They move together, then apart, fire crossing between them in sharp burning patterns that look like half dance, half threat. Luca throws his staff high, clean and perfect, and Ace catches it one-handed without even looking, already spinning through his own turn, the flames chasing the line of his body.
The crowd screams, and I scream with them.
“Hot!” I yell, because it needs saying.
Ace glances straight at me through the spinning fire and winks.
My stomach flips so hard it’s embarrassing.
North is beside me now. I don’t even know when he moved his chair, only that he’s there, solid at my side, one hand low atmy waist and close enough that if I leaned back, he’d catch me without effort.
Luca drops onto his back, facing away from us, his legs in the air, and he balances the spinning staff on his feet, heels lifted. His abs flex, his thighs tense, and the skirt rides up just enough to make me briefly lose the ability to think in complete sentences.
This is outrageous.
Ace circles him, fire slicing the air, then both of them surge into the end of the sequence in a blaze of heat and speed. They land on their knees with the staffs between their legs, thighs clenching them tight enough to hold them, flames in front of and behind them. Their chests heave, skin gleaming, skirts barely settled back into place, and the whole place erupts.
Everyone’s on their feet.
The stage goes dark for a beat, except for the torchlights. Then spotlights appear, revealing Ace and Luca facing each other, maybe five feet between them. They’re both holding a blade in each hand. My heart is in my throat, curious about what they’re going to do now.
North’s hand settles at my back just as Ace flicks one into the air.
The blade spins once, twice, and Luca catches it by the handle, then throws it back. Ace grabs that one behind his back, and I almost stop breathing. It’s terrifying and beautiful at the same time. Luca ducks one throw and sends the next blade high enough to make half the audience unleash an “oohhh” sound. Ace twists and catches it in one hand. Then they start doing this faster, and I’m tense all over, watching how easily they catch them correctly.
Blades flash so fast that my heart is thumping against my rib cage. Then suddenly both of them are tossing their blades high at the same time, spinning beneath them, and catching themclean in crossed grips as the drums hit once. The audience goes wild.
My face hurts from smiling and whistling while my pulse is nowhere near normal.
Once I flop down into my seat, North bends to my ear, his chest brushing my shoulder, his hand flattening more firmly at the small of my back. “You like what you see?”
His deep, sexy voice goes straight through me. “You know I do,” I answer, still watching the stage where the men are standing now, breathing hard, grinning like they know exactly what they’ve done to the crowd. “I wish you were up there.”
North’s mouth brushes close enough to my ear that it covers me in delicious shivers. “I can give you a private show anytime you want.”
I turn my head toward him. Bad idea. His face is right there, eyes dark in the torchlight, mouth close enough to want to taste him, and my whole body lights up at once. “Yeah?” I manage, which comes out far softer than I intended.
His gaze drops to my mouth. “Anytime.”
I face the stage again because that’s safer, and even that isn’t saying much. I lean back. Onstage, Luca finds me in the front row and throws his arms wide like,Well?
I give him the biggest thumbs-up I have.
He laughs, head tipping back, and Ace’s grin flashes bright enough to be seen from ten feet away.
I sit there with my skin still hot from the show, my drink sweating in my hand, and I am, very genuinely, turned on.
Which feels rude, considering the emotional breakthrough I had with North less than an hour ago, but my body is clearly not interested in behaving with nuance tonight.
The crowd is still roaring, the torches blazing, and I lean into North just a little more, letting the warmth of him hold me there.
Daniel used to tell me I was too much. Too quick with a comeback. I spent time shaving myself down for a man who turned out to be poison wrapped in a smile.
Never doing that again.
And for the first time since Los Angeles, staying no longer feels like the dangerous choice.
12
