Free Ruthless: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance by Lauren Landish

replied, smiling. "Can I trust you?"
    "Trust me to do what?" he asked, somewhat confused. I realized in an instant that he didn't know anything about me, and to him, I was just a girl who did massage and danced.
    "Nothing," I quickly dismissed, happy on the inside. "Just some of the guys tend to have problems keeping their hands to themselves. But if you're looking for one now, there's a problem."
    "What's that?" he asked, groaning. "Don't tell me you've got another class."
    "Nope, that was my last one for the next two hours," I said, not mentioning that the next class was some of my former co-workers from the Starlight Club who would come in on their off nights to practice, "but my supplies are out. I've got an order coming in supposedly tomorrow with the next bottles of stuff I use. Unless you've got a bottle of olive oil in your car, we'll have to postpone."
    He groaned then nodded, forcing a calm face. "Okay, I can do that. In the meantime, though, Luisa told me to keep moving, and that starting next week, I'm supposed to work out on my own three days a week. I just have to find something good for cardio that I enjoy and can stick with.”
    "So what is your thing?" I asked, relaxing. I didn't know what it was about Dante, but I just felt comfortable talking to him. "I've figured out it's not swimming."
    “Very funny,” Dante sarcastically said, but still cracking a smirk. "Actually, I don't really know. I thought maybe you could help me with that, too."
    “Oh, really? How’s that?” I asked.
    "Well, I may not look like it, but I can tear it up in the club when I go," he said, a bit cocky.
    "Oh, really?" I snickered, amused. "And where do I come in? Taking me to a club?"
    Dante shook his head. “That sounds fun, but I was considering taking a few lessons."
    "Really?" I blurted, surprised. “You’re shitting me.”
    "Okay, I got it, bad idea," Dante said. “I’d probably scare all the little ones or women off.”
    He went to get up, but I stopped him, reaching out and putting a hand on his shoulder. “Wait. It's not that it's a bad idea, just that you're the first man to ask me for dance lessons. I was surprised, that's all."
    He dropped back into the chair, sighing. "It's okay. I don’t want to cause you business.”
    "It's not that, really," I said apologetically. "Like I said, you just surprised me. The next closest man I have as a student is fourteen, unless you count the seniors group I teach twice a month on Thursday mornings. Some of those guys are nearly in walkers though. Oh, and there's George, but he's flamboyantly . . . gender fluid. What sort of dance are you looking for, anyway? You don't strike me as a ballet type.”
    Dante shook his head, laughing out loud. "Me in a ballet uniform? No thanks. I was thinking maybe ballroom dance. It might actually be useful every now and then.”
    "Ballroom . . . that’s hell on the low back and hips. If you're stiff now, what're you going to be able to do on the floor?"
    "I can still do my thing," Dante said, his pride forcing him to his feet. “Trust me, I can dance my ass off.”
    “I’d have to see that before I believe it," I challenged him, waving a hand out. "I'll even put some music on. How about what that last group was doing?"
    "Ariana Grande? Not my type," Dante said, working his way out to the middle of the floor. “Pick something not so teeny pop?"
    "I think I can find something," I said, going over to my computer. Pulling up my iTunes, I chose a favorite beat of mine, not a famous song in any typical sense, but a standard hip-hop beat that formed the base for quite a few other songs. Tapping, I brought it up, letting Dante listen for a minute. "What do you think?"
    “Um . . . let’s do it," he said, starting to dance. I watched for a while, and I couldn't hold it in anymore as he flailed around, gyrating and moving in something that looked somewhat like a cross between an epileptic fit, boxing, and twerking. I starting laughing, feeling