"Another round, please," I said to the bartender, my voice almost getting lost in the music.
Almost, but not quite. He'd heard me. The glass he set down was cold against my hand, the liquid inside promising another layer of carefree to the night.
"Cheers!" Aurelia shouted over the noise, and we clinked our glasses together, Skye joining in with a wide grin.
"Let's dance." Skye pulled us both toward the small dance floor.
We danced, moving to the rhythm, just us girls, laughing and spinning each other around. The beats pulsed through me, and I forgot about everything else.
"Hey there," a voice cut in, and I turned to see a guy standing too close. "Mind if I join you?" It was one of the guys from earlier, the one Aurelia had stared away.
I was pretty sure, anyway. There were two of him.
"Actually, yes," Skye said sharply before I could speak. She stepped between us, her face suddenly serious. "She's not interested."
"Come on, don't be like that." He reached out toward me.
"Leave. Now," Skye growled, and something in her eyes flashed an intense blue, slitted like a cat's—or no, fiercer, like a…lizard?
Damn, I really was too drunk.
"Fine, fine, I'm going." He backed away quickly, his hands raised in surrender as he disappeared into the crowd.
"Thanks," I said to Skye, still shaken by the look in her eyes.
"Anytime," she said, a hint of the wild still lingering in her gaze. "Let's keep dancing."
Chapter 20
Ashton
I pacedthe length of my living room at the manor, a flat path in the carpet proof of the hours I'd spent pacing back and forth like some caged beast. The silence from my phone was deafening, unlike the roar of worry echoing in my skull. Erin was out there, probably laughing, dancing...vulnerable. She deserved every speck of freedom and fun, but my gut churned with the thought of those mafia goons laying eyes on her.
"Damn it." I glanced at the clock for the hundredth time. It wasn't that I didn't trust Skye and Aurelia to keep her safe. It's just that something primal within me, the dragon part that didn't heed reason, clawed at my insides, demanding I protect our mate.
Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I snatched up my phone and dialed Aurelia's number, eachring amplifying my frustration. Then, unexpectedly, it wasn't Aurelia's voice that answered.
"Hel-looo." Erin's voice sang through the speaker, drenched in alcohol-induced cheer.
"Erin?" I tried to keep the edge out of my voice. "Is everything okay? Where's Aurelia?"
"Oooh, Ashton. She's in the bathroom. We're having so much fuuun!" Her words were slurred, the syllables stretching out as if they were too tired to reach their full sound.
"You sound drunk." My words were clipped, concern sharpening them to a point.
"Maybe a little." She giggled, and I could almost picture her, eyes sparkling with mischief, cheeks flushed from the liquor. "Don't worry, 'kay?"
"Stay put until Aurelia comes back." I fought to keep my voice level. "Promise me."
"Cross my heart," she said.
"Look, Erin, maybe you've had enough to?—"
The interruption cut through the line like a knife. A male voice, smarmy and confident, seeped into my ear. "Hey, beautiful, come dance with me."
"Back off," Erin said, her words a bit garbled but the irritation clear as day. "For the last time, I don't want to dance!"
"Who is that?" My voice was a growl now, the dragon within flaring to life.
