“Well, hello there.” At her side stood another woman with a bright shock of short, orange-red hair. She held out her hand. “I’m Tara. And you are...?”
I gave her a quick glance then stepped closer, my face even with Phoebe’s since she stood a foot higher than normal. “Good evening, Phoebe.”
“Uh, hey there.” Color climbed her neck, and she licked her lips, darting a quick stare to the other woman. “Tara, this is Cain.” Phoebe nodded toward me. “Cain, meet Tara.”
“I see.” Slitting her eyes my direction, Tara pursed her lips and tilted her head, giving me a once-over. “Damn, girl. You didn’t tell me your hero looked like—”
Phoebe jabbed an elbow into the girl’s side. “Shut it.”
But Tara’s eyes sparkled, and she grinned. “So, Cain. Are you new here? Which degree program you in? Have a girlfriend?”
Phoebe’s eyes rounded behind her white, feathery mask. “I’m so sorry.” She jerked Tara’s upper arm, pulling her closer. “You were about to get us more punch, weren’t you?” she whispered.
“Huh?” Tara backstepped, putting her spine against the stair banister. “No way. I’m—”
“Goodbye.” Phoebe gave her friend a tiny push up the stairs, and I bit back a laugh.
“Hmph.” The other woman turned on her high heels and stalked upward, mumbling under her breath.
Phoebe twisted toward me. “I’m so sorry. She can be a bit much to handle at first.”
“Doesn’t matter to me. I didn’t come here to see her.” I reached a hand outward, silently inviting Phoebe to take it.
“I didn’t expect to see you here tonight.” She gripped my outstretched hand. “You didn’t come because of me, did you?”
Instead of answering, I cupped my fingers around her smaller hand, lifted it to my mouth, and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, letting my lips linger over the soft skin. She smelled of fresh air, clean water, and soft roses. I fought a sudden desire to jerk her into my arms and press my mouth on hers, to mold every curve of her naked flesh to mine, to hear my name scream from her lips.
Focus, Cain. Goals, remember?
Right. My reason for being here tonight had nothing to do with her presence but with needing knowledge. Who gave her the necklace and why?
With reluctance, I lowered her hand from my lips. A tiny pang of loss needled my heart, but I ignored it. “Would you care to dance?” I didn’t let go of her hand.
Even with the mask covering most of her features, I could still see her face glowing with an enormous smile and a lone dimple forming in one cheek. Her bright-pink hair contrasted with the white mask and dress. She was color and light and happiness, and for a moment, I was the luckiest man in the world.
“I’d love to dance.” She gripped my fingers tighter. “Thank you for showing up. You know you didn’t have to, though, right?”
“I know.” I led her onto the dance floor then slipped my other palm to the small of her back. “That’s the beauty of free will. I chose to be here for you.”
“Thank you.” Her face tipped upward, her soft-brown eyes studying mine. Our movements caused the feathers on her mask to dip and sway. “I didn’t think I’d see you again.”
Oh, Phoebe. You’ve seen me more times than you remember.I chuckled.
I pulled her so close she had to carefully rest her cheek on my chest, keeping it angled so her mask didn’t rub against my clothing.
She relaxed her soft curves into my hard planes and we glided over the floor, moving through the others as if they were made of nothing but air and she and I were the only real people in the world.
For the briefest of moments, I closed my eyes and held her in my arms, pretending to be her protector instead of the man hellbent on ruining her existence.
It’s not too late to make a different choice,a voice whispered in my head, and I stiffened, sweeping my gaze across the crowd of masked dancers.
The voice came from someone like me, someone with power, someone hiding in plain sight. Had they been reading my thoughts?
I’m being paranoid.Terrified at the thought of Malachi following me, I sent out an invisible thread of energy along the dance floor, flicking it about and testing the air, the tongue of a serpent searching for prey.
Nothing.
“Cain?” Phoebe’s sweet tone pulled my attention to her pink lips. “Is everything all right?” A tiny frown formed.
