A Word of Praise
Chapter 27

Before the show, Chris positioned himself on the virtual front row of the stage, with his friends plastered on his side waiting for answers.

"Chris, what are you doing?"

"You'll see." He looked at his watch to confirm the time. Two to midnight, any moment now.

The lights shifted towards the object in the middle of the winter garden and his breath was caught up on his throat. He smiled at the memory of her explanation on the round metal thing he couldn't remember the name. He was never that into the circus, but ever since she mentioned that particular instrument, he got curious to see her perform on it.

Despite his lack of knowledge in that specific field, Chris always had an interest in the moving arts. He'd choose dance and theater over painting and sculpture whenever given the opportunity. His mother was to blame, always taking him to appreciate the fine art of performance whenever his father was out of town.

He noticed Kiara moving to hold the lower part of the ring with one hand and heard people gasping when the structure began to move up, taking her with it. It would take more than that to surprise him, considering what he'd seen of her before.

When she began to move, however, there was not a single bone in his body that wasn't paralyzed in awe. See, he was always one to face the mystery of art interpretation as a puzzle. On all his favorite pieces, the artist had a meaning to convey that sometimes was hidden and sometimes was not, but it was just as hard to replace. Those were his favorites because he could methodically organize the clues from the whole thing and discover something few people were seeing. But this was different. There was no code to crack, nor a hidden meaning to dissect. It was all in the open, the meaning and the purpose. There was not a clue to be found because each and every movement she made was a straightforward statement of its goal. The goal to bring joy.

He didn't see the time pass by, but he definitely felt the ecstasy forming in his core. The performance was raw, and he never thought he would enjoy something so blunt. But how could anyone fail to cherish that which brings happiness to the soul?

When the music faded, Chris stood craving for more. The feeling was too good to be simply over and he couldn't accept it lasted no more than a single song. Other songs came on the speakers, but it didn't match the state of spirit he found himself in.

He felt the magic breaking when the beat of electronic music started pumping into his ears and felt the anger boiling inside from being taken away from the bliss he found himself in.

"Man, your girl's got some wicked moves on that thing." Marcus' comment served to shatter the last piece of fantasy he was holding on to, and he turned to the man with an impassive expression. "I'll go replace her."

"Good luck with that, I'm sure she'll be surrounded by handsy old men as soon as she's back here."

He wouldn't allow that to happen. But she wouldn't either, would she? He relished on the thought he knew her well enough to understand she would not be showing herself again at the party. But that meant he didn't get to see her, and he needed to.

Was she back in their room? It was likely. The easy path by the external stairs would grant her access and Gloria would have led her there. But in his rush, he found himself closer to the inside stair. He dashed through the ballroom and brushed past his mother on the way. If the crowd wasn't so tight, delaying his progress, he might have escaped without a word. But luck was not in his favor.

"Christopher, Kiara was divine. She is excused from the party, but you are not, don't you dare flee your guests."

He would have paid more attention if he wasn't a man on a mission, but he was. He nodded to his mother to appease her and went back to struggling against the crowd. He climbed the stairs two at a time and reached his room in seconds, feeling his heartbeat on his throat and absolutely clueless on his next move once he reached her.

When he opened the door, he locked eyes with her bewitching blue orbs and his body acted on his own. He slammed the door and closed the distance between them, bringing his lips to hers in a fervent display of gratitude. His hands held both sides of her face to appease his own burning need for contact.

He felt her surprise at first, but she was a damn smart girl, and it didn't take her long to answer back to his desperate calling. Her lips started moving against his own, and she parted them to let him sink into her mouth.

His hands clung to her hips to pull her closer, and the feeling of her body against his own brought him back to the blissful state of her earlier performance. When her arms shot around his neck, loosely placed above his shoulders, he decided it was too far, too casual. That was not a casual kiss, it was a statement, an expression of how glad he was for the gift she gave him.

He pushed her against the closest wall and heard her gasp at the impact, or perhaps at the increased contact of their bodies. That was supposed to be a thankful kiss, a way to cherish that amazing woman, but he found himself getting even more out of her delicious lips.

He bit her lower lip and felt her grip on his hair tighten. If he could, he'd smile at the discovery of her preferences. And he planned on replaceing out even more of what made that sinful body respond.

His hand was already moving from her hips to the back of her thigh when he heard a knock on the door.

"Oh, for fuck's sake." She breathed out his exact thoughts. It sounded way better in her silky voice.

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"What is it?" He shouted in clear annoyance at the disturbance across the door.

"Your father requested your presence back at the party, sir."

Shit. He backed away from her body and ran his hands through his hair, which must have been an absolute mess after she played with it.

"I'm coming." He stated loud enough for the other woman to hear and began to straighten his suit.

"What the fuck, Chris?" Her tone was coated with hostile disbelief, but she wouldn't understand. There was nothing he could do about that at the moment, but they could pick it up later. Yes, he just needed to get down there and smooth things over with the guests.

"I'll be back, don't worry."

He adjusted his tie and darted to the door.