Текст книги "Emerald"

Автор книги: K. A. Linde

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Текущая страница: 3 (всего у книги 12 страниц)

THE LAST FEW WEEKS HAD BEEN A BLUR OF PRESTON.

Trihn had been spending more time in Manhattan than she’d ever had before in her life. Despite Renée’s requests for her help with Intensive, she had been using her new free time to be with Preston. He had work, of course, and she still had to go home at night to Brooklyn, or her parents would freak out. They had already been asking questions about her being gone so much. Leave it to her parents to get overly sentimental about her moving into the city before it even happened.

Even though she’d been with Preston a lot, she didn’t feel overwhelmed like she’d thought she might. In fact, she became more excited each time. She had never felt like this before. Her insides would turn to Jell-O when she saw his name on her cell phone. She’d swoon at the thought of meeting him after work. Her head would feel light at the prospect of kissing him…of doing much, much more than that.

Things she was clearly ready for.

Very ready for.

Things she was hoping would happen tonight.

“How do I look?” Trihn asked Lydia, coming out of her sister’s bathroom.

She had taken way too long in deciding on what to wear tonight and finally ended up on an emerald-green dress that matched her eyes. It hugged her figure like a glove and stopped at mid-thigh. She paired it with nude heels and light jewelry. Her makeup enhanced her beauty, giving her cat eyes and high cheekbones.

“Like you have a date,” Lydia said. She sat up straight on the bed.

“Well, I do.”

“A date you’re excited for.”

“I am.” She bit her lip. “Can you tell Mom and Dad, if they ask, that I’m staying with you tonight?”

“Oh my God!” Lydia shot up off the bed and jumped up and down. “This is so exciting. Who is this guy?”

“No one. I don’t want it to be a big deal. We’re not serious or anything.”

“You’re serious enough for a date in that! This is all-new territory for you!”

“This is the reason I haven’t told you,” Trihn said.

“Because I’d be excited for you?” Lydia looked at her in dismay.

“No, because you’d make me feel like a freak for not having gone on a real date like this before.”

Lydia rolled her eyes. “Whatever. You’re not a freak. You’re just…picky. But who cares? I’m happy for you. When do I get to meet him?”

“How about never?” Trihn said immediately.

“I don’t bite!” she cried. “Plus, I have to approve of him.”

“I don’t need your approval. It’s too new, Ly. I don’t want to scare him off.”

“I won’t scare him! I’ll be a perfect big sister.”

Trihn rolled her eyes. Yeah, right. “Give me the summer. Then, if this is still the real deal when I start school in the fall, then you can meet him.”

“That’s, like…six weeks away,” she complained.

“Less than six weeks away. Now, hand me my purse, so I can head out of here.”

Lydia pouted but handed over the black clutch. Trihn kissed her on the cheek before leaving the apartment. She hailed a cab to Preston’s apartment, and when she landed on the sidewalk outside his place, she shifted anxiously from foot to foot.

Preston came out of the door of his apartment building a minute later. She launched herself at him without a thought, and he chuckled into her ear, holding her tight against him.

“Hey, beautiful,” he whispered.

“I missed you.”

He kissed the top of her head and squeezed her a little bit harder. “I missed you, too. Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah. Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” she asked.

“You’ll see.”

“Oh, I see how it’s going to be. Trying to keep secrets,” she joked.

He raised his eyebrows. “I don’t want to hear it. You walked me into a model studio party with a hundred beautiful people without warning.”

“I probably should have warned you, considering the number of people who hit on you.”

“The only people in that room who hit on me were men,” he confessed, shaking his head and leaning out to hail a cab.

“Wait! What about me?” she asked with a pout.

“Were you hitting on me? I didn’t notice.”

She smacked him on the arm. “I think you noticed. You were making out with me at the end of the night.”

He pulled open the cab door, and as she slid by him into the backseat, he gasped lightly in surprise. “Was that you?”

Trihn shook her head in exasperation. Only this man could tease her like this without her strangling him. “Let me remind you,” she said.

When he sat down, she drew him in for a kiss. He tasted like cinnamon candy, and she just wanted to eat him right up. Their lips melded together, and she felt the world drop away, as it only could with him touching her.

