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“You have a ballroom?”Bethany gasped and moved deeper into the large circular room.Frescoes depicting turbaned sultans and voluptuous half-naked servants colored the walls and soared up the Moroccan ceilings.Beneath her feet, the marble floors gleamed with high polish, and she had no trouble imagining the room filled with beautiful people enjoying beautiful music, while sipping champagne and nibbling on canapés.
Unable to help herself, she twirled in a perfect pirouette, followed by a quick fist-pump in celebration that she hadn’t forgotten how.
Zach was smiling when she turned to face him, his head tilted slightly as he watched her.“It came with the house.It serves as a perfect entertainment center when I’m this close to Europe.”
“Wow.I seriously love it.”They had passed the entrance to the room on their way to Zach’s bedroom, but she hadn’t had a chance to see it fully.She glanced around again.Then she self-consciously tucked her hair behind her ears when she realized how intently Zach watched her.
“Enough to do that pirouette thing for me again?”he asked with another devastating smile.
With an answering smile, she stepped back to give herself enough room.Then, raising herself on her toes, she performed the move for him again, and added a couple more just for good measure.
When she finished her last twirl, he caught her face in his hands and kissed her.“That was beautiful.Stay here.I have a present for you.”
He left her standing in the middle of the room and walked to the far side, where a box she hadn’t spotted when they entered the room stood.Striding back to her, he held out the large ribboned package to her.
The most glorious satin ballet slippers lay within luxury tissues.She caught sight of the specialized designer label and gasped.“Oh, my God, Zach.These cost thousands of dollars!”
He shrugged and dropped the empty box.“Money doesn’t matter.Do you like them?”
“Are you kidding?I love them!”Stupid tears stung behind her lids.She forced them away and glanced up at him.“But I don’t know when I’ll ever use them.”
“Have you given any thought to dancing again, just for your own pleasure?”
“Not really.But I suppose it’s not out of the question.”She stroked the slippers, the old yearning rising to the fore.“I’ve put on too much weight to even think about it.”
“Bullshit.You’re perfect.If it makes you happy, do it.”
Tears stung harder, and her heart did that stupid little kick again.Suddenly, breathing became difficult as sensations, which had nothing to do with sex, pounded at her.She could fall for this guy so very easily.
“Besides, my motives weren’t altogether altruistic.”
She blinked.“Oh really?”
He shook his head, caught her around the waist and twirled her once before pulling her close.“Ever since you told me about your ballet training, I’ve dreamed of fucking you while you hold the arabesque position,” he breathed into her mouth.He swallowed her gasp and let her come up for air a full minute later.
“I think I’ve fallen into the arms of a kinky freak.”
He laughed.“You have no idea.”
Taking the slippers from her, he placed them back in the box and set it down on the floor.He took her hand.After kissing her knuckles, he wove his own through them and led them from the room.
The hallway held the same elaborate frescoes but in a broader subject matter, leaning towards more Eastern influences.“These are stunning,” she said.
“They were crumbling a little when I bought the house.Restoration took a while, but I’m glad I stuck with it.”
“You keep calling it a house.I think the right term is palace.It’s huge.Certainly more than big enough for one person.”
He turned his face away from her.“I needed a private place.It suited my purpose.”
He led her out onto a wraparound terrace that overlooked the mountains.The air was dry and humid and stung her lungs.But the combined scents of spices and clean air thrilled her sensory receptors.She took another breath, turned around and saw the enormous hot tub.
Frozen, she stared at it.
Zach glanced from her stricken face to the tub and back again.She heard him speak, but her attention was riveted to the sight in front of her.
“Bethany!”