Drawn To Darkness (Kings Of Mafia)

With the winter show fast approaching, things are tense at the ballet company. We already lost two ballerinas because they couldn’t handle the pressure.

And Mrs. Stafford has turned into a screeching banshee. Christ, the woman should’ve become a sergeant in the army. She sure as fuck has the lungs to shout out orders all day long.

Sitting in the auditorium during a rehearsal, the usual peace I get to experience is nowhere to be found.

“No! No! No!” Mrs. Stafford shouts while stomping her foot. “What have you all been learning in class? I have more grace in my pinky than you lot are displaying. Start over.”

Having had enough, I stand up and walk to the front row, where Mrs. Stafford is taking a seat.

When she looks up at me, I say, “I think you should take a break. Go home.”

“What?” she gasps as she climbs back to her feet. “The show is in three weeks!”

I give her a look of warning, then murmur, “Never raise your voice at me.”

She quickly collects herself and forces a quivering smile to her face. “I apologize, Mr. La Rosa.”

When she walks away, I turn to the stage and call out, “Everyone take a fifteen-minute break.”

Needing to get everyone under control so the show won’t be an epic failure, I walk out of the auditorium and go after Mrs. Stafford.

When I come around a corner it’s to see her laying into one of the janitors.

“You can’t mop the floor when we’re all still here. What if one of the ballerinas slips and breaks a leg?”

I can’t hear what the janitor is mumbling, and when I get to them, I glance at the poor woman, but I can’t see her face because the cap she’s wearing is in the way.

Locking eyes with Mrs. Stafford, I say, “Your office. Now.”

When I walk away, I hear something fall from the cleaning cart.

“You almost spilled bleach on my shoes!”

Losing my shit, my voice is harsh as I snap, “Mrs. Stafford, stop screeching at everyone and go to the office.”

Not waiting, I stalk to the office and shove the door open. Pacing the floor, I take a deep breath so I’ll calm down because I can’t afford to fire Mrs. Stafford this close to the show.

She comes into the office and shuts the door so we’ll have privacy.

I take another deep breath before saying, “I won’t tolerate you screaming at my ballerinas and staff. Everyone is stressed out, and you’re making it worse.”

“I apologize, Mr. La Rosa,” she murmurs. “The pressure got to me.”

“Take tomorrow off and get some rest. I’ll handle the rehearsals until you return.” When it looks like she’s going to argue, I shake my head. “It’s an order.”

She walks to her desk to retrieve her handbag, and before she leaves the office, she asks, “I’ll take the night to compose myself, but please let me return tomorrow. I’ve worked the whole year for this show.”

“Fine, but if I hear you screaming at one more person, it will cost you your job,” I warn her.

I can see my threat hit her hard, and she walks out of the office with a trembling chin.

As silence falls around me, I feel fucking agitated.

I don’t lose my shit a lot, but if there’s one thing that pisses me off, it’s people mistreating others.

I need to calm down.

I wouldn’t mind watching Eden dance instead of returning to the rehearsal.

When an idea pops into my head, I pull my phone out of my pocket and dial Eden’s number. I’m hoping I can talk her into dancing for me tonight. I swear if she says yes, I’m sending everyone home.

“Hi?” she answers, sounding a little apprehensive.

“Please come to the ballet company and dance for me.”

“What?”

“Come dance for me, Eden.”

“Ahh…I’m kinda busy right now.”

“I’ll wait.”

She’s quiet for so long that I check the phone’s screen to make sure she didn’t hang up on me.

“Aren’t you busy preparing for some kind of show?”

“Yes, but I can send everyone home.”

She’s quiet again, and it has me saying, “I’ll pay you. Name your price.”

“To dance? You’ve got some of the best ballerinas at your company. Why not ask one of them?”

“None of them are you.”

I hear her breathing then she says, “Fine. I’ll be there in an hour.”

I suck in a relieved breath when she agrees, and a smile spreads over my face.

Eden hangs up, and I tuck the device into my pocket as I leave the office.

I head back to the auditorium so I can tell everyone to go home. I want this place emptied out as quickly as possible.

Sitting in the studio, I keep checking the time, which is fucking crawling by at a snail’s pace.

The moment Eden walks into the room, wearing her tight shorts and cropped shirt, relief floods my body again.

I switch off my phone and put it away while my eyes follow her every movement as she walks to the desk, where she sets her phone down after connecting it to the speakers.

She stands still for a moment, and when the music starts to play, she turns around and looks at me.

Just from the opening notes I recognize Never Enough by Lauren Allred. It’s one of my favorites, and I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched The Greatest Showman.

Eden walks toward me, and when she’s close enough, she lifts her hand and rests her palm against my jaw. It looks like turbulent storms are brewing in her eyes.

Something upset her today.

The thought makes a protective feeling for her explode in my chest.

