Many people were seated, no one taking to the dance floor yet, but I spotted Cillian at once. He wore a black tux with a blue pocket square, the suit showcasing how massive he was. His horns were polished, his black hair tamed, and every inch of him appeared regal and stately. He was in the middle of a conversation by a table on the opposite side of the room, and we made a beeline in his direction. My nerves mounted.
We were only feet away when Cillian looked in our direction.
His gaze landed on me, and nothing else mattered.
Those rich golden eyes flared as he scanned me from head to toe, as if committing the visual to memory. A shiver ran throughme at the intensity, at how the ballroom sparked degrees hotter when I was around him. As much as I’d worried about how the rest of the crowd would respond to me being at his side, I’d forgotten about the potency of his presence, how nothing else seemed to matter when his focus was on me.
“Your date for the evening,” Amelia announced as she placed a hand on my lower back and shoved me forward.
I shot her a look, and she offered a secretive grin before making a disappearance.
Cillian’s hand replaced hers on my lower back, and the touch ignited me at once. My whole body prickled with awareness. I’d experienced everything those capable hands could do, and the flood of memories, the claim in his gesture, sent a torrent of heat rolling through me. I could keep it together for a night, though, without climbing onto his lap and begging him to fuck me.
Even if those fantasies ran rampant through my mind.
“Beau, this is Frederick Highsayer,” Cillian said, gesturing to the hulking man in front of me. Even though he appeared human, I clocked him as monster, particularly due to Cillian’s comfort around him. Around human acquaintances, he tended to be on edge a bit more. The only exceptions were people like Gretel or Charles, who he knew well. Maybe this guy was a were like Theo?
“Pleased to meet you.” I offered a hand, and Frederick shook, giving me a deliberate eye-scan.
“He’s mine,” Cillian said to the man firmly, a warning in his tone.
Frederick’s brows rose. “Staking a claim? How unlike you, Ashmore.”
The breath snagged in my throat. Given the reason I attended at his side, I hadn’t expected Cillian to publicly claim me like this, but I didn’t mind the display in the slightest. Cillian’s gaze met mine, the flash there the slightest bit feral.
“Are you going to be this insufferable with everyone we talk to tonight?” I asked, the words slipping from my lips.
A loud laugh escaped Frederick, and heat rushed to my cheeks. Shit, we had an audience. I’d gotten so used to our back and forth that I’d slipped into it naturally.
Cillian smiled, his fangs on clear display. “Absolutely. How else will people know not to flirt with you?”
I snorted, and thankfully Frederick seemed equally as amused.
Frederick glanced over at the door. “Looks like Mal and Ursuline are here. I’ll give you two a moment to catch up.” He strode away in the direction of the entrance, where I saw Ursuline’s familiar face. The person beside them was unfamiliar, lanky and statuesque, with a long coat that swept the floor in an iridescent purple-and-green hue, and a black corset top that highlighted his slender frame. His gray skin with slight pebbling in some areas and tapered black horns marked him as supernatural.
“Is that the same Mal whose Slumbering Gardens we visited?” I asked.
“Yes,” Cillian said. “I prefer to have my allies close in situations like this.”
For as much as Cillian proclaimed to be a loner, I’d witnessed the depth of his relationships, how he had more than allies in these people—they were friends. Family, even. And after being included in that community, I realized how shallow my own relationships had been.
Cillian leaned in, his lips brushing against my ear. “You look delectable.”
Fuck. My whole body immolated at his words.
“I’m tempted to just leave this whole soiree and find somewhere to take you—over and over again, until you’re screaming.”
I bit down on my lower lip to keep my moan back. “That’s not playing fair, Cillian.”
His wicked grin made me swoon. “Who ever said I played fair?”
A bit of extra noise came from the doorway, and Cillian glanced up. His hand stiffened on my back. I followed his gaze.
A man I hadn’t seen since I’d run into him in the alley had arrived. However, I wasn’t likely to soon forget his face. His tall stature was accentuated by his suit, his beard tamed and oiled today, but he wore the same ugly sneer as before. His gaze chilled me as he scanned through the room, clearly looking for one person. When Thorin stared at Cillian, for the first time I didn’t feel the sense of safety that always enveloped me when by his side. Something violent and terrifying existed there.
I almost didn’t register who his date was for tonight—Olivia. She wore a sweeping black gown that shimmered with her movements, and her crimson lips created a stark contrast even from here. She looked every inch the perfect arm candy, and given she was Cillian’s ex, this had been a pointed choice.
“Looks like the trouble has arrived,” Cillian said.
