and hated it. She said it’s nothing but rich guys who think they can own anyone they want. Sometimes, Gino likes to start shit with Rafe. Just to keep things interesting around this godforsaken place. But it’s all talk. Rumors like that float around here all the time, but it’s usually fine. Rafe is fucking crazy, so most bastards leave him alone.”
We both turn back to the figure in question—only to discover him staring back. His eyes find mine as he inclines his head, beckoning with his finger. Come here. My feet twitch, disrupting my precarious balance in Mara’s heels, but I don’t move a single inch.
Because he’s not beckoning me. A slender blond scampers from the crowd to answer the summons. With a familiarity that has my cheeks catching fire, he palms her waist over her hot pink mini, guiding her onto his lap. She bounces there, murmuring in his ear as a coy smile plays over his lips. But his eyes…
They find me again and linger, drilling in a silent message I can’t ignore. Watch and learn, bunny. You never attracted me to begin with.
“Come on.” Mara snatches my hand, turning her back to Rafe. “Let’s dance!”
She drags me onto the center of the floor, muscling her way through a mass of writhing dancers. I can only stand awkwardly as she sways, undulating her hips in time to the beat.
Is this fun?
I don’t know. My thoughts are scattered, buzzing in a million directions like a horde of flies, and they seem to converge on the one figure I can’t stop glancing at.
He’s still with his blond, leaning back against the couch as she straddles him. Their gazes are locked, their faces inches apart. Closer… From the outside looking in, they’re enthralled with each other.
Or at least she’s enthralled with him.
Because every time I risk glancing in his direction, he’s always staring back. Shamelessly staring as if laying down a challenge with every cold, searching glance. Come here.
I look away, scanning the room for anything else to draw my attention. The flashing lights do at first, pretty and dizzying. As does the spinning DJ, crafting the pulsating beat.
But against my better judgment, my gaze always seems to find him again. This time, his lips part, and I can almost hear his laughter from here—his taunt. Don’t kid yourself into believing you don’t want more.
But he’s content to get his fix with anyone he can. Such as by sticking his tongue down the blond’s throat. I don’t know why my throat tightens when he does. Why I find myself staring without even trying to disguise the interest. Disgust? Watching him kiss is a world apart from being on the receiving end.
He moves assuredly, letting his fingers sink through the blond’s hair, drawing her into him. My own lips tingle, remembering the feel of his. That taste. That uncomfortable, forbidden sensation I still shiver at the remnants of.
“What is with you?” Mara grabs my wrist, forcing me to face her. “You wanted to come out, remember?” She purses her lips, eyeing me through narrowed slits. “Prove it. Go find some hot guy to dance with.” She practically shoves me into a group of dancers nearby.
Before I can truly panic, she prances past me and sidles up to a blond guy in a sports jersey. “Have fun,” she mouths at me before turning her attention to him.
Fun.
It’s a foreign concept to me in a world devoid of books or quiet places to hide and read. My body moves woodenly with no chance in hell of ever copying her effortless grace. All I can do is lurk in her shadow and ask myself the same question over and over.
What am I doing here?
Making a fool of myself, I realize, feeling my throat tighten further. Letting some bastard make a mockery of me yet again.
Going against my tried and true instincts.
And for what?
The answer unexpectedly comes in the form of a grasping hand that cinches my wrist, yanking me deeper into the press of bodies before I can resist. I watch in horror as Mara disappears behind a crush of dancers, ensuring that I’m hidden from her view. Helpless, I feel my fingers twitch at my sides, but I don’t pull away even though I know well before I spin around just who has me.
“Good to know you can follow the rules when you want to, bunny,” Rafe says, his mouth near my ear, his grip still on my wrist. His thumb strokes my