at his intrusion. Without the slightest reaction, he lazily dragged his eyes toward the dancers like he’d never even noticed I was there. Arrick squeezed my hand, completely oblivious as to what had just happened, singing along with the exotic dancers. I wondered if Ronon knew about me, that I was vampire born like him, or did he just think I was another pretty face in the crowd?
Deciding it didn’t matter what Ronon was, or what he thought about me, I joined in with Arrick’s singing as we watched the entertainment continue. Centered among the dancing women was a young girl with a massive snake resting atop her shoulders. The snake’s body wrapped possessively around one arm, while in the other she clutched its head. The snake’s tongue flicked out at her as she caressed it with her cheek like it was a cuddly kitten. I took in a gasp of breath, surprised by the complete absence of fear in her eyes. At any moment that reptile could coil around her neck and choke her to death, or even worse, spring on her with fangs more deadly than any vampire. As if she heard my intake of breath, the girl’s ice blue eyes locked onto me with precision. She beckoned me to her as her hips danced from side to side, the snake’s head curling into her hair. I looked behind me, certain she couldn’t possibly be looking at me. Everyone cheered as she pointed, and I shook my head at her. Sure, I loved dancing but I wasn’t about to make myself the center of attention. There was a big difference between dancing at a party and dancing at the center of a crowd of onlookers.
The tinkling jingle of beaded dancers grew closer as two girls approached me. They offered their hands, begging me to join them on the dance floor. I shook my head again, and looked to Arrick like he could do something to stop them but he was clapping, nodding for me to join them. Had he lost his mind? All eyes were on me, and I knew my only options were to run; or get up, dance and get it over with.
Taking a deep breath, I rose to my feet at the roar of the crowd. My ears picked up the sound of Arrick’s voice cheering me on, and even my father shouting, ‘That’s my daughter!’ Everyone was acting way too happy. Maybe Titan’s servants put something in the wine? I felt like myself, but then again, I was being towed by a nearly naked dancer toward a girl with a gigantic snake on her shoulders.
I probably should have been terrified, but there was something about the feel of the snake’s scales on my bare skin that was incredibly erotic. Or, maybe it was the wine infused blood that was talking. The snake coiled around my left arm and wrapped itself once around my neck like a scarf. Its head curled through my hair as my hips began to sway. I focused my eyes on the only person I wanted to dance for, Arrick. Without blinking, I swung my body in beat with the music as the other girls danced around me. Arrick’s eyes widened at my movements, making my lips pull up to reveal my fangs in all their glory. I let the world around me disappear; pretending all that existed was just the two of us. But, there was a fracture in that bubble as fine as the tiniest hair. Another small nudge at my senses was enough to disrupt my focus. I blinked, bringing my eyes toward Ronon, not liking at all what I found. Before, he seemed utterly bored watching the dancers, but now he was leaning forward in his seat, his eyes devouring my every movement. I couldn’t stop the growl that rumbled in my chest. I had been dancing for Arrick, but the way he was watching made me feel like he thought I was dancing for him.
The snake hissed angrily as I quickly unraveled him, and handed him off to the nearest dancer. The crowd clapped stupidly; completely oblivious as to why I stopped. I offered a fake smile, marching back to my seat and despite myself; I risked a glance toward Ronon. I planned to sneer at him, but the smile affixed to his face only irritated me further. What was he getting at? He had to have known that I wasn’t interested, that I was only