Dance Around - Susi Hawke Page 0,14

ended, Sir Alfred told us they needed to deliberate and discuss everything before any decisions could be made. I couldn't tell whether he was blowing us off or if maybe there was cause to celebrate as we headed back to the hotel for dinner.

I was looking forward to the surf-and-turf special, picking a lobster roughly the size of my forearm from the tank. A quick glance at the plates on the neighboring tables told me the steak would also be phenomenal. Too bad I didn't get to eat it.

3

Dan

As I walked the beach an hour later, I couldn't remember how the fight had started, but Gil and I got into it. The next thing I knew, he left, and everyone was calling me an asshole. I'd pushed my half-eaten salad aside, drained my glass of wine, blotted my face with the linen napkin, and promptly flipped them off before leaving the table myself and storming out.

Somehow between then and now, I'd ended up walking this stretch of beach. It should've been heaven but felt like sheer hell. As the sun slowly set, turquoise waters splashed onto the white sand, and the sky around me was washed in colors ranging from purple to orange. I couldn't appreciate the beauty, though. Instead, the purples reminded me of Gil's violet-blue eyes and how the color changed with his mercurial moods.

They'd been an icy blue when he was angry earlier. But I could remember other times, when the violet had taken over so they were nearly purple. What might such a shade mean? More importantly, why was I thinking about someone I would never have?

"There you are! We've been looking everywhere for you, jerkwad." At the sound of Dear’s voice, I looked over my shoulder. All four of my brothers were there. And even worse, they looked like they intended to talk.

Groaning, I shook my head. "Go back to the hotel and play with your mates. Can't you tell I'm trying to enjoy this small patch of paradise?"

Gibby rolled his eyes as they came closer. "Oh, yeah. Judging by the way you were kicking up sand, shaking your fists, and muttering under your breath like a madman, you were doing a lot of enjoying. Hell, maybe we should just go home and leave you here to roam the beach forever like a broken puppet on the island of misfit toys."

"Shut up, Gifflet."

"Make me, Janardan. See? I can use full names too, you mother-fucking-fucker."

I snorted. "Careful overusing the word fuck, Gibby. You'll end up without any left to give."

"Doubt it," Nash said, lifting his eyebrows for effect. "Gibby will always find a spare fuck if needed to properly convey his point."

Clay shoved Nash sideways, grinning when Gibby and Nash went down like dominoes. Skirting around them, he came close enough to get right up in my face. "We've left you alone since Spain, but no more. We know as well as you do—if you don't claim Gil, you'll never find another mate. Once a true mate has been found, a shifter can’t possibly accept anyone else. Leave aside you settling for second best, your puma wouldn't allow it. We aren't willing to watch you live alone for the next two or three hundred years, if you manage to last so long. I don't know how you made it for twenty-three, but you'll eventually go mad without your true mate at your side. Always wondering where he is and if he's okay. Help us understand how you could walk away from the other half of your soul, Dan."

Dear flapped a hand in front of his face. "Dammit. I always forget how poetic Clay can be when he turns on his inner ma-cheese-mo. I'm pretty sure the part about you going mad is incorrect if you haven't exchanged a claiming bite, but Clay isn't wrong about you never finding another mate. Hell, you probably can't even fuck anyone else, can you?"

"No. And trust me, it's not for lack of trying. My cock won't get hard. I can’t get off unless I picture Gil when I jerk it." I didn't give a shit about oversharing, but I wasn't a fan of the heartache accompanying my statement.

Dear wrinkled his nose. "Ew. Dude. TMI, much? No, I can't abbreviate. Too. Much. Information."

Shoving my hands in my pockets, I shrugged as I rocked back on my heels. "You brought the subject up, Dear. If you don't want to hear it, maybe pull your nose out of my business."

Gibby got up. The