Read Online Dance for Me (Fenbrook Academy #1) - New Adult Romance by Helena Newbury - Free Book Online

dress?”
    “Hey, one, I only smoke for medicinal purposes, two, unlike Mr. Millionaire here I got my degree and three, as for how you should dress...”—he leaned forward and loomed over her—“I got some ideas on how you could dress. You want to hear them?” And he gave her a mocking, wolfish smile.
    Clarissa gave a howl of rage, grabbed a pain au chocolat and stalked out. A moment later, we heard the front door slam.
    In the silence that followed, I shifted my bag up on my shoulder. “I should probably....”
    “Sure. Oh!” He pulled something from a pocket—a white envelope.
    I took it, surprised, with no idea what it was. I caught Neil looking between the two of us, a suspicious look on his face, and hurried out before things got any weirder.
     
    ***
     
    Clarissa gunned the engine and tore off down the driveway in a hail of gravel. The gates barely opened in time. “That guy!” she told me. “That guy!” And she gave a little scream of frustration.
    “I won’t ask you to go back there,” I told her meekly. “Sorry.”
    She shook her head. “I wouldn’t. Not for anything. God, he was so annoying. ” She sighed. “How was your billionaire?”
    “Millionaire.”
    “Same thing.”
    I had to think. “It was weird,” I told her at last.
    “Really? Dancing one-on-one for a slightly off multi-millionaire in his batcave?”
    “It’s not a batcave.”
    “What is it?”
    “It’s an underground...workshop.”
    “It’s a batcave.”
    I started picking at a loose thread on the seat. Then stopped because this was Clarissa’s BMW and she’d rage if she saw me. “Do you really think he’s off?”
    Clarissa shrugged. “If you had a mansion like that, would you spend all day down in the cellar?” She suddenly gasped. “Maybe he’s a vampire!”
    I poked her in the side. “I’ve seen him in daylight.”
    “Sunblock. Say what you want, next time I’m bringing garlic and a mirror.”
    “I thought you weren’t coming next time?”
    She didn’t reply. I finally opened the mystery envelope and gave a gasp of my own. There were five crisp hundred dollar bills inside. I’d completely forgotten about the money part of the arrangement.
    Clarissa watched me fingering the bills. “Level with me. Was it a lap dance?”
    “Clarissa!”
    “I promise I won’t tell anyone, not even Jasmine.” She considered. “Maybe Jasmine.”
    “ No! ”
    “These days it’s almost okay. I wouldn’t see you any differently. I mean—”
    “Okay, okay, yes. Yes, it was a lap dance and yes, we had sex. I went on top.”
    Clarissa’s hands jerked on the wheel and we swerved, tires screeching. She fought for control while trying to look at me at the same time. By the time we recovered, I couldn’t control the smile any longer and let it break across my lips. She pummeled me in the arm while letting fly with some choice curses.
    I let the laughter bubble up from inside me. I couldn’t remember when I’d last laughed—really laughed—and it felt good.
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Nine
     
    Darrell
     
    The last chunks of gravel were still hitting the ground when Neil, chewing on a pastry, asked, “So, did you bang her?”
    I closed my eyes and sighed. I loved the guy like a brother, but sometimes...“No. It’s not like that.”
    “Uh-huh.”
    “She danced for me. I need inspiration.”
    “Uh-huh.”
    “That’s all it was!”
    “Was that an envelope of cash you gave her?”
    “...yes.”
    Neil didn’t even reply. Just looked at me and poured himself more coffee.
    “It’s not like that!”
    “Like what?” He was watching me over the top of his coffee mug.
    “It’s not about the money.”
    “Oh. So it’s love?”
    I felt my face go hot. I wasn’t ready to talk about that part of it with him. I barely understood what was going on myself. Jesus, was I blushing? What was I, a fourteen year-old girl? “No! It’s business. I pay her to dance!”
    “Uh-huh.