was my dance in life. She just didn’t know it, and I couldn’t admit it to her. Yet.
I was definitely closed off, but she saw me in a different way than others because she brought out another side of me. She kissed me then—a soft, lingering kiss that aroused the beast in me, who wanted to take her home and tie her to my bed and keep her to myself. When she pulled away and stepped out of the car with a parting smile, it took everything I had to calm my fast beating heart and raging hard-on.
Soon, I’d have to get her firmly implanted in my life, because I’d waited too long for this. I needed to keep her close to me and become the other great passion in her life.
Chapter Ten
Juliana
Devlin was a whirlwind I quickly became swept up in. The strong, gusting winds and flying debris didn’t give me pause. They excited me—pulled me in—unsuspecting that it was only the buildup of a tornado.
My eyes locked with Devlin’s as he regarded me in the mirror while I applied bright red lipstick. I felt entirely out of his league, but tried to convince myself I was worthy. That was probably my first mistake—thinking I needed to adapt into what I thought he wanted when really he’d already accepted me.
“What?” I asked as I put the lipstick down on the fancy vanity Devlin recently purchased for me. In the last few weeks, I spent more time at his place than mine.
He sat in a small armchair in the corner of the room. His index finger and thumb caressed the raspy stubble that ran along his jawline. His narrowed gaze locked on mine in the mirror, then he said, “You’re beautiful.”
My heart soared. It was amazing how little effort he needed to put forth to make me happy.
Blissfully ignorant. Something in my head was always on high alert, but it didn’t take much effort to brush it off.
As he stood, the midnight blue tuxedo molded the hard contours of his body and made his already intimidating air escalate. He hypnotized me—left me speechless as he closed the distance between us.