The music takes over, my body moving with the rhythm, sweat slicking my skin. Daisy spins me, laughter bubbling from my lips. This is normal. This is good. Twinkle and Cheese join us.
Then, I feel it, awareness spiking through me. Warmth traveling over my body. Eyes on me.
Finn.
I don’t see him. Not at first. But I know. My stomach tightens, a different kind of thrill running through me. My perfume probably spikes too, not that anyone could smell it in here with the descenter heavy in the air.
I scan the crowd, heart thudding—ready for—I don’t know, a glimpse of the man who is obsessed with me. Because maybe I’m becoming a little obsessed with him too. A little curious in a way I shouldn’t be.
And that’s when I feel something else. Something deeper. Stronger than my curiosity.
The musk hits me first, fresh laundry, grounding, devastatingly familiar. Even with the blockers in the air, I can smell him, because he was made for me. My body reacts before my mind catches up.
Landon.
My entire world stops spinning. I don’t even have time to process before his voice cuts through the music.
“Willow.”
A shudder racks through me. The air is suddenly thick, pressing in around me, squeezing my ribs tight. My heart slams against my chest, memories flooding in before I can stop them.
I turn, and there he is.
He stands barely a few feet away, his hazel eyes locked onto me, taking me in as if he’s been starving for this moment. I stagger back a step, my breath caught in my throat. Bodies are still dancing around us. No one even pays attention to us.
But Carson is there instantly. Hunter, too. Both stepping between us, shields of muscle and tension, their postures going rigid and lethal.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing here?” Carson asks, his tone light, but still dangerous.
Landon’s gaze flicks from me to them, his shoulders squared and unyielding.
“I need to talk to her,” he says.
“You don’t need anything,” Hunter snaps. He sees the truth in my reaction, the way my body betrayed me at just the scent of Landon. “And you won’t be talking when I do what I threatened.”
I shake my head, forcing words out. “Landon, leave me alone.”
A muscle ticks in his jaw. “Please, just?—”
“No.”
Graham appears then, his presence a final warning.
“Walk away,” he suggests, voice easy, the way someone would offer directions to a stranger.
Landon’s fists clench at his sides, his breathing uneven. For a second, I think he’s going to fight it, going to keep pushing, but then he exhales harshly, stepping back.
They don’t move until Landon does. Until he fully turns and disappears into the crowd. The moment is over.
Except it isn’t. Because the guys are still focusing on Landon. And Finn takes his chance.
A firm grip on my wrist?—
A pull, fast, precise?—
And suddenly, I’m moving through the crowd, away from them, away from the safety they’ve started to represent. Finn has me.
Again.