Then, the cab driver cussed loudly, interrupting them, and Trihn pulled away, embarrassed. “Where are you headed? I don’t have all day.”

“Sorry,” Preston said quickly. “Lincoln Center.”

Her head snapped to the side. “What?”

“Ever been before?” he asked coyly.

“Are you kidding me? Do you know how many times I’ve been to Lincoln Center? I’m in love with The Metropolitan Opera House. My best friend just got into Juilliard.”

“Well, I thought this might be up your alley.”

He retrieved a pair of tickets from the inside pocket of his suit coat and handed them to her. She stared down at the tickets with delight. Preston was taking her to the ballet to see Giselle. It was one of her favorites, too.

“Thank you.” She beamed up at him and threaded their fingers together.

He gave her another deep kiss. “Only the best for you.”

The drive Uptown was surprisingly easy, and they made it to Lincoln Center with plenty of time to find their seats inside the theater. They were about midway back on the orchestra level, on the aisle. Preston took the inner seat so that she would have the best view of the stage.

Excitement was already coursing through her body at what she was about to see. She had seen many ballets, but each time it was as if she couldn’t breathe when watching. She could judge their movements, the precision behind their leaps and turns, and the extension of the men and women onstage, but all of that would seem to blur. She would just get lost in the dance. That was all that mattered.

The lights dimmed, everyone rushed to get to their seats, and then the curtain rose, transporting the audience into another world.

Trihn sank back into her seat just as the first ballerina floated onto the stage. As she reveled in the performance, Preston ran his hand up her arm and to her shoulder, sending shivers down her spine. She glanced over at him, and he had this dirty smirk on his face. He wasn’t even watching the ballet. His eyes were solely trained on her.

She swallowed and stared forward, but her attention was torn. His fingers brushed her long tresses off her neck. The palm of his hand pushed flat against her skin and went up into her hair. He gently pulled it, and as her head dipped backward, her eyes closed of their own accord.

With his other hand, he laced their fingers together, bringing her hand to his lips. He tenderly kissed each knuckle before drawing her thumb between his teeth. She inhaled deeply.

He seemed to be enjoying himself as he kneaded the muscles in her neck. He leaned forward toward her and planted a soft kiss on her shoulder.

“Keep your eyes open. You don’t want to miss a second of this,” he breathed softly.

Dear God! He was teasing her. This was sweet, blissful torture.

She could hardly concentrate. Keeping up with two things at once, when one was tempting her with everything she wanted, was harder than it seemed. As the ballet drew to a close, she was glad that she had seen it before or else she would have been entirely lost as to what had happened during much of the performance.

His touch was captivating, and she found she was a lost cause when it came to this man. She hadn’t just forgotten the ballet in front of her face. The world had disappeared all around her. In a sea of people, there was just him.

The curtain dropped unexpectedly, bright lights flooded the auditorium, and Trihn jolted upright. Preston sat up straight, as if he hadn’t just been working her into a frenzy with the lightest touches imaginable. The smirk on his face was the only indication that anything was amiss.

As the curtain rose and the dancers began to take their bows, Trihn stood on shaky legs to give the ballet that she couldn’t remember a standing ovation. Preston applauded at her side. They clapped until everyone left the stage, and people started filing out.

She exited into the aisle, and Preston grabbed her hand again.

“Hey, we’re not done,” he said. The words were suggestive and were accented by his hand squeezing around her waist.

“Oh?” she managed to get out.

“Come on. I think you’ll like this surprise better.”

“Why is that?” she asked.

“Because I’d like to finish what I started.”

ALMOST EVERYONE HAD ABANDONED THE THEATER by the time Preston and Trihn rounded the corner to the backstage entrance.

“What are we doing?” she asked.

He flashed her a toothy grin before pulling out two backstage Press passes.

Her eyes widened. “Where did you get those?”

“Work.” He shrugged his shoulders, as if using Press passes to get them backstage was totally normal.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to use them for this,” she whispered as they approached the door.

“Live a little with me.”

She had no other choice. They were going to the backstage area of The Metropolitan Opera House, a stage she dreamed of performing on. She was excited and decided she didn’t care how he was about to use Press passes. She wanted to go backstage…and she wanted Preston to keep his promise to finish what he had started during the ballet.

