Girl on a Diamond Pedestal by Maisey Yates Read Free Book Online Page B

her, the music and his movements,and her feet seemed to obey the prompting from Ethan’s body. Everything just seemed to work.
    “So tell me, why don’t you know how to dance?”
    “No time,” she said, her words short and breathless, not from the exertion of dancing, but from being in such close proximity to a man. To this man.
    “Ah, right. The drills.”
    “Yeah, the drills. They took up—take up—a lot of time.”
    “I see.”
    “A person can’t be great at everything. You can be great at one thing, if you work at it. If you want it badly enough.” She repeated the words of her former piano teacher, slightly shocked at how quickly the words rolled off her tongue, even after all this time.
    “I don’t accept that,” he said, pressing his hand more firmly against her lower back, moving the lower part of her body closer to his. It made her tingle, made her uncomfortable … aware of her breasts. It was the strangest thing. Not completely unpleasant.
    “Doesn’t matter whether you accept it, it’s true. It takes hours and hours of dedicated practice to claim proficiency at anything. It takes true commitment.”
    “Hmm, commitment I’m not so good with.”
    Her pulse pounded harder. He flexed his fingers and the slight motion against her back made a shock of sensation skitter through her veins, lighting up every last part of her body, from her head to her toes and every inch in between.
    “Are you sure? Because you asked me to marry you only twenty-four hours after meeting me.”
    “Commitment with a catch I can deal with. Commitment with a defined end date, I actually think that’s quite perfect.But then, that’s why I don’t make commitments. Because I know I wouldn’t want to keep them.”
    “Well, then your proficiency must be in something other than relationships.”
    He smirked. “I have a major in business with a pretty accomplished minor in bedroom skills. And I only claim a minor because you insist a person can’t have a double major in life.”
    She felt her face get hot, her blood pounding in her temples. She didn’t know how he could say things like that so casually, like it didn’t mean anything. As if it didn’t throw his mind straight into the bedroom with all kinds of sweaty, half-formed visions.
    She’d watched her share of late-night cable when she’d been alone in her hotel room, so she knew what kinds of things he was talking about. And it was making her feel weak and shaky all over.
    “What about you? What’s your view on commitment?”
    “I majored in piano,” she said, forcing a smile. “Figuratively speaking, of course.”
    “Yeah, I got that. I see what you were doing there.”
    “You’re making fun of me,” she said. But he wasn’t doing it in a cruel way. He was teasing her. She wasn’t sure if anyone had ever really teased her like that. If anyone had engaged her in conversation quite like this. Intimate. Sharing. Strange.
    “A little bit.”
    He turned away from her and she couldn’t help noticing how striking his face was in profile. Strong nose and square jaw. He was almost too perfect to be real. He was like a man chiseled from rock, only infused with breath and warmth. And a glint in his eye that spoke of sin and pleasure.
    “Over there,” he said, inclining his head slightly. “That’s Anita Blaire, she’s the lead writer for the society pages.”
    Noelle turned her head slightly and saw a woman craning her neck to get a look at them.
    Ethan released his hold on her hand and placed his palm on her hip, sliding it around slowly until both of his hands were rested on the indent in her spine, just above her bottom. He moved his thumb slightly, slowly, his touch edging near intimate territory.
    She stiffened, her heart pounding so hard she was afraid she was going to pass out. She swallowed, barely able to finish the job thanks to her suddenly dry throat.
    “Relax,” he whispered. “Lean into me.”
    She did her best to relax but her muscles