AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He offered Lainey his arm and she slid her hand onto his elbow. Together, they descended, looking every inch the couple. Three or four glasses of Scotch sounded good right now.
So did taking him outside and shooting him. Unfortunately, shooting him wasn’t an option. Tactically, he was useful in the fight against Julius King.
After?
A man in a plague doctor’s mask followed them down the steps. He was armed and walked with a kind of lethality to his actions. The bodyguard.
That reminded me, I needed to find out why the hell Ezra had sent the bodyguard to her again. He’d avoided my calls the last few days. I expected him to be here tonight—somewhere. However, he seemed almost conspicuous in his absence. I didn’t step forward to greet them as they drifted past.
Her attention was on Andrea, and I heard her soft laugh as she said, “We need to stop and check on her. I promised.”
“That’s fine. You can introduce me.”
“Maybe, Pretty Boy… or maybe I’ll keep you to myself.”
Aggravation raked through me like hot coals being poured along my spine. The bitterness and burn were as uncomfortable as they were infuriating. Not letting them out of my sight, I drifted along, following.
At Andrea’s table, there were exclamations of excitement as she rose to hug Lainey. The ease of affection between them soothed some of the more jagged edges of my temper. Though Lainey could quite well drive me mad with her passionate loyalty, I also respected it. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for Andrea. Just as there was nothing she wouldn’t do for her best friend.
Thankfully, her friend was as safe as we could all make her. She had a veritable gang around her to keep her safe. An actual one. That seemed to relax Lainey, allowing her to bring her attention back here to focus on things I’d rather she knew nothing about. They didn’t linger long with Andrea or her friends. In fact, they moved toward the dance floor. It was a simple waltz, and they flowed together with the kind of familiarity bred by intimacy.
The bodyguard followed as far as the edge of the dance floor, then he took up a watchful post. His actions and posture made him stand out, even if a mask hid his features. The watchfulness put my teeth on edge.
Why had Ezra sent him?
Someone bumped into me and I shifted, finding the man in the black and silver face mask with the cloak standing there. He didn’t say anything just moved on like it hadn’t happened. I made sure I still had my phone, then returned my attention to the dance floor. The music changed, the waltz giving way to a different dance.
Lainey and her escort moved to the edge of the dance floor and she was walking him through the steps. Dance lessons probably weren’t high on the agenda where he grew up.
So sad for him.
The cloaked figure had made it to the edge of the dance floor, and the position he took threatened to block my view. Irritated, I weaved through the chattering throng to a new position. They were still at the edge and moving more easily. Lainey’s smile was a punch to the gut.
The longer I watched them, the more aggravated I became. Honestly, I should walk away and leave them. It would be simpler and less distracting. At the same time, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. They had three dances together and then the music changed to a minuet. Couples shifted, some leaving the dance floor as others drew back and prepared for the more formal dance.
My feet were moving before I fully processed my intentions. I approached them—her—and bowed slightly before I gestured to the dance floor. I said nothing. The mask hid my face. Rather than accept my hand, she looked at her escort and he kissed her gloved hand once before taking a step back.
He was a kinder man than I was. I didn’t want her dancing with anyone else, but he was giving her the option. “One dance,” she said, then turned to me. Even with her voice distorted by the mask, I’d know it anywhere. We moved to stand opposite each other as the ladies aligned themselves to one side and the men on the other.
The refrain picked up again and I bowed as she curtseyed. The movements were centuries old. The steps were careful, controlled. With our hands raised, we circled each other. The dance was more about the motion of touching, not actually touching in itself. We danced away from each other, changing partners, then back again. The weaving in and out was all about the push and the pull.
The predator and the prey.
She actually laughed at one point when she almost missed a step. It wasn’t her fault. The man who’d partnered with her didn’t quite have it. Then she was back to me and I held out my hand and she hovered hers over it as we tap-stepped to a new position. Then again.
When the song drew to a close, I bowed to her again and she curtseyed. Then we all applauded, including those who’d only been watching from the sidelines.
“You dance very well…”
The music changed back to a waltz and when I extended my hand.
“I said one dance.”
I waited.
She sighed. Then she put her hand in mine, as delicate and ephemeral as a leaf floating down to land against the surface of a pond. The tension barely a ripple. There was something intoxicating about being this close. She rested one hand on my shoulder as I settled my free hand against her waist. The layers of satin and boning kept the contact from being too real yet in the same instance, there was an intimacy to this.
“Are you planning to not say a word to me?” Lainey asked as I began to lead us around in the waltz. “Really, Adam?”