Preston flashed their passes to the older gentleman manning the door. He brightly smiled at them and gave them directions to where the interviews were being conducted. The man was so nice that it almost made Trihn feel bad.

Then, Preston grabbed her hand again and began pulling her down the hallway. She giggled and clutched on to his body.

She remained silent as they walked through mostly empty hallways. Preston had this thing down pat. In the midst of their deceit, she tried to mirror his confidence, acting as if they were supposed to be there.

He took a seemingly random turn, fiddled with the doorknob, and then pushed it open. “After you,” he said.

Her eyes darted down the hallway. She was just waiting for someone to come out and notice what they were up to, but whatever was going on after the performance kept others far removed from this room. She entered with Preston on her heels. He shut the door behind her¸ casting them into darkness.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” she whispered.

His hands grazed her sides. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“We get caught. They kick us out. Someone calls the police. We end up in jail!” she said dramatically.

“We’ll just say we took a wrong turn.” He kissed her exposed shoulder.

“They won’t believe us.”

“People believe anything you tell them with enough conviction.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Like right now, I’m going to get you out of that dress that has been tempting me all evening.”

He grabbed her waist and pushed her back against the door. She thudded noisily, and a giggle escaped her mouth. His lips found hers in the darkness, and suddenly, her arms were forced over her head. A groan escaped her mouth. She thrust her body hard against his, grinding her core against his suit pants.

He locked her wrists together over her head and then reached around to slide the zipper of her dress down. It hit the base of her spine, and then the material slid down her narrow hips to pool at her feet.

“See?” he teased.

“Doesn’t count,” she purred. “I wanted you to do that.”

He nipped at her bottom lip. “I think you’re going to want me to do everything else I’m about to do, too.”

She had a feeling he was right.

Now that her eyes had adjusted to the sliver of light coming from the base of the door, she pulled back to get a good look at him. He was just staring at her, almost waiting for permission, which was something he plainly didn’t need. Or maybe he just wanted to make sure she was okay. Normally, she would be drunk, and things would just…happen. It brought a smile to her lips that being with Preston was so different than her life before him.

Her smile must have been what he was looking for because, in that instant, everything shifted. The air between them heated and crackled. His mouth crashed down onto hers, and the world disappeared.

Whatever had been building between them during the performance, building between them for weeks, was crashing down all around them. She couldn’t contain it, nor did she want to. She wanted him to take what was his. She wanted to be his fully and completely.

His hand left her wrists, and she dropped her hands to his shoulders, holding on to the stiff material of his jacket. He wrapped his arms around her and grabbed her ass in both hands. She gasped against his mouth. He took that as an opportunity to delve deeper with his tongue and dig deeper with his fingers.

Time seemed to stretch between them. They were in a hurry due to the circumstances of being locked in an empty room backstage, but still, he seemed to want to explore her body. His hands traveled over her waist, down the backs of her legs, and then up her inner thighs. She shuddered against him as she wrestled with unbuttoning his shirt and getting beneath it to his glorious abs. She started for his belt buckle without pause, but then everything came to a screeching halt when he touched her pulsing center.

“Oh God,” she moaned softly, trying to keep her voice down.

Until that moment, she hadn’t realized how much she’d truly wanted him. Her body was on fire, pulsing and radiating heat at his eager touch. His finger swirled around her clit through the soft material of her thong. She trembled, nearly coming undone right then and there.

“I like you like this.”

“How?” she managed to get out.

“Powerless at my fingertips.”

“I will be like this whenever you want me to.”

He chuckled softly against her mouth and continued his work on her lower body. “I want to feel this,” he said, slipping a digit under her thong and soaking his finger, “all around me.”

“Oh, yes,” she moaned.

At the feel of him, her body convulsed of its own will. She was so worked up that she could barely get her hands moving to undo his belt buckle, pop the button on his pants, and drop the zipper. She freed his cock from his boxers and gave it a few good strokes.

His head fell into the crook of her shoulder. “Fuck.”

The way he’d drawled it out with a deep throaty moan as she grabbed his cock made fuck her new favorite word.

Preston roughly hoisted her up, so that her legs circled his waist, and then forced her back against the door. She held on to his shoulders for support and was glad for her dancer balance.

