alfar exactly right, earning a startled glance from Stuart. Tamsin didn’t seem aware she’d done anything unusual, and herded them toward the dance floor.
The club rose three stories, balconies ringing each floor. Each level was full of dancers and tables, waitresses hurrying up and down the iron staircase with trays of drinks.
The human groupies stared with interest at Peigi, very obviously a bear, and Dimitri, with his red hair and gray wolf’s eyes. Jaycee earned a lot of attention from the men, and everyone’s gaze went to Stuart, trying to work out what he was. Stuart was the only one not in a Collar, and Peigi watched the humans conclude that he must be human too.
The Shifters, on the other hand, scented Fae. They came alert, rising stiff-limbed, menace in their eyes.
Tamsin kept hold of Peigi and slid her other arm through Stuart’s. “Don’t worry about them,” she said loudly over the music. “You’re under Angus’s protection.”
Shifters heard her loud and clear. They subsided, if not happily. Angus must be widely respected.
“And mine.” A tall black man broke from the crowd, a bottle of beer in his hand. “I’m Reg. Welcome.” He nodded at Peigi and then Reid, and turned to enfold Jaycee and then Dimitri in a Shifter hug.
“See?” Tamsin said. “Reg is Angus’s best friend and the second of his Shiftertown. We’re one big, happy family. Well, it’s neutral ground anyway. Dance and have fun.”
Tamsin released them with a grin then walked off with Reg, talking at him a mile a minute.
“She’s interesting,” Peigi said to Stuart.
“And smart,” Stuart said. “I watched her note the position of every single Shifter and their proximity to us before she made her announcement that we were friends of Angus. She knows how to plan. I’d like to have a conversation with her about it.” He sounded admiring.
“How about we dance instead?”
“Ah.” Stuart glanced at Dimitri and Jaycee, who had already waded into the crowd. They began dancing very close to each other, moving to the thumping beat. “I don’t dance.”
“No?” Peigi swayed to the music, unable to help herself. The bass vibrated her body, urging her to join it. “Is it a dokk alfar thing?”
“It’s a Stuart Reid thing. When dokk alfar dance, it’s a performance, not personal. And then it’s pretty crazy. Sometimes nude.”
Peigi laughed in surprise. “I dare you.”
Stuart shook his head swiftly. “No way in hell.”
“I so need to see that.”
“Uh-uh. Not tonight.”
Peigi took his hands. “I get it. You’re shy. Okay, no nude crazy dancing. How about I dance, and you stand with me. Just shuffle your feet every now and then so people think you’re catching the groove.”
Stuart got that expression on his face when he wasn’t sure she was joking. Peigi loved to mess with him—he brought out her sense of humor like no one else.
The music swept her up, and Peigi danced.
The release was incredible. Peigi’s body remembered moves from long ago, when she’d been young, happy, certain her life would work out. Just past their Transitions, she and her friends would go to clubs and concerts and let themselves go. This was before Shifters were outed, and she could party to her heart’s content.
Peigi whooped as her cares fell away, the years of worry, restraint, and downright terror. She’d lived in constant fear that one of Miguel’s un-Collared Shifters might decide to kill one of the women, the cubs, or her.
She remembered the day she’d been rescued, Miguel fleeing, the warehouse where she’d been confined blown to smithereens. Reid had stood firmly as the warehouse went up in flames, his strong body silhouetted against the chaos. He’d escorted her to the plane when she could barely move, making sure no one was left behind.
Because of this man, Peigi could rest easily and dance like she didn’t have a care. Because of a Fae, who understood her.
Peigi danced close to Stuart and rested her hands on his hips, swaying against him. In spite of claiming he couldn’t dance, Stuart too caught the rhythm, keeping it slow, moving with Peigi in a circle that was all their own.
His scent was of the earth and fresh wind, which never failed to make her blood tingle. While other Shifters smelled Fae when he came near them, Peigi was only aware of Stuart. The thought that other Shifter females in this bar might wake up to the fact that he was desirable made her growl.
Stuart moved smoothly, his body melding with hers, the music rendering the two one.