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Book:Mafia Desire (Erotica) Published:2024-6-4

“Haven’t the studios spoken with you about it?” Lawrence asked.
Ben shook his head. “No one’s approached me about a movie and, if they did, the answer would be not interested.”
The Aussie’s eyebrows went up; then he leaned closer with a sparkle in his eyes. “What if it was a musical?”
Ben snorted in amusement then the smile slipped away as he realized the actor was serious. Finally, he shook his head and walked away. “Have a good evening, Mr. Manning.”
He made his way back inside and went through the gauntlet once more. He fielded a few offers for visits to private tropical islands, guest appearances on TV shows, bit parts in movies, and even one bid for a wild night of passionate sex. He turned down that fellow as quickly and gently as he could.
He’d gotten to dance with Trish and Catherine a few times as well, but mostly they were caught up in conversations with Mr. DeMonte and Killah D’s crew or one of the other men in attendance. Maybe they were celebrities. The ladies were certainly smiling a lot.
From La’Shia, he’d only received the briefest of attention. A kiss and a hug shortly after he’d arrived then she was off. Even Brooklyn was keeping her distance. Tilisha became scarce as well. They seemed to be watching for someone, but he couldn’t tell who it was.
As the night progressed, Ben began to wonder if he was going to teach them any dance moves. When he was out on the dance floor with one or more of his party, he was letting the beat move him without using the skills he’d learned.
Coming back to the present, he walked to the bar for another bottle of water. He saw Phil DeMonte preparing to leave so he walked over to shake his hand again.
“We’re good?” the man asked Ben, with just a hint of anxiety.
“What?” Ben replied in confusion then recalled his concerns from earlier in the evening. He smiled and pulled Phil into a hug and patted his back. When he stepped back, he grinned at the surprised look on the actor’s face which quickly became a smile.
“I knew we should have hugged it out earlier. You feel better now, don’t you!” Ben said.
Phil looked up at him and had to nod. “Actually, I do.” His eyes caught the motion of some of the guests taking videos of them. “Shit.” He gave Ben a crooked smile. “I have a couple of meetings with potential backers in New York, but if that doesn’t pan out, I’ll give you a call?”
“Sounds good! I wish you luck with your contacts in New York. Maybe this stupid attention in the news will do some good this time and make them take your project seriously,” Ben replied.
Phil laughed and waved as he headed out. Ben turned back towards the bar.
“Fuck. You don’t like the attention?”
Ben stopped to look at the woman who asked the blunt question. She was pretty with light brown skin showing a number of odd tattoos. A fair amount of expensive jewelry was on display as well. Her eyes were glassy, so he guessed she’d had a few drinks.
“No, I don’t.”
“What the fuck are you doing here then? What the fuck am I doing here?” she grumbled, and he realized she was talking to herself. With a final look of distaste, she turned and stumbled away. A man glided up to her side, and the two walked from the room.
Not long after she was gone, La’Shia was at Ben’s elbow at the bar. Brooklyn rushed up to her side.
“They just drove away. They’re finally gone,” the choreographer sighed in relief.
La’Shia looked at Ben. “I’m so sorry I was acting so cold all night. We couldn’t let Arialla see how important you were to us! She couldn’t be allowed to see your dance moves. She’d steal them for herself.”
“Oh! Why did you invite her to the party then?” Ben asked in surprise.
“I didn’t. She crashed it,” La’Shia growled as she thought of her nemesis.
“Killah and his crew are ensuring the rest of Arialla’s people have left,” Brooklyn said. Just then, the big man walked through the entrance way and nodded to his woman.
Ben shook his head in disbelief. This was drama beyond his comprehension. “Are you ready to do it now?” Both ladies grinned excitedly and nodded. “Where are we going to dance?”
La’Shia pointed to the space he’d been dancing on all night. He noticed the crowd had diminished significantly. Perhaps Arialla began the exodus? That and Killah’s purge. He spotted the faces of a few celebrities Phil had introduced him to earlier and some remaining music types, so he was going to have an audience. He shrugged that thought away.