He yanked her underwear to the side, and their bodies moved together until the tip of his dick was positioned over her opening. He shifted up into her just an inch, and she tensed at the slight intrusion.

It had been…a long time since she had done this, and the first time hadn’t been the best of experiences. She had promised herself that, when it happened again, it would be with the right person, for the right reasons. She had to remind herself that she had no reservations about Preston, and she forced herself to relax.

With ease, Preston pushed up into her slick wetness. Her head tipped back at the feel of him filling her, and she let loose a string of her new favorite word.

He chuckled hoarsely into her shoulder.

“You’re…so—shit,” he said incoherently. “Tight.”

“Mmm,” she groaned back.

He had stolen the rest of the words from her. Then, he started moving, and despite her loss of words, she found that she was loud enough anyway. He covered her mouth with a fierce kiss to try to silence her as he moved in and out. She pushed herself harder against him, meeting his movements as best as she could. His grip on her was firm as he did much of the directing, and she didn’t mind at all.

A rustling outside the door made her head pop up, and her eyes widened in alarm. “Shit,” she whispered.

Preston stopped abruptly and waited to hear what was going on. She could hear voices passing by the door, but she couldn’t make out the sounds. More came and went, and Trihn wondered if the dancers were leaving the building. If they got stuck here, she had no idea what they were going to do.

“Maybe we should go,” she hissed.

He gave her a disbelieving look. “Hell no.”

“There are people out there!”

“They can wait,” he said.

He started moving, and her body fired up all over again.

“Preston…” she pleaded, unsure of whether she was asking him to stop or start.

Her body was enjoying everything he was doing to her.

“They can wait, Trihn,” he repeated quietly. “I have every intention of finishing you first.”

And why would I keep him from that? She prayed no one would hear and that she could keep quiet, but he sure as hell was making that difficult.

The voices outside the room became louder and more frequent as his thrusts picked up pace. She bit her lip to keep from crying out and closed her eyes. Her body was humming. She could barely breathe. She could feel sweat beading on her brow. She couldn’t hold back any longer.

She tightened around him, and then everything released all at once. Her body shook uncontrollably. It felt like a hurricane was ripping through her. And it was pure bliss.

He jerked inside her. His whole body was a knot of tension, and then a euphoric smile touched his lips as he finished. “You’re…amazing,” he drawled slowly.

He pulled back and let her legs drop to the ground. They were shaking from the energy it had taken to hold herself up. She was glad his muscular arms had carried much of her weight. As he righted himself, she pulled her dress on, leaned back against the door, and sighed heavily.

They waited until the voices outside the door disappeared before peeking around the corner and exiting as discreetly as possible. She tightly held his hand and avoided eye contact with anyone they passed. She was sure she looked mussed and freshly sexed. And she didn’t care one bit.

They took a taxi back to his apartment. Before he had even gotten his front door closed, he was peeling her dress off again. She couldn’t seem to get enough of him, and he couldn’t seem to get enough of her. They fell into bed together.

It wasn’t until several hours later that she finally laid her head against his bare chest and felt her body succumb to sleep. It was the first night she had ever stayed at a guy’s place, and it couldn’t have been more perfect.

“ARE YOU GOING INTO THE CITY AGAIN?” Trihn’s mother, Linh, asked.

“Yep,” Trihn said.

She grabbed a vegetarian roll off the tray her mother was preparing them on and stuffed it into her mouth. “Thanks,” she said through a mouthful of food.

“Trihnity,” she said, shaking her head, “don’t you think you’ve been spending a lot of time in Manhattan?”

Trihn’s phone dinged in the pocket of her ripped black skinny jeans, and she pulled it out. She ignored her mother’s question. She was concerned. Trihn got it. She had heard it enough lately. Her mother had never cared that much before about her going into the city.

About ready to leave to go see Preston, she checked her new text message.

Got called into work. Hate having to cancel.

Damn.

No problem. Let me know if you can get away. xoxo

Will do.

“Trihn! Did you hear anything I just said?” Linh asked.

Her head popped up. “Was I supposed to be listening?”

“Your father will be back home tonight. Why don’t you stay in and hang out with us before you leave for good?” she asked.

