Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 39764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 199(@200wpm)___ 159(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 199(@200wpm)___ 159(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
Before I can take the first step, he grabs my wrist and whirls me around. Suddenly off balance, I collide against him. My head snaps back, my mouth right under his.
“Come to Sneak Peek,” he whispers. “I will fulfill your every fantasy.”
He’s capable. Of that, I have no doubt. But I don’t dare give him that chance.
5
“So I've got two choices, both really lousy.” I sigh as I stir my hot tea at the outdoor café's wrought iron table this morning. “Either I stick it out and hope this threat is just a sick joke or I part ways with Kristoff, try to find a new partner, and hope I'm still able to compete at this level for another season or two. You know that's as soon as I'd mesh well enough with a new partner to win anything.”
Jonathan sighs. “Don't you think it's time you stop dropping partners, love? Your reputation in that area isn't exactly sparkling.”
“Ending our partnership was a mutual decision.”
The handsome Aussie reaches for my hand across the table. “It was. The handwriting was on the wall. We weren't going to make it. I didn't want to win as badly as you. And sleeping together was a mistake.”
I want to deny his assertion, but he's right. Jonathan simply didn't possess my drive to win. We both knew it. Our one night of impulsive sex merely brought our problems to the fore. We should never have crossed the friends-to-lovers line. But a late-night practice, Jonathan suffering a recent break-up with his fiancée, me fearing our days of competing together were numbered, hours upon hours of nothing but sexually charged dances, with the tension between us so thick... The dam holding back our restraint eventually burst.
Afterward, our partnership went from strained to doomed. My ambition on the dance floor didn't mesh well with his need to check out to deal with his recent turmoil. Belatedly, I realized he needed more emotional support from a partner than I gave him. Our fights became hellacious. We said terrible things to each other, and he walked out. We ended the partnership the next morning.
In retrospect, it was best for both of us. Not long after, Jonathan's fiancée returned, and he retired to modeling and married life. After a few months of silence, he reached out to me. Over the last eighteen months, we've repaired our friendship. During that time, I've been happily paired with Kristoff...until I saw his blackmail video.
“But let's not rehash ancient history,” Jonathan says in that jaunty Aussie accent of his. “You came to me with a problem. Are you sleeping with Kristoff?”
“Of course not. Until the blackmailer showed me his extracurricular activities, I thought he was firmly in the gay column.”
“At least that's one less complication.”
The early-morning breeze whips through my hair. I look down into my steaming mug. “I have to decide what to do. I don’t want to lose Kristoff. Training a new partner would take so much time. But if the judges get their hands on that footage…”
“It would be devastating. The old crones would crucify you. The men...they'd either try to bury or debauch you.”
Exactly. “Every time the realization that Kristoff has jeopardized everything hits me, I want to strangle him.”
“In the dance department, you two are well-matched. He's a fabulous athlete who wants to win every bit as badly as you. Admit that much.”
I roll my eyes. “I suppose.”
“Stop,” he demands. “I know you too well. Everyone else may buy your puffed-up bitch act, but we both know better. It took me years to realize you’re not half as haughty as you are afraid. You hate being vulnerable, and you’re trembling at the thought of not holding that trophy so you can finally exorcise your mother’s ghost and prove to your family that you’re a champion. Is Daddy’s opinion really more important than friendship?”
Ouch.
Jonathan goes on as if he hasn't wounded me. “It’s time to stand by your partner. Shanna, you should know by now that winning at all costs to please your impossible family isn’t worth throwing people under the bus.”
God, he has my number.
“Have you taken up psychotherapy on the side, Freud?”
“Just calling your bluff.”
“I came to you for help, and you're giving me hell.”
“I’m giving you the truth,” Jonathan murmurs, looking like he wants to say more on the subject. Mercifully, he doesn’t. “Do you have any other information about the video or its delivery that might help you track down the blackmailer? Or does Kristoff know anything about how it was made?”
“Kristoff doesn't have a clue. But last night, the owner of the sex club in which the footage was filmed used his silver tongue to try and dirty-talk me out of my panties. If the event hadn’t been for charity—”
“Wait. You know where the tape was made?”
I nod. “A place called Sneak Peek.”