The excited singer took his hand and led him onto the floor as she raised her hand. The music faded to silence as a spotlight focused on them.
“If I could have your attention, please! Could everyone move to the outer edges of the dance floor? We have a special treat for everyone,” she said with an excited smile.
Killah’s crew was moving to the four corners of the big room with high-resolution video cameras on tripods. They weren’t taking any chances of missing any of the action this time.
“Can I see the playlist? There are some songs I… won’t dance to,” Ben asked. She looked at him in surprise then walked him over to the DJ’s booth. La’Shia asked to see the playlist, and the man turned his laptop’s screen towards Ben who read through the list. As his eyes went down the screen, his mind picked up the titles with little jumps of his heart. He stopped on one as the pressure was too much. He turned his eyes to the DJ. “Please don’t play this one,” he said pointing to the song. The man looked to La’Shia, and she nodded, so he removed it from the playlist.
“Are you ok?” La’Shia asked Ben as he closed his eyes for a moment. He opened them to look at her and nodded with a slight smile. He gestured for her to return to the center of the floor.
“For the first dance, your partner will be Tilisha, if you don’t mind. She danced with you to this song,” La’Shia said as she nodded to the lovely woman waiting for Ben.
He nodded and walked out to meet her. When he stood before her, he could see she was trembling slightly.
“Deep breaths,” he teased gently.
Her responding smile was huge and lit up her face. The first notes of Lena Horn’s Stormy Weather began and Ben took Tilisha’s hand in his as his other rested on her hip. A shiver ran down her spine to feel his big hand on her.
Then they were moving, and she had no time to think of anything. She was watching his face, and his eyes had a dreamy quality to them. Once more she naturally flowed with his motions and felt herself becoming light as air in his arms. The dip took her by surprise again, but her heart soared. His hand on her lower back shot tingles throughout her body. She gasped, then she was back on her feet once more, momentarily braced against his large frame. Sparks flew between her intimate places as another gasp was pulled from her, then the dance continued.
They moved slowly, sensuously, swirling and gliding across the floor effortlessly. Then, as the song reached its end, he surprised her by lifting her against his chest, his mouth almost brushing hers as her eyes widened and locked on his, seeing the heat there. Her lips tingled with her need to feel his kiss. Before she could, he spun gracefully to set her back on her feet, stepping back as he bowed over her outstretched hand, his lips poised to caress its back but never quite touching.
The guests burst into enthusiastic clapping and cheering as the spell was broken.
Tilisha gaped at Ben as he seemed to come back to himself. “You- you didn’t dance like that at the resort. I mean, you did, but there was much more heat to it this time.” She touched her lips unconsciously. They were still tingling even though he hadn’t actually kissed her.
He held her eyes with his as he thought about that. He realized it made a certain sense to him. Now, he was more aware of bringing those skills to the front of his mind. Before, he’d just been reliving the moment from the perceptions of a twelve-year-old Ben.
“I’m… different now.” It was all he could say.
La’Shia joined them out on the floor, and she was grinning excitedly. “That was beautiful!” She glanced at Tilisha and saw something in her eyes. “What? What’s wrong? That looked perfect!”
The dancer glanced at her boss and smiled faintly. After a deep breath to calm herself, she fixed her eyes on La’Shia’s. “Yes, it was. Better buckle up, baby. This ride ain’t for kiddies anymore.”
She prowled off the dance floor, enjoying the deep tingle running through her body.
La’Shia blinked at her dancer then put the odd words out of her mind as it was her turn. She smiled at Ben. Julie London’s ‘Cry Me a River’ began and Ben glided forward to take her hand in his. Then she was pressed against his body, and they were moving. She was once more thrilled to experience their perfect synchronicity. Quicker than last time, she was able to match her motions to his until it felt like Ben was controlling both of their bodies.