The bartender was back in motion, flitting back and forth, meaning Luc couldn’t still be there. Magic didn’t make it possible for people to walk through you. Right? But then, where had Luc gone?
Fingers trailed down the nape of Dex’s neck. He yelped and spun around.
“You good?” the short, stocky man behind him asked.
Dex cupped the back of his neck with his hand. “Did you touch me?”
The man frowned. “No.”
Behind the guy were more men waiting to be served, none of whom paid him any attention. Dex pushed past, away from the bar. Had Luc touched him? How? He couldn’t have been behind Dex with so many people packed in on all sides.
Dex skirted the edge of the crowd, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. He looked everywhere. No Luc.
“You lost, sweetie?” a man probably twice Dex’s age asked.
“No. All good.” He moved away, pretending not to notice the way the man leered.
Maybe he’d imagined the touch. It had been feather-light. More likely, someone had breathed down his neck a little too hard.
Dex caught a glimpse of Ash and Harper and pushed toward them. Even if the touch had been in his head, he hadn’t imagined Luc behind the bartender.
His skin prickled. The hunt had officially started.
By the time he reached the group, Dex was breathless, and not because he had to fight through the crowd. Luc could appear at any moment.
Dex couldn’t stop looking for him, even though he doubtedLuc would reveal himself before he wanted to. It was impossible for Dex to see Luc coming when he had magic on his side. There was nothing Dex could do but wait, and fuck, he twitched with anticipation, his neglected cock half hard.
He had to get off. God, he hoped Luc would let him.
Ollie seemed to have convinced Dante to dance, and they were sweetly wrapped around each other. No way Dex was butting in. He danced by himself, trying his best not to look over his shoulder every few seconds.
Harper broke away from Ash and grabbed his hand. “Dance with me.”
Dex could barely hear his shout over the music. He moved in close, and they found a rhythm.
Harper had taken his shirt off while Dex was at the bar and sported a black lace bralette. He’d skipped the glasses for the night, his makeup sparkling. He looked so damn happy, it was impossible for Dex not to smile and lose himself in the music.
Dex’s skin seemed to vibrate. His body pulsed to the beat, and sweat dripped down his back.
“Dex…” a low, seductive voice whispered, breath tickling Dex’s ear.
He gasped, his body jolting out of rhythm as his pulse thundered in his ears. He whirled around. No one was there except Onyx, plastered to Nico’s chest, writhing to the ever-pounding beat.
It should’ve been impossible to hear a whisper, but Luc’s taunt had reached him all the same.
“You okay?” Harper shouted.
Dex faced him and laughed it off. “Fine.”
As he got back into the groove of dancing, he swore he heard the ghost of a chuckle, and tingles skittered down his spine.
This wasn’t what he imagined Luc hunting him in a club would be like, the unexpectedness adding a layer of forebodingthat kicked Dex’s heart into gear. Even when nothing else happened, and Luc’s chuckle faded into memory, Dex’s senses stayed on alert.
Ash crowded behind Harper, and the three of them danced. Onyx joined in, pulling Nico along, and soon, Dex and Onyx were pressed together. For once, Dex wasn’t nervous. He could forget that Onyx was one of the most important people in the Shearwater Landing art scene and see him as a potential friend.
Their group moved with the music, breaking off and coming back together.
“Are Ash and Harper making out behind me?” Onyx shouted in Dex’s ear.
