No. No. No. The last thing I needed was to attempt to dance in front of a half-naked or, even worse, a fully naked Bae. My lungs acted like they were on speed, never giving me a full breath of air while sweat popped onto my skin. Yet, I couldn’t keep my gaze from straying toward him.
My mouth dropped as I stared at the expanse of bare skin covering his well-developed chest. Holy cats. I knew his chest would be ripped. It had to be from the sheer width of his shoulders and the flatness of his stomach, but this... This was something from a sculpture. A large white marking on his chest contrasted with his skin enough to highlight its shape. From a distance, it almost looked like a bat, and I wondered if he was like the fictional Batman. One thing on the outside but something far different underneath. The thought had me pulling at a loose string on the hem of my shirt. I couldn’t think of him that way. Bae was my tormentor. I didn’t need to think that he might be nice.
The sound of another item of clothing whooshing to the floor along with Kasim’s bellow, “Bae. Arin. Stop. Don’t you dare strip any further,” had me clamping my eyes shut. Their chests would be bad enough. I didn’t need to see anymore.
I was gently spun until my back faced the inside of the room. Two warm, large hands landed on my shoulders, and I expected to drop to the floor from the weight of them. Instead they cradled me, giving me added strength. “Are you okay? I’m really sorry about this. I don’t know what’s gotten into these two.”
My eyes fluttered open at the softness of his voice. I’d known it was Kasim who held me—he was the only one it could be—but I’d never heard his voice so velvety before. Not even earlier when he’d helped me up from my fall had his voice sounded so deliciously sweet. Like catnip and chocolate all rolled into one.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I steeled my spine, and as much as I didn’t want to, I stepped out of his hold. The loss of his touch sent a shiver through me, but I refused to acknowledge it. My mind already focused on the dance I needed to perform.
It wasn’t a question of whether or not I could dance a seductive strip tease. That I could do in my sleep. Every private audition I ever did resulted in an immediate offer of acceptance. But those were done in a studio where those assessing me sat behind a one-way glass window so that I couldn’t see them. My instructors knew me so well. Performing in public and being the centre of attention tended to cause problems. Stage fright was what they called it, but to me, it was so much more.
Cold sweats. Nausea. Balance issues. I developed it all the moment I stepped in front of a crowd unless I was talking about computers.
Even in this room, at this moment, my stomach roiled and pitched as if I was on a boat. And everyone knows how much cats hate water. I swallowed a mouthful of saliva as I wiped my sweaty palms on my skirt. If I wanted their respect as a fellow agent, I needed to do this. I couldn’t fail at this opportunity that had landed in my lap. I can do this. Just ignore them. Dance for yourself like in your dreams.
The one thing I needed, if I was going to do this, was music. If I could lose myself in the beat, I just might be able to block them from my mind.
The steady beat of a bass filled the room. The Latin rhythm, slow and sensual like the sound of a beating heart. “Thought you might need some music to dance to.”
As much as I didn’t like the way Arin spoke to me in most circumstances, and despite the situation, his niceness felt like a soft stroking of my fur. I couldn’t help but respond in kind. “Thank you. This song is perfect.” The beat pounded through my blood, exciting me. My body naturally began to sway as it swept up inside me.
I can do this. Just close your eyes and feel. My eyes slid shut, obeying my mental command. My hips rolled as the music pulsed within. My fingers slid over the buttons of my blouse, undoing the top two before blazing a trail up over my neck and into my hair. With slow sensual movements, I plucked the few bobby pins from my hair, dropping them to the floor before pulling the elastic from my ponytail. At least I didn’t have to worry about my glasses, having switched them out for my contacts earlier. Although maybe I should have avoided my contacts and gone blind instead.
“Hell-ooo, kitty!” At the sound of Bae’s voice, my left foot slid out from under me, dropping me into a near-split position. Only the strength of my skirt and the fact that it didn’t ride up my thighs kept me from landing fully. But still the sound of a few busted seams had my eyes popping open. Heat rushed up my body as I grabbed at the air in an effort to either complete my fall with dignity or jump back up to standing.
Having two choices when I was already flustered always ended in disaster.
This time was no different.
I tried to simultaneously jump up and pull my legs together so I could slide onto the floor without ripping my skirt. The result... I did a half-hop, fell to the side, landing on my hip and elbow with my legs in the air. My skirt, well, that slid up—or down in this case—until the bottoms of my panties showed.
Holy balls of yarn! I scrambled to right myself as muffled snorts of laughter reached my ears. Kill me now. Without acknowledging them or even
