BEAST: A Bad Boy Marine Romance by Alana Albertson

gaze traveled my body. I felt naked in his presence. He’d never looked at me like that, ever. All the years we danced together he’d treated me like his little sister. I had yearned for him to want me, see me as a woman and not as a little girl. I’d been so jealous of his girlfriends.
    But now, when I looked at him, I felt nothing.
    He took me in his arms and hugged me, attempting to kiss me on the lips, but I turned my cheek. He seemed startled and quickly released me.
    “What it is you doing here?”
    Well, his accent was still strong, despite being on television. “I was looking for Benny.”
    “He is not here. He went to Australia to take care of something.”
    Dammit. There went my plan.
    “But I can help you. . .”
    Doubtful. But I hadn’t come all this way to give up so easily.
    Pasha said something in Russian to his partner, who had come over to investigate. Years of immersing myself in Pasha’s language and culture allowed me to loosely decipher what he had said. “Go practice. It won’t be long. She isn’t of your concern.”
    Ouch. Well, it was true. I hated the way he talked to her, the way he had talked to me. But he wasn’t my problem anymore.
    He took me to the office and I sat down on the loveseat in the corner. There were old pictures of us hung on the walls, a trophy in a case behind a desk. “Why you come to Benny?”
    “I was wondering . . . my dad has run into some trouble, and the truth is I’m tight on cash. Do you think he could get me back on Dancing under the Stars ?” I cringed with shame the second the request left my lips. Here I sat, in my jean shorts and T-shirt, begging my ex-partner to help me out. I’d left the show and our partnership. Why would he ever help me?
    “I wish I could help with you on show, but I cannot. Do you need the money? How much it is that you need, I write you a check.” He reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a checkbook.
    “No, no, I don’t want your money. I want to work.”
    “Work? Let me be honest together with you. You will not get back on show.” He stood up from the desk and joined me on the loveseat. His hand pushed a lock of hair out of my face and I resisted the urge to recoil. “You are now beautiful to me. What we had, I will never have again. Oksana, she is incredible dancer, but you, Bellichka, when you danced, you were like magic.”
    I steadied my breath. “Okay. Then if I’m so incredible, why can’t I get on the show? Aren’t you a co-producer now, you can help me.”
    He laughed. “I am not head producer of show. Benny is. And he wants young dancers, more young than you. You are now twenty-three. The waitlist it is long. Unless celebrity requests to you, you will not be picked.” He inched into my dance space and this time, I retreated. “But you can come back to me, work at studio, compete together with me, I can take care of you, like you always wanted. If you work very hard, we can win again.”
    What? Was he serious? I didn’t want to date him now. Back then, I’d idolized him and that life. But now, I saw it as shallow. We had devoted our lives to dancing, not ever thinking about anyone other than ourselves. After meeting Grady, a man that had sacrificed so much for something he believed in, I wanted to be with someone inspiring. Someone who inspired me to be a better person.
    “That is a kind offer, Pash, but I’m not interested. Nice to see you again. Good luck at Nationals.” I stood up, and he mirrored me. I turned to leave, and he pulled me to him, kissing me on the cheek. But I felt nothing. Once there had been electricity between us, but the spark had extinguished. Until I met Grady, I’d wondered if I would ever feel that radiance from a man again.
    I wanted to feel that heat again.
    By the time I returned home, my father was passed out on the sofa. I crept by him and went to my room.
    My bedroom was stuck in time since high school. Trophies and pictures from my dance competitions adorned the