The Last Warrior (Shifters Unbound #13) - Jennifer Ashley Page 0,31

he’d rescued her. And showed her his world, showering her with gifts and wonderful food, hovering protectively near her.

Could be.

At the moment, reasons didn’t matter. She tossed off her usual caution and reticence to enjoy dancing with a gorgeous man who had the strength of a dozen.

Ben caught her gaze, his eyes warm, his hands in hers solid. The heat of him flowed all the way inside her, winding around her heart.

As Rhianne’s body flowed and wove in the patterns of her impromptu dance, Ben was enchanted. The haughty Tuil Erdannan would never look twice at his kind, yet here and now, that didn’t matter. They weren’t goblin and Tuil Erdannan but Ben and Rhianne, far from anyplace that cared about such things.

Ben took her hand and spun her, space on the dance floor opening for them. She swung back into Ben’s arms, where they swayed together, Rhianne naturally graceful.

Their otherworldly dancing attracted attention. Soon Ben and Rhianne were in the midst of an appreciative crowd who punched the air to indicate their approval. Some couples tried to imitate their moves, with mixed success.

Ben and Rhianne got separated, she cut off from him by the wild dancers. Before Ben could reach her, a curvy woman with hair a mixture of blond and brown with golden-brown eyes gyrated next to Rhianne.

“Hey, I have pants just like those.” She pointed to Rhianne’s leg-hugging leather with the pink rhinestone-studded seams. “Wait a minute. Those are my pants.” Jaycee Bordeaux growled, her eyes slitting to those of her leopard. “What the hell are you doing in my clothes?” She sniffed, and rage changed her fingers to claws. “Fae.”

Chapter Eight

Ben broke through the dancers between him and Rhianne, reaching for Jaycee’s paw as it went for Rhianne’s face. Before he could reach her, Rhianne gripped Jaycee’s wrist with a swiftness that stunned him.

“Are you Jaycee?” Rhianne shouted to her.

Jaycee caught sight of Ben as he landed next to Rhianne. “Shit.” Ben watched her deliberately calm the leopard, her hands and eyes returning to human shape. “You’re her?”

Rhianne carefully let her go. “I’m—”

Ben stopped her words with his fingers on her lips. Couldn’t be too careful with info in here. Many humans worked for the hoch alfar, rogue Shifters, and who knew who else.

Jaycee’s face was red under the dance floor’s flashing lights. “Sorry,” she said. “Sometimes I strike before I think.”

Ben gently removed his fingers from Rhianne’s soft, warm mouth, and Rhianne gave Jaycee a gracious nod.

“Quite all right,” Rhianne said. “I’d be incensed if I saw an unknown woman in my clothing.”

“Incensed?” Jaycee’s smile flashed. “That’s a good word.”

“Where’s your other half?” Ben asked her.

Jaycee rolled her eyes. “Charming people at the bar. Or he thinks he’s charming them.”

Rhianne’s gaze went to Jaycee’s throat, which did not bear the Collar that Dylan and Liam had worn, or even a fake one like Tiger’s. Ben saw her curiosity, but this was not the place to discuss such things.

“Should we go somewhere quieter to talk?” he suggested to Jaycee.

Jaycee sent him an incredulous look. “Right now? When your dance moves are so hot? I say we party a little longer. You with me?” She transferred her attention to Rhianne, her instinctive fury forgotten.

Rhianne shot a quick glance at Ben, as though soliciting his opinion.

“Why not?” Ben said. The psychic Lily had told them they had nothing to fear tonight, and Ben believed her.

Rhianne nodded her acceptance, and Jaycee spun to put herself next to Rhianne.

“Sweet. Teach me some of that, will you?”

Rhianne began to dance again, hesitant at first. But Jaycee, though she could be a deadly enemy, was also a fast friend and protector. She was a tracker, which meant she guarded her Shiftertown leader and his family, doing whatever it took to defend their group. She could fight better than many male Shifters Ben knew, and her skills had only sharpened after she and Dimitri had their cub, a cute little guy called Lucas.

Jaycee studied Rhianne’s flurried footwork and began to copy it. She was a great dancer—her leopard had swiftness and grace—and soon she was hopping from foot to foot in exact time with Rhianne.

Rhianne’s face lit with laughter. She and Jaycee quickly became a well-honed team. Jaycee’s outfit was similar to Rhianne’s—leather pants and a silver lame shirt, though Jaycee wore motorcycle boots to Rhianne’s strappy high-heeled sandals.

The crowd surrounded them now, clapping time, encouraging the two. Both women were beautiful, hot, and could dance up a storm. Every male in here,