“I’m going to fucking kill you both.” I whirl around before either can answer. A flash of purple stomping up the stairs propels me her way, but blond, bubbly happiness leaps in front of me with her goddamn puppy dog eyes.
“Jagger, I’m so glad you stayed.” She wraps her arms around me, but my attention is on the girl making her way up the staircase.
“Yeah, Case. I stayed, but I need to run upstairs for a minute.”
“Oh, perfect. Quinn took Noah to the conservatory with Asher, and we’re ready for the cake. Can you grab them while you’re up there?”
“Yep. I’ll bring them down.” I sidestep her and start up the stairs, taking two at a time. The elevator would be quicker, but I have no idea where Poppy vanished to.
I call her name as I hit each floor, searching through rooms until all that’s left is the conservatory and the terrace. “Quinn,” I call out, spotting curly blond and fiery copper heads through the window. “Poppy.”
The minute my hand touches the knob, I hear it. The slap of little hands on the tile, racing toward my voice, babbling away. I push the door open, careful to make sure he’s not already in the way, and step into the room.
“Da-da-da-da,” Noah chatters, using my pants to pull himself up.
I pick him up, my eyes meeting Poppy’s. Her face is drained of color. Her eyes swim with…well, everything. I can see her running every scenario through her head, coming to the worst conclusions.
My teeth clench, hating the look on her face. Hating more that I have a choice to make.
Let her in and tell her everything, or let her go.
“Hey, um, Casey is about to bring out the cake,” I say without looking at Quinn. I’m sure she has questions, too, but I don’t owe her any explanations.
“Ake,” Asher squeals. “Ake. Ake.”
“Okay,” Quinn replies as she stands with Asher. “Do you need me to take him, too?”
I press my forehead to Noah’s for a second. “Yeah. That would be helpful.” He whines in protest. “It’s okay, buddy. I’ll see you in a minute.” I kiss his head and nod for her to leave.
Poppy is still on the floor, staring at me with wide, unblinking eyes. I move across the room and squat in front of her with my hands folded in front of me. “Well, you already ran off up here. Want to run some more?”
Her chest rises, a sharp inhale fills the silence between us. Gold and green dart across my face, jumping between my eyes. “H-he’s yours.”
“Yeah, he’s mine.”
“But he’s Casey’s brother.” I nod again.
“Told you I’m the furthest thing from a hero you can get.”
“She raped you, didn’t she?”
All the air whooshes out of me. My knees buckle. A violent shudder shakes loose a laugh—sharp, broken, nothing like a laugh at all. My head falls forward, shaking, while I scrub a hand over my brow. “Can a woman rape a grown man?”
“Under the right circumstances, yes. They absolutely can and will. We may be physically weaker, but some women are manipulative as fuck.”
“Speaking from experience?”
She shrugs, her eyes casting down. “I’ve been part of the ballet world for a long time. It’s mostly full of people who love the performance. The art and the beauty. But even ballet has bad apples. I’ve lost parts for refusing to sleep with directors. I’ve had male leads try to force themselves on me.”
My throbbing head pounds harder as my panic turns to fury. “I want names.” I’m going to kill them all.
“No, because it’s in the past,” I say nothing, but I will get those damn names. “But for the record, I also know several primas who pressured male dancers to sleep with them to keep their parts. A female choreographer. It might not have been physically forced, but it wasn’t willingly.” Her soft hand cups my face. “You don’t owe me any explanations, Jagger, but if you want to tell me, I’ll listen.”
My hand covers hers, our fingers threading together. She wrecks my heart and head. It may have only been days, but I feel like she’s what I’ve always needed. Who I was always meant to find. Now that I have her, letting go feels impossible.
“I’ll tell you,” I promise. “I’ll tell you everything. All the ugly, sordid details if you want them. But I need to get downstairs.”
“Sure. Let’s go.”