Our gazes remain locked for an intense moment before she suddenly spins away from me. Her body twirls and twirls, and it makes the music a million times more intense.

My heart instantly thunders in my chest, and the stress of the upcoming show fades away like mist before the sun until there’s only Eden.

She dances with so much aggression and passion it captures me in a trance.

In the middle of the room, she jumps into the air before falling like a dead weight to the floor as if something yanked her down. I dart up from my chair, thinking she got hurt, but she claws at the floor as if it’s keeping her imprisoned before she leaps to her feet in a single fluid motion I’ve never seen before.

With parted lips, I watch Eden express so much emotion I’m stunned speechless.

Pompeii begins to play, and she keeps dancing.

I sit down again, my eyes not leaving her for a single second as one song flows into the next.

I’ve seen awe-inspiring shows and the best of the best on a stage, but none of them compare to her.

I have no idea how much time has passed when she stops in the middle of the floor, completely out of breath.

Lifting her head, her eyes lock with mine.

The ever-present tension between us sparks to life until I feel it vibrating in the air.

Even though I hardly know anything about her, I want this woman more than my next breath.

Eden walks toward me, and I’m just about to stand up, but she places her hand on my shoulder, and I remain seated.

Her eyes lower to my mouth, and the intensity between us spikes dangerously high.

As I grip hold of her hips, she straddles me and crushes her mouth to mine.

Christ.

The intensity of emotions she evokes in me almost becomes unbearable.

My hands roam up her sweaty body as I take control of the kiss. My tongue massages hers to the beat of the music, and when she reaches for the zipper of my pants, I push her up and drag her shorts and panties down her legs.

I hardly get to look at her pussy before she’s straddling me again and rushing to free my cock.

Our mouths come together in a crash, and I have zero control of my body when I feel the heat of her pussy press against the head of my cock. I grip her hips tightly and thrust hard into her wet entrance.

“Oh God,” she sobs against my mouth when I’m only halfway inside her.

Eden’s hips jerk and gyrate while desperate need rolls off her in waves, making me realize she needs this moment as much as I do.

I pull out a little before thrusting harder inside her until I’m buried as deep as her body will take me.

At some point, we stop kissing, our breaths warming the inch of space between us.

Her beautiful gray eyes focus on mine then she begins to move on my lap to the beat of You Say by Lauren Allred. It’s not a well-known song, and the fact that it’s on Eden’s playlist makes me even more curious about her.

 I’m fucking entranced by the woman as she fucks me, and as her hips gyrate faster and faster, the intimacy between us builds to a crescendo.

When her features tighten and her fingers curl into my shoulders, the strangest emotion I’ve ever felt creeps into my heart.

I watch as Eden comes, completely hypnotized by the soft whimper falling over her lips.

Her body strains against mine as I speed up the pace to chase my own release.

Pleasure shoots through my abdomen, and a groan is ripped from my chest as I orgasm deep inside her.

We keep staring at each other as ecstacy fills the air around us, but just as I start to come down from my release, Eden pulls free from me.

She grabs her panties and shorts, and as she drags them up her legs, I say, “Don’t run.”

“I have to go.”

I tuck my cock back into my pants, and shooting to my feet, I grab hold of her arm before she can hightail it out of the studio.

Eden’s eyes snap to my face. “I’m not running away. I really have to go.” 

“Where do you keep running off to?”

She lets out a sigh, then admits, “Work.”

A frown forms on my forehead as I ask, “What kind of work?”

In my world, nothing good happens at night.

Not answering me, she pulls her arm free from my hold and walks to the other side of the room to get her phone. The music stops, and when she heads to the door, she asks, “Are we still on for Sunday?”

I nod as I close the distance between us. “Definitely.”

Eden doesn’t dart away, but instead, a smile curves her lips. “Thanks for asking me to dance tonight. I needed it.”

A grin spreads over my face as I lean down to press a kiss to her mouth before murmuring near her ear, “The pleasure was all mine.”

When I pull back, she walks out of the studio.

I take a moment to tuck my shirt back into my pants before pulling up my zipper. Digging my phone out of my pocket, I turn the device on as I leave the room.

Seeing I have a missed call from Damiano, I quickly dial his number.

When he answers, he asks, “What took you so long to call me back?”

“I was having sex,” I reply with a massive smile on my face.

The man doesn’t even respond to what I just told him and orders, “There’s a meeting at my club at nine tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll be there.”

The second I end the call, my thoughts are inundated with Eden and what happened between us tonight.

My first instinct is to go home so I can search for every little piece of information I can find out about her, but something keeps me from doing that.

I don’t want to invade her privacy.

For the first time, I actually want to take the time to get to know a woman. I want her to tell and show me who she is.

Exiting the building, I head to where my car is parked, and as I open the door, something I haven’t considered pops into my mind.

If things get serious between Eden and me, how the hell am I going to tell her I’m a part of the Cosa Nostra?