Stripped (24 page)

“What?” I bite back gruffly, turning.

She’s smiling. “The stage…”

I look up, and there’s Emelie, dancing in the middle of the stage. Before I can process that fact, a bright white spotlight hits me from overhead and I hear Emelie’s voice sing out, “Shut up and dance with me,” while hooking her finger into a sexy little come hither gesture.

I might have blown it once, but I’m
not
going to blow it twice.

I run up through the aisle full force. When I get onto the stage she’s holding out her hand, waiting for me to take it.

Stunned and over-
fucking
-joyed, I put my hand in hers.

Boy, do we dance!

I can hear the crowd going wild—roaring with applause, the flash of cameras, loud whistles—but it’s as if none of that’s even happening here, really, it’s somewhere in the distance. The only reality is her and me.

I spin and wrap her up against my chest and the inside of my arm. She pecks my cheek with a kiss.

Just like we practiced—we keep playful light moves throughout, even as we graduate into advanced street and hip hop maneuvers. To wow the judges with our expertise in differing styles, for this song, we incorporated elements of swing, Latin, and ballroom—I sweep her across the floor.

I can’t let go of her gaze.

I
feel
her body all over mine; I savor
the weight of her when I hoist her above my head in a crowd pleasing lift; I
feel her in my arms, but it’s like I’m in a dream and I can’t decide if she’s real or if I’m having a really amazing hallucination.

As part of the performance, she wiggles her hips and arse to entice me to dance.

I take both her hands and slide her between my legs on the floor, then pull her up to my waist dramatically before twirling her around my torso.

When the bridge of the song comes, we show off the ballet skills she’s worked so tirelessly to help me get the hang of.

Coming back together, we salsa. It’s a crazy mash-up and an absolutely fun, upbeat crowd pleaser.

The music ends with her securely in my arms.

We’re both smiling, our chests heaving in oxygen, and the only thing going through my head are the song’s words—the message that she is my destiny and we were born to be together—

Born to dance together.

Chapter Twenty-three

Emelie

The Stripper and the Ballerina

The audience and judges love the routine. I don’t even care, because Stone is looking at me like it’s Christmas and I’m wrapped in a big red bow.

Each judge gives us their vote of approval, telling us how much they loved how we choreographed the dance and applauding our versatile abilities before announcing we’ve made it through this stage of the competition, to dance another day.

There is a big standing O, and I’m not sure if it was for the dance, the judges’ declarations, or the fact that Stone scoops me up in his arms and carries me off backstage.

He says nothing, but when we get into the shadows he presses me against a nearby wall, cradles my face in his hands and kisses my mouth with everything inside him, his very soul.

“I love you,” he finally breathes over my lips as he searches my eyes fiercely.

“I know, you told me.”

A small smile cracks his unbelieving demeanor. “You’re still here.”

“Yeah,” I say. “I love you too.”

He gets all rugged and moody and serious at once. It’s very hot.  “You love me?”

“Oh yeah,” I confirm in a sexy, smoky voice.

“But New York?”

“I love you more than New York.”

“The job with the company?”

“I told Viktor to take a flying grand jeté off the Brooklyn Bridge.” I shrug.

“Your dad?”

“He’ll have to get new sports jerseys made that read ‘Team Cartier and Wright,’ or ‘
TPYCD’
or, if he’s feeling extra frisky, ‘The Stripper and the Ballerina.’”

Stone laughs at that and almost loosens up until he stops suddenly and gives me a confused look. “But you never answered your mobile, or called or texted me. Why?”

“My dad and I had a tug of war with my cell phone and it landed in the goldfish pond in the hotel lobby,” I apologize. “I used the hotel house phone and called the police station several times and left messages, but I didn’t know if they’d actually get them to you. I don’t have a lot of experience dating convicts.”

“Convicts,” he jeers with a smile and kisses me again. Then he stops again. “But wait! All your stuff was out of the room.”

“I brought my stuff to my mom’s room so we could talk while I showered and got ready for the competition.”

He sighs. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“I went to see you at the jail, but they were still doing whatever it is they do, and I guess visitation isn’t even a thing while you’re being processed. Which was too bad; I thought a conjugal visit with my criminal-boyfriend would be pretty hot,” I explain with a playful tone.