Trihn moved over to her mom and kissed her on the cheek. “I love you, but I promised I’d help Renée with Intensive,” she ad-libbed. She hadn’t planned to do that, but she didn’t particularly want to stay in, wait, and wonder about Preston.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think a boy was involved.”

“Nope, no boy.”

Her mother gave her a long level look.

Trihn sighed heavily. “Ly told you, didn’t she?”

“She loves you,” Linh said in response.

Trihn snorted. Lydia liked to be the center of attention, and she and Mom had this older-sibling bond where they always ended up telling each other everything.

“So, who is he?” Linh asked, returning to making her lunch.

“Mom! I can’t do this right now.”

“I’m just asking,” she said sympathetically. “You never date.”

“I’m leaving now.”

Trihn grabbed her dance bag out of the front closet and slipped into her favorite pair of combat boots. Linh followed her to the door.

“I’m not trying to badger you, but you shouldn’t feel like you have to hide something like this from me. Lydia doesn’t.”

“I’m not Lydia, Mom.”

“I never said you were.” Linh held up her hands defensively. “But if you want to bring your young man over for dinner, I wouldn’t object either.”

Trihn rolled her eyes and opened the door. “He’s not my young man. He’s just a guy I’ve been seeing, and it’s not a big deal, so please stop acting like it is. I have to go or else I’m going to be late.”

She slung her bag over her shoulder and exited the house with her mother reminding her that she loved her. She trudged down the street and took her normal entrance to the subway, swiping her well-used pass, and slinking into her seat on the way into the city.

Her mother meant well, but Trihn wasn’t about to scare Preston by bringing him home to meet the ’rents after only a couple of weeks. Only Lydia would be crazy enough to do something like that with her flavor-of-the-week boyfriend.

Trihn reached the studio right as the lunch hour ended for the Intensive students. She strolled upstairs with her hair still down in her most comfortable destroyed look, and she dropped the dance bag at Renée’s feet.

“Hey, Teach,” she joked.

Renée raised her eyebrows. “Who let this trash into my studio?”

Trihn laughed. “Miss me?”

“I knew you couldn’t resist coming in,” she quipped. “Now, go get in some real fucking clothes, and get to a barre.”

For the most part, Trihn did as instructed. After changing, she spent the rest of the class helping Renée wrangle a group of teenagers before going through the barre exercises and spending a few hours working on the difficult choreography Renée had put together. It was exhausting and therapeutic. It had only been a few weeks since she stopped dancing, and already, her body had forgotten how rigorous it was. She had missed the constant ache of pushing her muscles to their limits.

When classes ended for the day, Renée sent them off to get dinner on their own before they headed back to the nearby dorms for the night. After a quick shower, Trihn and Renée went in search of dinner themselves.

“I’m glad you could drop by,” Renée said once they were seated at a nearby diner. “I haven’t seen you much, and I missed having you in class during the week.”

“Me, too,” Trihn said, realizing how true it was. Dance had been so central to her existence for so long. It was hard to think about what her life would be like without it.

“What have you been doing with all your time? Hanging out with Lydia? How does she like photographing for a magazine?” Renée asked. “I’d think her hippie sensibilities would take over and make her feel like a sellout.”

Trihn laughed. “I think she’s enjoying it actually. Even as some bullshit assistant to a second shooter, she’s happy to be taking pictures for a real job. Plus, she’s a materialistic hippie, so the money suits her,” she told her friend. “And I haven’t been spending that much time with her. Mostly, I’ve been with Preston.”

Renée perked up. “The creeper who showed up after studio hours?”

Trihn shook her head. Leave it to Renée to only remember that part about him. “He’s not a creeper!”

“Oh, no.”

“What?”

“You like him!”

“Of course I like him! I’m sleeping with him,” she admitted hastily.

Renée’s eyes widened. “I thought you weren’t going to do that again right away.”

“Well, I didn’t plan on it.” Her cheeks heated, and she lowered her voice. “I mean, I really didn’t plan it.”

“What didn’t you plan?” Renée asked, her voice wary.

“Having sex with him backstage at The Met after a performance of Giselle last week,” she whispered.

“What?” she cried.

“Yeah.”

“Were you at least safe?”

Trihn cringed.

