“What then?”
“In two months you’ll be gone, and I’ll still be here, having to deal with the gossip.”
He pressed a button to reverse the direction of the elevator. “You think I’m going to leave you?”
Everyone eventually did. “You did before.”
He lowered his head to put their eyes on level, his gaze narrowing with a seriousness that made her wary.
“I never left you, Alice.”
She didn’t want to ponder his statement. The implied meaning was too disturbing. She looked at the floor number lighting up. “Why are we going down?”
He didn’t answer. The elevator stopped and opened on the stage level. He took her hand and drew her down the corridor through the security door to the side stage. The auditorium was eerily quiet. Except for the dim path lights, the hall was dark.
“What are we doing here?” she asked.
He flicked a switch on the control panel and a spotlight came on, shining on the center of the stage. Her footsteps echoed loudly on the wood as he pushed her into the circle of light.
“Ivan, what are you doing?”
“You’ve always been too concerned about what other people think. You’re too frightened to let go, too worried it may actually be fun.”
“What are you saying?”
He removed his jacket and flicked it aside. “You’ve always been a good girl, haven’t you, Alice?”
She took an involuntary step back. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you always live by the rules, do the right thing, and keep up the right appearances.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing. I’ve always wanted a good girl. It turns me on like hell. It just means you’ve got to stop worrying about Tilly and the rest of the world and think about yourself for a change. Sometimes, you’ve got to let go enough to break a rule or two, or you’ll always give in to your fear. Sometimes, you’ve simply got to take what you need, and I know exactly what you need.”
“Since you think you have all the answers, what do I supposedly need?”
“Someone who knows how to let you live a little.”
“You’re going to make me live a little?” She glanced around the auditorium. “How? By making me sing?”
He held her eyes as he slowly advanced, stopping so close her nipples brushed his chest. “I’m going to strip you naked, right here on stage, and fuck you like a very, very bad boy.”
Chapter 5
“Ivan, please.”
She tried to back away but he gripped her hair, keeping her in place.
“You run, you only turn me on more. Move again and you don’t get to come.”
Her body trembled from shock, but also from something else, something primal that pulsed between her legs. “You’re crazy.”
“So they say.”
He let go, causing her to stumble, but he caught her around the waist. When he reached for her glasses, she arched back.
“Anyone can walk in.”
His smile was devilish. “Exactly.”
“It doesn’t turn me on.”
She shrieked when he flipped up her dress, slipped a finger past the elastic of her panties, and found her soaking wet.
His smile turned into a knowing grin. “I know you better than you think, Princess.”
Taking a step back so he stood just outside the light, he removed his clothes. Alice looked at the empty seats and the dark boxes above them. Her mind played tricks on her, making her see faces when she knew there were none. Despite her fear of being discovered, her desire spiked, her need turning fierce. The fear made her wetter, knowing the stakes were higher. Left to her own devices, she wouldn’t do this, ever, but Ivan took the control from her hands, making her feel she had no choice in the matter, and it was exactly what she wanted, to pretend he was in charge, forcing her to bend to his will so she didn’t have to own her wicked fantasies.
Naked and aroused, he walked back to her. Any second now his hands were going to be on her body and not knowing what to expect made it so much hotter. Ivan was anything but predictable. There was no safe routine with him. Thinking he’d rip the clothes from her body like the night before, he did the opposite, undressing her painfully slow. With every item he removed, he stopped to explore her body until there wasn’t an inch of skin not covered in goosebumps.
By the time she was naked, her heart drummed in her ears. Ivan gripped both nipples and pulled. He stretched her almost to the point of pain. When she whimpered, he eased up and soothed the hard tips with gentle flicks of his thumbs. Her sex was swollen and aching. Gripping her ass, he settled between her legs on his knees. He looked up at her with a heated gaze as he drew his tongue over her folds from top to bottom. Sparks of pleasure coursed through her body. Not giving her more than that warning, he parted her with his thumbs and fucked her with his tongue. She went on tiptoes to escape the onslaught of his lips, but he grabbed her ass to hold her in place and pulled her back down to his mouth.