Stone bursts with laughter.

“I was even thinking of ways to work a file into a hard salami,” I continue. “Which was pretty thoughtful, considering how handy a hard, long salami could be in the big house.”

“Speaking of hard and long.” Stone puts my hand over his growing behemoth. “I’ve got to get you out of here before he hulks through the fabric! Hope you’re ready for some bed-shaking, wall-rattling make-up sex.” He carries me towards the back exit, bumping into stage props along the way.

I giggle, giddily and uncontrollably, he’s so happy. “But we didn’t fight.”

“Maybe not as far as you were concerned, but to me it felt like we broke the fuck up forever!”

Oh. That’s terribly sad. “It never occurred to me that you thought I’d just up and leave.”

He shrugs, finds the back service elevator, and gets us into it.

“Without even saying goodbye?” I now realize how he was feeling,
all day
. “I would never have done that to you. In fact, I’ll do you one better, My-Big-Bad-Wolf-Prince-Charming, I
will never
do that to you.”

He hides his face in the curve of my neck and trails his tongue, lips, and teeth up and down my throat. “Everything went all tits up—your dad was livid, and I couldn’t even blame him. Had you been my daughter…” he shudders a bit. “I really wanted to punch ED in the throat, and then my family appeared out of nowhere to get dumped into the mix—”

“Then you went all Vin Diesel on that security guard, protecting me.” I smile. “That was so hot.”

He still hasn’t put me down and is, in fact, rocking his hips into me so I can feel the fullness of his
love
while he sucks my earlobe in between his teeth.

“Really? So you’re telling me that my resorting to violence in front of our families and being cuffed and arrested turned you on?”

“Inferno hot.” I wiggle to make him look at me. “The Stripper Saves the Ballerina.” I stretch my arm up and use my hand to spread each word as if it were up on a cinema marquee in lights. “Stone, I would’ve come to get you, but I knew your dad would handle it, and Sir Alastair said as long as one of us was at the competition, the other would be safe from disqualification.”

“Sounds like the ballerina saves the stripper,” he says.

The elevator stops and the bell rings, indicating our floor. “You might want to put me down to save your strength.”

“Oh, I have strength to spare,” he growls and shifts me so I’m over his shoulder while he digs the room key from his back pocket.

We get into the room, and no sooner does the door close behind us than Stone has stripped off all my clothes and throws me onto the bed.

A second later he’s on top of me.

“Oh God!” His erection strains against my belly.

Now, with him gazing at my naked body, it’s bigger and harder than it was in the elevator!

“Tell me why.”

“Why what?” I exhale a moan.

“Why do you love me?”

“Oh, Stone, there are so many reasons.” I smile, thinking of how incredible he makes me feel. “Being close to you makes my heart race. I’ve had butterflies in my belly since the moment I met you, and when I hear your voice I’m reduced to a puddle of melted ice cream.”

He gets his cock in his hand, rolls on a condom, and holds my legs down and apart with his hand wide on my thigh as he rubs the kitten with the behemoth, slow and easy.

I’m losing coherency.

“Keep talking, Princess.”

“You’re kind and generous, sexy and free spirited—you dare to dream and are even willing to share those dreams. I love that about you. When I’m with you, it feels like the wind is blowing through my hair and the sun is shining warm on my face. You always make me feel loved and desired and special and important.”

“I can’t wait until I can get at this sweet little pussy of yours with no barrier,”

In the midst of my muddled thoughts it almost sounds as if he says,
“Even if I have to make you marry me to do it.”

“Oh fuck, I can’t wait!” He slides into home hard, fast, and dirty.

The sensation of him filling me with his length and girth so quickly catapults me into euphoria. 

He bucks until I’m a soaking wet mess—I’m making so much noise I really hope no one calls hotel security—I don’t want to go through what we did this morning all over again!

In a blink, he slips out of me, flips me over so I’m on top, and wriggles his ass, whilst hoisting
my
ass over his face so he can have unfettered access to my vadge. But he’s already made me so wet I’m a waterfall!

“Stone…”

He rolls each of my nipples between his fingers and swipes my center with the soft tip of his tongue. “Mmm… I love the slow, deliberate flow across the palate,” he purrs as if sipping a fine wine.

