My hand touched his as he started swaying us to the music. It was tempting. A night where I forgot my problems and let myself go.
There was an itch under my skin begging to be scratched, and its name was Liam.
Nothing waited for me at home but Netflix and pajamas.
"If I do that, we both know where this night will end," I said in one last token protest.
A bed and our bodies tangled together, nothing separating us.
"I’m not seeing a problem," Liam growled, the feel of his lips against my skin sending shivers down my neck. "Stay. I'll make sure you don't regret it."
Abruptly, I turned in Liam's arms, catching the longing in Liam's eyes.
"Okay," I heard myself say. "Why not?"
His eyes flashed, the dark smile on his face making my heart jump, fear and exhilaration fighting for supremacy.
Liam wasn't someone you engaged on a whim. Yet, that was exactly what I was doing.
Liam pulled me closer, his hips rolling against mine as his head dipped, his lips feathering across my chin, up to the corner of my mouth and away again. I couldn't help the slight smile as I laced my fingers behind his neck, letting myself fall into a rhythm, similar to the one we found when we made love.
I lost myself, raising my hands above my head, letting him guide us through the music as I set aside the burdens I carried and remembered what it felt to be young, to live and rejoice in simply being.
The music changed to a faster beat. Our bodies remained locked together as we moved faster and faster.
I caught a fleeting glimpse of Connor standing next to Nathan and Anton, talking, before Liam whirled me and I lost sight again.
When we drifted to the edge of the dance floor an hour later, Nathan appeared out of the crowd, shot glasses clutched in his hand, a woman dogging his footsteps like an overenthusiastic puppy.
One of Liam's enforcers, Nathan was also, strangely enough, my friend.
Light where Liam was dark, he had a roguish charm that made him hard to ignore. He'd always had a smile on his face, but recent events had put a darkness in his eyes that hadn't been there before. What had happened with Niamh had left its mark on him.
The shadows of the experience still lingered when he thought no one was watching.
"A, I see our fearless leader has finally gotten you to loosen up and have a little fun. So good of you to join us on the Good Time Express." Nathan's smile was wicked as he handed me one of the shot glasses.
Anton arrived, holding two more shot glasses, one of which he handed to Liam. To my surprise, he jerked his chin at me in that universal greeting guys had. It was probably one of the more cordial exchanges we'd ever had.
Anton wasn't my biggest fan, although he seemed to have thawed toward me since I was instrumental in saving Nathan's life.
Like the two beside me, Anton was built like a warrior from some long-ago era. Unlike them, he'd been turned when he was a little older—probably around his early forties. He was handsome with dark hair and eyes the color of fall honey. Laugh lines around the corner of his eyes said his human life had been full of love and warmth.
"Where's Connor?" I looked over their shoulders, but didn't spot a tall man who could have doubled as a ghost.
"He said he'd see you tomorrow night," Nathan responded.
I frowned. That sounded awfully unlike the stalker who'd followed me here, despite my express wishes to the contrary.
"He also ordered us to see you safely home at the end of the night," Anton drawled, looking bored. "I believe there was an 'or else' implied in there somewhere."
That sounded much more like my stalker.
"What's this?" I asked, lifting my glass and changing the subject.
Nathan smirked. "Don't tell me you don't recognize a shot. What kind of education did you have?"
I sent him a quelling look. "Thanks, genius. I know what a shot is. I'm asking why you handed it to me."
