I looked back at Lukas, trying to decide if dancing with him was wise.
“Sure, I’d love to.” It was just a dance, not a public declaration. Plus, I really wanted to be with him.
The moment Lukas placed his hand on the small of my back, a jolt of lightning soared through my body, settling deliciously between my thighs. He led me out to the dance floor, catching a few surprised eyes and a few glares from his fellow pack mates.
We started casually dancing together to a fun, upbeat song as more people joined in on the dance floor. Lukas was trying his best to keep his hands off me, but I could sense a strong desire for him to touch me. I glanced over to Isaac, who was staring daggers at him.
“Is this your idea of subtle?” I quietly joked to Lukas.
“What, I’m not allowed to dance with a cute girl?” Lukas said as he grabbed my hips for a brief second before letting go again. “I’m not a saint…”
“Isaac looks pissed right now,” I teasingly shook my head in disapproval.
“You should see the look Preston’s giving me behind you.” Lukas laughed, grabbing my hand and twirling me around. “I don’t care, I won the straw draw. I get to dance.”
The sweet smell of lemon sugar and shortbread drifted in the air between us, and before I could stop myself, I leaned forward to inhale his scent. Standing back upright, I stared at him in embarrassment, trying to regain my composure.
“I’m sorry!” I whispered as I returned to dancing normally. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
“It’s fine, we can’t always help it.” Lukas shot me a half-smile with a hint of fire in his eyes. “Though if you keep doing it, you’re going to give us away.”
“Should we stop dancing?” I asked. As soon as the words left my mouth, my body screamed in resistance, wanting to stay near him longer.But if I couldn't control myself, I needed to stop.
We both stared at each other for a brief moment, then walked our separate ways. Each step away from Lukas was a battle with my feet.
As I walked off the dance floor, one of the principal dancers intercepted me with a frown, standing in front of me with her arms crossed.
“Adrienne, right?” I asked, watching her body language carefully. Her jaw was set tight, and she had a scowl on her face, but I wasn’t quite sure it was for me. “Something wrong?”
“I’m just here to warn you.” Adrienne glanced at Lukas, who was now chatting with Preston. “You don’t want to get mixed up with the Arco boys. They’ll discard you immediately when they find their omega girl. It’s all they care about.”
“Oh.” A flicker of panic rose in my chest. “I was just having fun and dancing.”
“I saw the way Lukas looked at you. He clearly likes you.” Adrienne crossed her arms. “I’ve had my heart broken by one of them. I’m just trying to save you from the pain. Good luck.”
She walked away from me and made her way over to Preston, who blew her off before looking for me from across the room.
My heart sank. They were clearly an item before all this. How could I compete with her? And she was probably right. I was going to get all tangled up in this pack before getting completely dumped by them. Maybe this was a bad idea. I didn’t need this pack to reach my goals.
Sensing a slight panic attack coming on, I slowly walked back to the hallway and dipped into the other studio for a moment alone to breathe.
***
Preston
“Adrienne just cornered Ivy,” I whispered to Dem. He’d been standing in the corner making small talk with several of the staff members. I knew, however, that just like us, his eyes followed Ivy the moment she arrived.
Just as Dem turned his head towards me, Lukas approached with an obnoxious smirk on his face.
“Lukas, what the hell?” I asked, annoyed at him. I grabbed his arm and pulled him away from everyone. “We said we’d all keep our distance from her tonight. Why were you dancing with her?”
Lukas shrugged, seemingly indifferent to my anger. “I asked her to dance, and she said yes. What’s the big deal?”
“Adrienne talked to her for some reason, and now she’s in the other studio, clearly upset,” I angrily whispered to him. Lukas really pissed me off sometimes when he acted like he could do no wrong.
“I'd be happy to go check on her,” he said.
I looked at Dem, who was watching us argue. After a slight pause, he motioned to me with his head to go after her.
