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Dominic stares at Eli in challenge, before clapping his hands and gesturing to the stage.
“Alright then, Lilith. Go right ahead.” He pulls out a walkie-talkie from inside his jacket and speaks through. “Replay Bear’s set song.”
I shoot back my drink and stand from my chair, moving to the center stage. When the song starts filling through the speakers and the audience seems to quiet, I hold the pole in my hand and wrap my legs around it like I have so many times before. I can dance, and have been dancing since I could walk, but how I do it isn’t so much dance. With every twist and hit of the tune, I roll my body around the stage, bending backward into a bridge before raising my body up from the ground.
Bear comes out halfway through the song and finds herself dancing with me. I take over the set and grab her by the wrist, throwing her onto the ground and rolling my body over hers. Bear looks up at me from behind her over-the-top lashes. Her chest rises and falls as she concentrates on my mouth.
I smirk down at her but move away. I make her want me with every movement but remind her she can’t have me with every step. The song ends and everyone is silent.
I jump off the stage and turn to face Bear, who is looking down at me with wide eyes. Her dark hair is sewn into a weave, and her eyes are an unnatural shade of blue. She tilts her head high and I get a flash of the scar that runs down from below her jawline.
Before she can say anything, I smile at her. “So nice to meet you, Bear.”
She turns quickly and fumbles toward the backstage, gathering up her belongings. I stop at the bar quickly before heading back to the table, ordering a round of whiskey on the rocks and turning to watch the table where my friends are.
“Huh,” a voice says from beside me. “I would have never pegged you.” I ignore him. “Tell me…”
I turn my head slightly but keep my eyes on the table to make sure they don’t see the exchange between us. Eli would think it was just some guy at the bar hitting on me, but Kyrin is way too intuitive for that. He would notice that this guy is leaning far too comfortably into me. That I don’t look all that wary, and that this guy is about a breath away from my ear. It looks intimate, not like a random guy trying to get a girl at a bar.
“What’s that?” I answer, watching the exchange between Kyrin and Eli.
Eli’s grinning at Kyrin—no doubt after saying something smug—but his body language is tense. When my bar friend doesn’t answer from beside me, I turn to face him, giving him my full attention. Dark blond hair, a fully grown beard, and eyes bleak enough to rip the soul out of young girls who don’t know better.
Kij turns his whole body toward me, running a hand over his top lip. “Why do you look so fucking cozy snuggling up to the enemy?”
I cock my head. “Maybe because I am.”
I push off from the counter and make my way back to the table. Falling down onto my chair, I look to where Saskia and Killian once were, seeing them gone. “What? Where’d they go?”
“Where do you think?” Keaton rolls his eyes and takes the joint that is rolled behind his ear, placing it to his mouth.
“Care to bring any of these girls home with you tonight, Keat?” Kyrin asks him suggestively.
Keaton does a quick scan of the room, shaking his head. “Nope. I’m good.”
“Should we be worried that you’ve not been bringing anyone home?” Kyrin fires back, but I cancel out their chatting and turn my head over my shoulder slightly to see if Kij is still watching us from his table, but he’s gone. That should frighten me, because I know what I just announced, but it doesn’t. All that pumps through my veins is a calmness that can’t be faked.
Eli stands and tosses a bunch of hundred-dollar bills onto the table. “I’m out.”
Kyrin and I both watch him closely before I stand to my feet, my palms itchy to see if he’s okay.
“Same. This place sucks, by the way.”
I wrap my arm around Eli’s waist as we all start making our way out through the entry. I’m thankful to see our limo already idling and slide in first, leaning back into the seat and keeping my eyes locked on the ceiling. We pull away from the curb once everyone is in and music filters through the air. Keaton is talking to Kyrin about something I can’t hear, but it’s Eli’s thigh resting against mine that has my heart thundering against my ribs like an unrestrained stray cat.
