“We’ll be close by. If he tries anything or so much as touches her without permission, he loses a hand,” Zadyn says, his voice a calm threat.
I turn from both of them.
“Don’t you two have girlfriends to worry about?” I lean a hip against the vanity, crossing my ankles, then toss a glance at Jace. “A fiancé in your case?”
“Cece is hardly my girlfriend,” Zadyn huffs, turning red. But Jace goes still as death.
“It’s beside the point,” I say with dismissive finality. “I’m doing it. Now, can we go so I can make my grand entrance in this masterpiece and watch his jaw crack hitting the floor?”
I straighten, smoothing my skirt. When none of them answers, I glide forward, linking my arms through theirs, and tow them into the hall beside me.
“Wouldit be terribly cliché to tell you how devastating you look?”?*
Draped across the red velvet alcove with a considerable amount of leg on display, I glance up to seeKylian standing over me, bare-chested save the epaulet of raven feathers covering his broad shoulders. His thick-lashed siren eyes peer at me from behind a simple black mask.
I told the guys to make themselves scarce to give Kylian an opening. They’re undoubtedly close by—hovering—even though I can’t see them from my vantage point.
“Never cliché if it’s true.” I flash him a killer smile.
“Well, in that case, you’re stunning. You’re just missing one small thing.”
I sit up as Kylian slides into the booth beside me and opens his fist. In his hand appears a velvet rectangular box, which he gently extends to me.
“Open it,” he commands softly, his naked chest grazing my elbow. I give him a beguiling smile as I slowly pry open the box. I can’t help the gasp that escapes me.
Rubies.
A three-inch wide choker of dazzling rubies.
My fingers ghost over the glittering scarlet gems as I clutch my chest in false sentiment. “I can’t accept this,” I breathe.
“Yes, you can. I had it made specifically for you.” He pushes the necklace toward me gently and I give him a look. He had it made after knowing me for less than five days?
“Put it on me?” I will my voice to sound girlish and hopeful. His stunning eyes flash before he eases the choker around my neck and takes his time clasping it. His hands slide over my shoulders with the proprietary touch of a male who thinks he owns someone, body and soul.
Kylian leads me to the dance floor. With the eyes of a thousand on us, I play the part of enamored prospect. Standing in his arms, I realize he’s one of those men who takes up all the space in the room. He sucks up the air, leaving none for the rest of us.
Everything about him is inviting. Alluring. Attractive.
I know it runs in his bloodline, this compelling siren magic. I can’t trust anything I feel around him. I can’t trust how my body reacts to his touch, how he draws me close and looks down at me with searing intensity.
I wonder what it would be like to be loved by him. To have him lay me down on a soft bed and ravish me. He would tear the clothes from my body using only his teeth. He would kiss every square inch?—
I cut the thoughts off abruptly, my eyes snapping up to his as the spell shatters.
Was he just in my head?
Those were not my own thoughts. Which is slightly terrifying. A slow, sensual smile spreads on his lips. A smile that tells me I’m right.
He pulls me into a dance before I can think of what to say.
“I’m sorry about your friend,” he says, his voice lullaby soft.
Are you now.
“Thank you,” I force myself to say.
“Were you close?”
