Hyacinth - By Abigail Owen Page 0,26

is still out for me,” Selene replied. “And I’m guessing that after our last meeting, your brother definitely isn’t so fond of it.” She looked down and absently flipped the pages of her notebook.

“You might find that Griffin isn’t as upset as you think,” Ellie said. “Anyway, Lucy, Hugh, Charlotte, and Dexter are all going out to dinner tonight. And the rest of us are going dancing. You can’t be on your own. So you’re going dancing.”

“I’ve seen what girls wear when they go out to the clubs,” Selene said. “I don’t have anything suitable.”

“You and I are about the same size,” Ellie answered immediately. “So that excuse won’t work, either.”

Adelaide appeared in the doorway. “As far as I can tell, you’ve done nothing but study since you came here. It’s time you had a little fun in your life.”

“Yeah,” Nate added as he snuggled his arm around Adelaide’s waist. “You deserve to boogie.” He dramatically shook his rear around, and everyone chuckled.

“Okay….” Selene threw up her hands. “I surrender. Dress me up, slap some makeup on me, and let’s get this party started.”

Chapter 17

Selene had never felt so self-conscious in her life. Lila had managed to talk her into wearing a tiny white skirt with a striking purple top, which looked modest enough from the front, but the back was nearly non-existent, only staying put because of a few well-placed strands that crisscrossed her shoulders. Thank goodness she had long hair.

She followed her friends into the club and could barely hear anything over the booming of the music. Somehow they’d managed to commandeer a table large enough for all of them. Once they sat down, Selene glanced around and noticed several appreciative stares. Alex, Ramsey, and Nate left to get drinks while she and the girls got settled.

“What do you think?” Adelaide yelled over the music.

“I don’t know yet. It’s too loud to think!” Selene shouted back.

“Well, let’s get you on the dance floor, girl!” Lila grabbed her hand and pulled her up.

Once on the dance floor, Selene carefully imitated what the other girls were doing. Apparently the goal was to either join with a group of girls, dancing as provocatively as you could, or to dance with a guy, in which case there was a lot more provocative movement going on, but directed at that particular guy. Selene found dancing to be incredibly liberating. The beat got into her blood, and after a while she was throwing aside her own ingrained inhibitions and wiggling her hips along with all the other girls on the floor.

Eventually the song changed, but she and the girls stayed out on the floor. Random guys came up to them, trying to get in close, but they’d just laugh them off and turn their backs each time. Sweat started to curl the hair at her temples, making Selene glad she’d worn so little clothing. Otherwise she’d be sweltering.

After a while she needed a break. She was sitting at the table sipping her ice water when a shiver of apprehension shimmied down her spine… followed by a sense of dread.

She casually turned her head to gaze around the club, pretending to be taking in the scene. But as far as she could tell, there was no one there who shouldn’t be there, or at least no one who seemed obviously put of place. Just throngs of club-goers lost in their own worlds, not paying attention to her at all.

Selene mentally scolded herself for her paranoia, but it was understandable. It was almost second nature after Gideon’s long reign and the years he’d spent watching every single thing she said and did.

She was just forcing her muscles to relax, when a large male hand landed in front of her on the table. “Wanna dance?” Griffin asked. His lips were so close to her ear, she could feel his breath stir her hair.

Selene hid her surprise as she gracefully rose from her chair and placed her hand in his, secretly reveling in the warmth and strength that radiated through that one small point of contact. Griffin followed her to the dance floor, as they threaded their way through people and tables. As they reached their destination, Griffin turned her to face him, then released her hand. Together they started moving, not touching, just dancing. Griffin didn’t move much at first, clearly a little uncomfortable with the public display. But his eyes never left her, and Selene couldn’t look away.

Something took over inside her, and she started dancing