Renée’s eyes went as big as saucers. “Are you insane? Are you trying to get pregnant?”

“No! I’m on the pill, of course.”

“Yeah, but—”

“It just happened. We’ve been dating for a couple of weeks, and things just…got out of hand.”

“You need to be careful, T.”

She nodded. “I guess. I don’t feel like I need to be careful with him though. I feel like I just want to get swept away and give him my heart and body and—”

Renée held her hand up. “Okay, I get it.”

“I’ve never felt like this before. Fuck, I mean, I had sex with him backstage! That’s just…so not me.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Don’t use that tone with me.” Trihn crossed her arms and leaned back in the booth. “All my life, everyone has told me to be less serious, to cut loose, to date. Now that I am, I’m getting flak?”

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to mother you. Sometimes, I can’t leave that shit at home and be happy. And I will be happy for you, as long as you’re not pregnant.”

Trihn threw her head into her hands on the table. “I am not pregnant!”

Renée laughed really hard. “I was kidding! Now, what is Mr. Wonderful doing tonight? I have a little time before I have to be home. I wouldn’t mind meeting him.”

“He’s at work,” Trihn said with a smile. “But maybe we could stop by his office and bring him coffee or something after dinner.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Trihn pulled out her phone and sent Preston a quick text.

I know you’re busy at work tonight, but I thought I could bring you coffee. Let me know when you’ll have a break.

Trihn and Renée finished up their dinner, and Trihn picked up the tab. She ignored the angry look Renée was shooting her way. She knew that Renée didn’t have that much money, and her mom worked too much to try to provide for her kids. Trihn could afford to pick up a meal here and there.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Renée said as they exited the diner, the bell over the door jingling noisily.

“I know, but I wanted to.”

Renée shrugged it off. “Any word from Preston?”

Trihn checked her phone and shook her head. “I guess he’s swamped. This will have to be a quick trip.”

They took the subway to Glitz magazine headquarters.

They ordered coffees downstairs at the Starbucks in the building and then carried them up the elevator to the marketing floor.

Trihn walked right up to the receptionist at the desk. “Hello, excuse me. I was just bringing this for Preston Whitehall.”

The pretty brunette behind the desk looked up at her with wide eyes. “Hi! Sorry, but Preston isn’t in.” She eyed the coffee covetously.

“He’s not in?” Trihn asked in disbelief. “He said he was supposed to be here today.”

The girl shrugged. “He was earlier. I don’t really keep track of everyone’s whereabouts. Did you want to wait or something?”

Trihn looked to Renée for support.

She shrugged her shoulders. “Don’t know what to tell you. Want to text him again?”

Trihn retrieved her phone and frowned when she didn’t see a text message from him. That was so weird. He was always so quick to respond, almost instantaneous normally. If he isn’t working, then what is he doing?

“He hasn’t responded to this one,” she murmured.

“Just try one more time.”

I’m at your work, and the receptionist said that you’re not here. What’s up?

They waited for a few minutes to see if he would respond, and then when he didn’t, Trihn handed over the extra coffee to the overworked receptionist, thanked her, and left.

“Hey, no big deal!” Renée said, patting her on the back. “I’ll meet him another time.”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t let this get you down. You were just raving about him!”

“I know, but…”

“Yes?”

Trihn sighed. “I don’t want to think too much into it, but isn’t it weird that he told me he’d be at work today, and he’s not here?”

“Yeah, a little,” she conceded. “But you don’t know what he’s doing. He could be out on an errand or helping someone with work or doing anything. It’s probably best not to freak before you talk to him.”

“You’re right. I’ll just wait to hear from him,” Trihn said. Then, she checked her phone. Nothing. “Well, whatever. Forget Preston. I have a little more time to kill. Let’s get some fucking doughnuts! It’ll probably be the last time I can binge-eat with you before you go to Juilliard.” Trihn laughed. “How are you going to live without the occasional street truck doughnut run?”

“I really have no idea.”

The girls talked and reminisced about old times while finding a street vendor to fill their craving.

Trihn kept waiting for her phone to buzz in her hand, but it never did—not the whole time she was with Renée, not on the subway ride home, and not when she finally fell into a restless slumber back in Brooklyn.