The Awakening by Kat Quickly Page A

Let’s dance together. You can feel the truth in my heart as I have felt the truth in yours.”
    Carmen sighed. She should be dancing with Andrew, not letting Victor sweep her along with his enigmatic way of speaking. “Why aren’t you with a woman, Victor?” She asked, her curiosity finally too much.
    “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” he smiled, a sadness there in his eyes.
    “There’s a lot to you, isn’t there?” she said as they stepped onto the dance floor.
    “As there is to you, Carmen.” He held her close. “Trust me, Carmen. I will never hurt you. I can only protect you.”
    She should have been dancing with Andrew. He should have been dancing with her, not gripping the ass of that girl as tightly as he was. She felt a stab of jealousy – strong and hot right between her thighs.
    “He’s not the one for you,” Victor said feeling her pain. “He will hurt you. As he is now.”
    “I am going to marry him, Victor. He has so much to offer someone like me.” Carmen looked away from the other woman’s face. Clearly she seemed to think she was something special to AA.
    “That’s Lisa, one of his exes,” Victor informed her. “She’s the one before you. She thought she was getting the ring. She thinks that pink rock of yours should be hers. Look at his face, Carmen. He’s not thinking of you.”
    Carmen stood still. “Why are you doing this, Victor?”
    “I’m not doing anything, Come on, dance with me. Relax. Don’t think about anything other than dancing with me. Look as if you’re enjoying it. You know how much that will upset Andrew.”
    She laughed and moved into Victor’s arms. “You don’t actually like him, do you?”
    “Truthfully?” Victor paused, considering Andrew thoughtfully. “No, probably not. He’s very good at what he does. He has an excellent pedigree – yes, that sounds awful. But he is terribly well connected and sometimes I need those connections for my greater purposes. He’s very sure of himself, as a young man heading into his prime should be. He’s ruthless and we need that at Great Blizzard. So, he has his charms, his purpose. But I don’t trust him.”
    “And I shouldn’t either.”
    “I don’t care about that. You simply can’t marry him. Or, if you do, you can’t have children. Everything will be lost if you go down that path.”
    Carmen felt that wave of confusion overwhelm her again. Just as she was getting the measure of Victor he was off somewhere else: somewhere quite bizarre and disturbing. It was a shame as she was enjoying the dance. She could wear her gold Manolo Blahniks and her head could rest comfortably in the crook of his neck. She liked that and the way he held her. He seemed so strong, so big and safe. Yet he was a slender man, no fat or flab there. She liked the way her hands felt so small and safe in his as they danced. She wanted him to hold her closer, to stop talking, to just dance and be with her.
    “Shut up, Victor. You talk too much.”
    He pulled her close to him as the music slowed, inhaled her essence and kissed her golden hair.
    Andrew saw the cloud of intimacy swathe his boss and his fiancé. Jealousy moved within him and he tightened his grip on his ex-girlfriend. She winced, but he ignored her. How could Carmen want to dance with someone old enough to be her father? How could she let him hold her like that, like Andrew did? Like Andrew was holding Lisa, thinking about how it would be to undress her and fuck her as she moaned and called out his name, just like they used to do, only a few short months ago. He snorted quietly to himself as they moved around the dance floor. Carmen was meant to be watching him with Lisa, feel uneasy and uncertain, and give up this refusal to even discuss moving in together. He wanted her see him with Lisa, let Carmen realise he could easily be with Lisa again. But Andrew was the one feeling stupid. Once more he was powerless, caught dancing with this ex-girlfriend, showing off.