Chapter 86

 

Just as I went to place my hand in his, Troy grabbed it and twirled me away from his twin. “If you can’t beat them…” He raised his eyebrows at his brother and twirled me further onto the dance floor.

When we settled into an easy movement, he looked down at me with a gentle expression on his face. “Were you in on it?”

I batted my eyelashes at him in an over dramatic way. “On what?”

He grinned slowly. “You were.”

Shaking my head, I tried not to grin. “Not until I was dancing with Arius, then I figured it out.”

“When Quinton did the second dance I was afraid all of them were going to.”

“Oh, I would have put a halt to that.”

He frowned. “You’re not enjoying yourself?”

I wasn’t sure how to answer him without offending him. “If I were in my jeans it would be a blast.”

The tempo of the music slowed a little, he pulled me closer and then picked me up so my feet weren’t on the floor. “If you’re tired I could just carry you through this one.”

I laughed. “It’s not the dancing, it’s this damn dress.”

He set me down and turned us back into a smooth rhythm. “I think the damn dress looks incredible on you.”

At his soft serious tone, I looked up at him. His eyes were bordering on changing and my cheeks flushed in reaction. “Thank you.”

“Did Mitz get pictures?”

Rolling my eyes at him I dropped my head onto his chest. “Thousands at least,” I groaned.

“Good because I think it might be a few millennia before we get you into another dress and I want to remember every detail of your beauty in it.” His voice had lowered.

Lifting my head, I looked up at him. Even with red eyes I could tell he was being sincere, the way they moved over my face. I wasn’t sure if we were still moving or not, I just fell into his eyes.

He rested his hand near my jaw and played with the moon pendant hanging from my ear. “This song is going to end far too soon,” he whispered.

“Then dance with me again.” I tried to look away from his face, but failed. This side of Troy I hadn’t experienced before. He was almost vulnerable.

With a soft smile, he looked away from my eyes. “I’m afraid I wouldn’t let you go even then and my brother king would be injured.”

I blinked and tried to weed through his formal speak. Unless I was completely wrong he had just admitted something. Tonight was the night of secrets. “This is the same brother you tried to pummel into the mats two days ago, right?”

A guilty look appeared in his now hazel eyes briefly before he looked back down at me. “The very same.” With a smile, he pulled me closer and spun us around the floor.

It took until almost the end of the song before I noticed that not once had either of us hesitated in movement. We were in total sync with each other. Relaxing for the first time since I’d put the dress on, I let him guide me where ever he wanted to go. Even when he took us into a complicated move that ended with him dipping down slowly in front of him. The strangest part was I had let him, and managed it gracefully without having to think about it.

He smiled as he pulled me back up with a strong hand on my back. “I now have to hand you over to that man over there with the scowl on his face.”

I glanced over as we moved apart. “The one that looks remarkably like you when you’re in deep thought?”

Raising his eyebrows at me before looking back. “I look like that?”

Nodding, I stepped away from him and let him take my hand. We didn’t go straight to Chase, he stopped and spoke quietly with the man in charge of cueing the songs before turning us back towards Chase. As we neared the edge of the floor, he looked down at me. “My Queen.” He bowed his head regally and then placed my hand in Chase’s held out one.

With a strange smirk on his face, he bowed his head to his brother and moved out of the way.

Chase walked us slowly to the middle of the dance floor. “Best for last, kitten?”

I smirked. “We’ll say that.”

When the music started it was a loud fast disco song. Sighing loudly, Chase glanced over to where his seven brothers stood grinning. “Bastards, every one of them.”

Laughing, I looked over at the man Troy had spoken to, he was smiling but had an apologetic look on his face. Reaching down, he flipped a switch and a soft ballad started playing.

“I will die with a broken heart, kitten, after seeing you look like this tonight.”

His words made my own heart ache. I knew what he was talking about and took a deep breath to say something to change the subject, but that wasn’t what came out. “I’m sorry, Chase.”

He shook his head, his eyes moving over my face with a soft look. “It wasn’t you at all, sweetling. I am the way I am and until I change that, I will be alone.”

“I wondered if maybe things were the way they were because of taking your blood.”

He considered what I said for a moment. “It is possible, there were a lot of emotions bouncing between us.” Smiling with that devil gleam in his eyes, he leaned closer and whispered against my ear. “I don’t suppose I could get another chance without the blood bond?”

“Are you going to give up feeding from women?”

He sighed. “In some ways, I am addicted as Leone was.” A sad look appeared on his face, “and as much as I want you, I don’t think I could stop even then.”

Reaching up I cupped his cheek in my palm. Turning, he kissed my palm and then whirled us around on the floor.

We didn’t speak for the rest of the song. When it stopped, he smiled down at me and then leaned down and kissed my cheek softly. “Thank you.”

With a formal step, he led me back off the floor and then disappeared into the crowd standing around the edges. Quinton appeared beside me and grinned at me. “I’m done dancing,” I told him in a whiny tone.

He nodded. “I was going to say if you want I can sneak you out of here now.”

“Really?” I grabbed the lapel on his jacket. He nodded. “Let’s go then, what are you waiting for?”

Chuckling he lead me through the crowd to the waiting carriage. With it being dark and everyone mingling through the crowd, I thought we would make it without being seen but then Arius peeked from around the corner of the carriage. He grinned at me. “It’s about time; I knew you’d bail as soon as the last dance was complete.”

Pulling up my skirt so I could get in I gave him a bored look. “And what are you doing here?”

He shrugged. “Someone has to guard you.”

Quinton elbowed him and climbed in. “That’s what I’m here for.”

“I’m helping. Just please take me back to the quiet and solitude.” He got in and sat beside me, pulling his tie free from his neck.

A look passed between Quinton and him. I cleared my throat. “Why are you really here?”

Arius sighed. “Troy told us to stay on your heels.”

“You’re babysitting me?”

Quinton pulled his tie off. “No, just making sure you don’t run off to hunt down Marcus on your own.”

Hiking the bodice of the gown up, I avoided looking at either of them. “I wouldn’t do that.”

“Uh huh, “Quinton leaned over so I had to look at him, “and pigs spin webs and lay eggs.”

I gave him my best offended look. “They could, somewhere,” I mumbled.