Mine to Take (Mine #1)(20)

Robert isn’t doing this to me.

She didn’t want to suspect him.

She turned at his call, her shoulder brushing against Trace’s. They hadn’t spoken much that morning. She’d felt too raw, too overexposed after last night.

Just how fast did you tumble into bed with him? The question whispered through her mind. The answer? Fast. Very. Very fast.

A broad smile split Robert’s handsome face as he hurried toward her. He was sweating, the shine gleaming on him, because he’d been working with the dancers. He rushed toward her and wrapped her in a tight hug, sweat and all.

“I knew you’d come back,” Robert said as he squeezed her even tighter. “You just needed time. You just—”

“I-I’m not here to dance.”

He stopped squeezing her. Robert pulled back, but didn’t release her. He stared down at her, a faint line between his perfect brows.

Robert was tall, with a strong dancer’s body. His blond hair was brushed away from the strong planes of his face, and his tanned skin gleamed under the lights.

“You can let her go now,” Trace ordered him. But then Trace didn’t wait for Robert to comply. He pulled the other man away from Skye.

“Jeez, Skye, picked a jealous lover, eh?”

She could feel the blush on her cheeks. Skye cleared her throat. “We…we need to talk. Somewhere private.”

Robert’s face hardened. “Something’s wrong.”

Something had been wrong, for a very long time.

“The dressing rooms.” He motioned toward the right. “While everyone’s rehearsing, they’re empty.”

She knew the way, so Skye started walking first. She’d only taken a few steps when she realized exactly what Robert was doing.

He was watching her walk. No, more specifically, he was watching her leg. Dammit, had she limped? She didn’t want to limp in front of him. She didn’t like to limp in front of anyone. But especially Robert. He’d trained her for so long. Told her that she was the best dancer he’d ever seen.

Oh, how the mighty had fallen.

Skye straightened her shoulders. Slowed her stride.

A few moments later, they were in her old dressing room. Memories were everywhere in that room. She’d been so excited when she came in after a performance. So—

“You look…familiar to me,” Robert said as he closed the door and let his gaze focus on Trace.

“He’s Trace Weston,” Skye said, waving her hand toward him. “You’ve probably seen his picture in the paper.”

Robert gave a little whistle. “Right. I have seen you.” The whistle was more mocking than anything else. Robert didn’t look impressed. But then, if you weren’t talking about dancing, Robert normally wasn’t impressed.

His golden gaze turned back to her. “I want you to dance for me again.”

Skye tensed. She’d been afraid that he’d go right back to that.

Before she could reply, Trace put his body between them. “Have you been to Chicago recently, Wolfe?”

“Chicago? No, no, of course not.” His British accent tightened the words. “I’ve been here, for the last bloody month. Trying to make those dancers out there half as good as Skye…” He stepped around Trace. Smiled at Skye. “Have you ever seen her dance?” Robert asked Trace. His eyes didn’t leave Skye’s face. “It’s the most f*cking beautiful thing in the world.”

“I’ve seen her,” Trace’s voice was clipped.

Trace had seen her long ago. In a different lifetime. When he’d taken her to the community center. Stayed to watch her practice. She’d gotten much better than the way she’d been then.

Well, she had been better.

“We’re not here about the dancing,” she tried telling Robert again. The man had such a one track mind. “There’s something else that we need to discuss.”

“Something more important than you getting that sweet ass of yours back onstage? Doubt it. I don’t see you—”

“Someone is stalking, Skye.” Trace’s cold, quiet words cut right through the rumble of Robert’s speech. “Some bastard attacked her recently in Chicago.”

“Skye!” Robert’s jaw dropped. “Why didn’t you call me? Why didn’t you—”

“She said that the man first started following her here in New York. He got into her dressing room…” Trace cast an angry glance around the room. “Since the security here is non-existent, I can see how that happened. He got into this place, he got into her home, and—”

“And you said someone forced you off the road,” Robert muttered. He ran a shaking hand over his face. “Hell, I thought it was the pain meds talking. When you first woke up, you were out of it in that hospital. I didn’t realize…” His words trailed off.

Maybe because he’d just fully noticed the killing glare that Trace had aimed on him.

“You think it’s me, mate?” Robert demanded, backing up a step.

“You sure have easy access to her dressing room, mate,” Trace threw right back. “You know where she lived.”

“Of course, I did! I helped her move in! Dammit, I even had her back-up key.”

Trace’s shoulders stiffened. He turned and cast that rather scary glare of his at Skye.