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I stormed away from him. He couldn’t find out Charlie, the mortal, was in charge. Not yet.
My light withdrew slightly, freeing me from its draw to Ales, the more I concentrated and the further distance I put between us.
If he could try to get into my head anytime, then my days as Charlie were drastically numbered. Ales surely only wanted the Valkyrie bouncing around in there.
I didn’t want another person in my head, especially Ales. Tonight, I didn’t even want me in my head.
I padded my way to the fire at the far end of the courtyard, but the music drew my attention before I made it to the fire pit. The song drifted through the courtyard, long and slow, as bodies slid against each other and dipped along with the notes from the strings.
My bare feet tiptoed over the soft ground, edging closer to the music and the dancers. I stood at the periphery of the people as my hips made small circles to the beat. I had never been outgoing or overly social and hadn’t danced in years. Even when I did, I’d kept it mostly to the confines of my apartment. My legs and arms weren’t graceful, too long to move in coordination together, but that didn’t stop the allure of the music. Music was a universal language—conveying emotion in a way words couldn’t.
I stared at the dancing couples.
Tonight, the music spoke of lust. No words were needed.
Here, no one knew me. I could let get lost in the notes without having to justify myself. No one here cared if my hair looked like a bush or if my tits were barely covered by a piece of string. I was their long-awaited Valkyrie, but they didn’t treat me like a savior. They treated me like one of them. No one spent more than a second watching me. These people were too busy enjoying the night, and each other to be concerned with my affairs. Each embraced the music pulsing through the air as the cool wind from the ocean drifted through the trees.
I closed my eyes when another song began to beat into the night and tipped my glass back to finish the last of the wine.
It warmed every part of me down to my toes.
My skin heated as it worked through my blood. My mind receded and flowed with my hips, getting lost in the music.
Charlie would be gone soon, and I wanted to dance before she was. I used to love dancing to music. Every kind, it didn’t matter. Music was pure happiness and freedom—still my escape.
Strong hands gripped my waist. A warm, firm chest pressed against my bare shoulders.
I lazily opened my eyes and tilted my head back, continuing to sway to the music.
The hands belonged to a lean freckled man with an auburn beard and crystal blue eyes. He looked like a Scottish warrior with strong shoulders and a narrow torso. His long hair rested on his shoulder with a few strands brushing his face.
He swept me closer as I stroked my hips in a loop, slowly, in time with the drums.
He wasn’t the man I wanted. But I couldn’t have Logan, so I would pretend. In my mind his hands were Logan’s, and Charlie was just a woman. If only tonight, the Valkyrie wasn’t here.
He pressed my back to him. I dipped down with my legs. I arched my body upwards, extending my arms up, continuing to sashay my hips in small circles.
I forgot how much I missed this.
I hadn’t wanted to find a club or a bar in the city where I could do this. I used to think there would be time later for it, when things were less complicated, when life went back to normal. After Jason died, there hadn’t been a reason to dance anymore. And normal never came.
Tonight, being alive was reason enough to dance. The guilt of wanting someone’s touch, someone other than Jason, wasn’t there, like I thought it’d be. Only the need for Logan filled my thoughts.
The warrior ran his hands down my torso, fingertips gliding over my ribs and belly to my hips. His palms slid up to my shoulders and then caressed down my arms before gently kneading my hips, pushing my backside further into him.
I wiggled and laughed while he moved in time with my body.
He skillfully turned me to face him. I dipped my head back and arched backwards as I shimmied my hips, pretending it was Logan’s body I moved against.
In return, he ran his hand down my exposed neck toward my chest. I rocked my hips harder when the tempo increased.
His hand brushed over my breasts, and I paused, sensing someone else beside me.
“Charlie?”
Logan’s voice jolted me out of my delusion. I stilled, glancing between him and the red-haired warrior with sweet smile. I didn’t have an ounce of lust for the man who held my arm, still caressing my chest.
Logan outstretched his palm, making me wish I was buried in his arms.
