Page 42 of Vicious Impulses (The Capo and Ballerina)
A desk.
This private jet has a full size bedroom with adesk.
Shock fading, I take a guess at his words. “My beauty? My sleeping beauty!”
“Yes,bella. You looked very beautiful resting like you were.”
My cheeks flush, though I’m grateful my melanin protects me from truly showing the rosy hot evidence. “You know, Caelian, there’s more to me than just my looks. Is that the only reason you want me?”
“You are an elegant dancer. Even in my dreams.”
“But…” I bite my tongue and hold off on the words about to come out.
What’s the point…
Caelian rises from the desk and ambles over to the bed. “What is it? You aren’t happy.”
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s something. I can always tell by how you pout. Did you know that? That you pout?”
He’s sat beside me on the bed, reaching out for a tender stroke of my cheek. My belly flutters like it’s been invaded by butterflies, a reaction I’m not used to. I blink at him in confusion, wondering how he’s drawn them out of me.
Flushed cheeks and butterflies. The other day I’d moaned and panted. I’dthrobbed.
It’s a contradiction when you consider he’s made me freeze up with fear and anxiety.
“You still don’t feel comfortable around me,” he says, studying me. “Perhaps that’s my fault. I haven’t spent time with you like I should have. That’s changing on this trip, Nevi.”
“Nevi…” I scrunch my nose.
“Yes, Nevi. I like it. Nevaeh takes so long to say. This is easier. My pet name for you.”
There’s affection laced in his thick-Italian-accented voice. Affection in his normally dark gray eyes.
It sets my heart racing. I don’t know how to process any of this. I’ve trained for more than half my life in dance, becoming one of the company’s most talented ballerinas, yet I’m lost on how to navigate situations like this.
No one’s ever prepared me for it…
I swallow. “Then… I get to give you a pet name too.”
“Like what? Boogeyman? Devil? The monster of your nightmares?”
He releases a thick, teasing laugh without realizing the truth of his jest.
Caelianisthe monster of my nightmares—he’s ripped me from the only life I’ve ever known and forced me into a marriage I didn’t want.
So, then, why am I tempted to smile? Why am I thinking of nicknames I can give him?
I’ve never been so confused, so conflicted, in my life…
We land in Zurich within the next half hour. My first few minutes in a new country are a whirlwind of armed guards, limo rides, and being shuttled from place to place. We leave the international airport after landing on a private runway and head to the Bareiss Boutique Hotel, where we’ll be staying.
The word boutique makes me think it’ll be a quaint hotel. I gasp when we pull up to the carpeted entrance and a bellboy waiting outside for us. The huge building before us resembles an elegant manor with a gorgeous clock tower at the very top. It’s located right next-door to Zurich’s largest river canal.
We’re swept inside in another flurry of movement. I’d get lost in the crowd of armed guards and hotel staff swarming around us if not for Caelian. His titan-sized hand engulfs mine and pulls me along closely at his side.
It makes me feel… safe. Protected. Even with a dozen-odd people forming a wall around us and sensory overload hitting me, I know that Caelian has hold of me and he’s not going to let go. He’s made it a point to keep me close in the chaos.