“Oh fuck!” I cry as he continues his
very
skilled plundering.

“I like you like this,” he hums.

I like to be like this,
I think, but the actual words never form, because right then he grips the fleshy part of my hips and puts his big strong hands to work putting my core exactly where he wants it over his face.

“Oh, baby, lose control.” Stone vibrates each of the words through me.

Very soon I do just that, as the heat created from his endeavors shoots through my body, electrifying every wire in my nervous system.

While my frame is still wracked with spasms, he lifts my hips over his cock, carefully adjusts us at our joining and plunges deep, ripping a scream from my lips. He groans and slides my hips—hitting everything inside of me just right.

“Take the reins, gorgeous,” he commands. “I need these under my palms.” With that, he plays with my breasts and nipples, watching everything intently.

Stone’s breathing quickens, and he begins a series of rough erotic groans that send my every thought into orbit.

We come together and I collapse over him—happy, satisfied, and exhausted.

We hold each other close.

“Why do you love me?” I ask.

He plays tenderly with the loose strands of hair framing my face. “You’re my sunshine, Sunshine—you’re the star in the center of my universe; you give life to my world, light to my darkness, and warmth to my cold. When I thought I couldn’t grow any stronger you opened your arms to me and brought me into your rays. Before you, I was trying really hard to keep my life centered but could never seem to get it right. You came along, pulled me into your gravity, and set it all straight. I’ve never been in love before. But they say, ‘when you know, you’ll know,’ and Em, I know.”

Epilogue—One Crazy Year Later

Emelie

Dreams do come true—

Even if they’re not the ones you originally dreamed.

(And if you’re all out of wishing stars, I’d totally recommend airplanes as an excellent and worthy substitute.)

Then Prove You Can Dance
had a banner year. It was the show’s most watched season yet, and was nominated and won more Emmy Awards than any of its previous seasons. In addition to walking away with Outstanding Reality-Competition Program, we won Outstanding Choreography for three routines, one of which was for my solo performance to Mary Chapin Carpenter’s “10,000 Miles.” Yes, the one I performed at my high school graduation—with some tweaks that Stone helped me work in. Whoever would’ve have guessed it?!  

That sweet golden beauty is displayed prominently in our home in The Valley.

Yes, our home, together. It’s a nice place to raise children—considering we’re going to have one in about six months!

Oh yeah, surprise!

Let me get back on track.

So, Stone and I made it into the show’s coveted Top 20 and toured 82 cities in six months. America loved The Stripper and the Ballerina so much they even voted us into the Top 5!

The entire experience was spectacular!

We’re now bona fide celebrities!

We’ve been hired on by Sir Alastair himself with a three season contract as main choreographers, and are now regulars on the show.

As well as working for movie directors and producers as choreographers in Hollywood, we’ve been selected for roles as minor characters and have had several cameo appearances dancing in upcoming film productions. Stone is even slated as a main supporting character in the next Magic Mike movie,
Seriously Hung!
He’ll be playing a—you guessed it—stripper!

There are even lawyers and film producers working on a deal for film rights for our unconventional love story.

So, enough of the cool accolades, I know you want the down and dirty. Stone put a gorgeous rock on my finger halfway through the tour—asked me to marry him right there on stage after a live encore performance of “Pillowtalk.”

I said yes.

Two seconds later I was preggers, because of course his sperm is super-potent—it’s Stone! They probably wear little red capes!

Our families couldn’t be happier for us. My dad now wears sports jerseys with ‘Team Wright’ on the back—he sent two new ones specially made for us after we shared the baby news—it reads ‘Team Wright Plus One’!

On our wedding night, we exchanged gifts with one another. I found Stone a piece of sand-smoothed, blue sea glass during a sunset walk together on Hermosa Beach—the exact shade of his eyes—and had it set in a platinum pendant so he could wear it around his neck.

He gave me a diamond bracelet with a tiny titanium airplane charm engraved with our initials.

The tag he handwrote read:

“The object of my affection is also the object of my erection.”

After he fastened it around my wrist, he stripped me of all my clothes and did what Stone does best—

Well, s
econd
best
. Next to loving me, of course.