The Tyrant's Wife

Chapter 358: Annoying reputation

Song recommendation: Stand by you—Rachel Platten

One day down, one hundred and eighty-two to go. Evan glared at his calendar as if that would make the days roll by faster. No such luck.

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Earlier

When he arrived at the ballet school, he had the ultimate luck to be just in time to feast his eyes on Clarion’s performance.

To be exact, she was practicing a routine in one of the dance rooms. The entire wall facing the hallway was a one-way glass wall, where he could see the inside but was certain she couldn’t see him outside.

Good. Because there was no way she would continue dancing if she knew he was watching. She would stop just to stop out and tell him off.

For a moment, he wanted to admire her performance. She was wearing nothing but a leotard and pointe shoes, doing a graceful spin across the room, only to come back in a move he wasn’t sure was a pirouette. He didn’t know what any of them were called but they looked beautiful.

Putting aside her beauty, Clarion was an excellent dancer. She moved effortlessly, looking light as a feather even though he knew how much work was put into it. The only thing that was hotter than her walking out of a room swaying that perfect ass of hers was her dancing. She had poured her entire soul into it, lost in the music he couldn’t hear from outside but was certain was possessing her.

As if sensing someone watching her, she stopped, walked to the door, and he wasn’t sure if he was expecting her to not notice him when he and Rosaly were the only people currently standing in the hallway but he didn’t get the reaction he was expecting.

"Hi." He greeted sheepishly, then frowned at himself. What the fuck was wrong with him? He was acting like a teenager.

"If you’re going to come in here and ogle at dancers, I’m going to call the police." She threatened. Then she caught sight of Rosaly and softened. "Rosaly? What are you doing here? You don’t have class today."

He cleared his throat. "We came to get her new pointe shoes and a tutu. Which you would know but you were too busy telling me off."

"Likely story." She rolled her eyes. "If she needed shoes, she would have picked them up after her class on Saturday."

"She practices a lot on her own. Her old ones are worn out. You would know that." He made the mistake of looking down at her feet. Her shoes were losing the battle against friction.

"Evan West, are you looking for trouble?" She threatened.

"Of course not." He smiled. "Just shoes. I don’t know the way to the store. Do you mind showing me?"

She sighed helplessly. "If I see your annoying face again..."

"Trust me, you will. Desmond is too busy on Saturdays so he asked me to bring Rosaly for her classes." He winked.

"For fuck’s sake." She growled, and he could almost swear she was annoyed at the prospect of seeing him. However, the smile she was trying to hide didn’t go that unnoticed. He raised a brow. He was right.

Little Miss Clarion wasn’t that uninterested in him.

Her attempt at getting him to leave by pointing him in the direction of the store failed, so she decided to walk him to the store just so she wouldn’t have to spew curses in the presence of Rosaly. It was already good enough that the girl was distracted by dancers in the next room and didn’t hear her curse a moment earlier.

The man was annoying as hell. When they got to the store, his antics didn’t stop. He brought Rosaly over and used her as a weapon.

"Do you want Miss Clarion to help you choose a tutu, princess?"

Rosaly nodded excitedly.

Clarion rolled her eyes, mumbling under her breath. "Of course you would use the child. What was Desmond thinking, giving you this responsibility?"

He was thinking of ways to be the best wingman for his best friend, he thought. She didn’t need to know that or she chewed Desmond out.

She picked out a feathery white tutu and when Rosaly expressed she liked it, waited as the girl went to the changing room to try it out. She didn’t like getting help putting her clothes on, terming herself a big girl.

Clarion quickly realized what Evan’s intention was. With Rosaly away, he inched closer to her.

"So, Clarion, what do ballerinas do when they’re not practicing or making the world a happier place with their wonderful performance?" he asked.

"How is it any of your business?" She crossed her arms.

"I’m asking you out. Can’t you tell?" He tilted his body so he was facing her. She was yet to realize it but she was trapped between him and the wall. He couldn’t make it so obvious if he didn’t want to get kicked out.

"I am not going out with you, Evan." She breathed. He was looking down into her eyes and when he lowered his gaze to her mouth, he was just in time to catch her tongue sticking out to wet her lip.

"Why not?" He asked, his gaze trailing down the rest of her body. Her leotard was tight against her body, clinging to her like a second skin. She was not wearing a bra underneath. Fuck.

He cursed at the realization when he caught sight of her nipples poking through the fabric.

"My eyes are up here, asshole." She glared at him, catching him staring.

"Of course they are. You didn’t answer my question." He reminded her, taking his eyes off her boobs but he didn’t make it to her eyes before getting distracted by her neck.

How could a woman be so seductive? Her neck was just enticing as the rest of her, tempting him to suck on it and leave a mark. He wondered how contrasting it would be against her fair skin.

"I don’t want to go out with you." She nudged him away. "Do you even know how many women you’ve been with yourself? Your reputation precedes you, and that’s not the kind of man I want to be with."

Of course his past would come back to bite him now. So much for living in the moment.

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AN: Hi darlings, I have changed the daily update rate to 2 Chapters per day except on Sundays when I’ll publish 0-2 depending on how much time I have to stockpile. If we achieve June’s win-win goal, the daily update rate will increase to 3 Chapters.