Page 119 of Tailwind

His hands were warm through my dress and he moved them down to just above my hips, leaving a trail of his touch. I let myself enjoy the rush it gave me. He didn’t have to know.

Plus, now it was my turn to wind him up.

I stopped suddenly. Theo bumped into me from behind. His exposed skin pressed up against mine thanks to the top buttons being undone. The curve of my back felt lonely in comparison as it arched away, but there was plenty of pressure between his hips and my ass.

‘Oops! Sorry, thought I was going to trip over someone.’ I tilted my head back to see him, scrunching my nose.

He bit his lip. As he let it go I realized I hadn’t thought about how soft they looked before. His fingers flexed, holding me in place and daring me to pull away.

‘So clumsy of you, Paldon.’ The sarcasm was strong, but so was the challenge that had lit up in his eyes. He didn’t let go as we made our way to the seats.

The Prevere boys met us at the booth. Colly’s attention had been caught by some of the women nearby and he was forgetting to close his mouth while he stared.

‘Quinn.’ I leaned over the table, earnest. ‘Is this what it’s usually like? You haven’t given him any brotherly advice for this?’

‘As if you’re any better.’ Theo slid in next to me, draping an arm along the back of the booth so I ended up pressed against his side. ‘I’ve never even seen you attempt to flirt, but I imagine dropping fun facts about Bach Lotiere wouldn’t exactly win anyone over.’

I leaned into him sweetly. ‘I’m actually very good at attracting men.’

‘Oh yeah?’ His knee knocked against mine.

I held up a finger, drawing his eyes. Then tilted it towards my chest. Just as I expected he followed the direction and was, very obviously, staring.

His lips parted slightly, proving my point. He was as dumbstruck as Colly.

‘Is that Gordi Boll?’ Our drunk rookie was half out of his seat, peering into the crowd.

I followed his wavering gaze and was surprised to see exactly that. Gordi Nepotism Boll was grinding up against a very tall and busty woman.

‘I hope for her sake he fucks better than he flies.’ I felt bad enough for the woman already.

Quinn snorted a laugh into the remainder of his drink. I reached out to stop him from spilling, but only made it worse.

‘Are you sure you’ve been the one flying, Lena? Your coordination sucks,’ Quinn smiled as he took off his damp waistcoat.

‘Oh please. I did you a favour. You’ll get way more attention in your tight white shirt! If Gordi can find someone, you’ll be fighting them off.’

His ears went bright red, sheepish as he eyed the dance floor filled with options.

‘Hey.’ Theo’s voice was low. It didn’t have to be any louder – I could feel his lips brushing against my hair. ‘Since our favourite rider is here, how about a classic Vaspre-Paldon prank?’

I gasped, grabbing his shoulder.

‘That’s the best idea I’ve heard all night.’

His eyes lit up. The arm on the back of the booth curled around, his hand dangled over my shoulder. ‘We didn’t even get a scratch on him in the fight. I think we have some unfinished business.’

‘Yes,’ I agreed, the excitement fuelled by all the drinks I’d had so far. My knees pressed against his thigh as I turned to him. ‘Which one? We don’t have any hot sauce, but we could find a way to steal his clothes.’

‘The one we pulled on Pops could work.’ He picked up where I’d left off as we considered our successful history of troublemaking. ‘Or maybe—’

‘The time with Cam?’ We said it together, both of us grinning as the nostalgia hit us.

‘Hey guys,’ Theo’s tone completely changed as he addressed Quinn and Colly, no longer playful or low. ‘We’re going to head out. We have some important shit to do.’

He was already sliding out of the booth, his fingers trailing along my shoulder blades as they went by. The urge to lean into it made me dizzy.

‘No worries. I think I need to take Colly back anyway.’ Quinn watched, bemused, as his young teammate tucked two straws into his lips, mimicking dragon fangs.