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“Upset.”
He huffed again. “Ridiculous.” But he was lying. He had been upset. Upset because he’d wanted more than he should. Upset because he’d looked like a fool.
“Time’s up,” he said, sending Nix a mental message that he was leaving, even if it would alert his father. And with a quick turn, he left, leaving Brinna standing there, resolving to never have to see her again.
Except…
Err in Judgement No. 2
Luc had sworn never to return to Sevens. He’d told himself any interaction with Brinna was a mistake and to stay as far away as possible. But there he was, in Sevens, attending a country dance.
Nix and Aurielle had gotten in a terrible fight, and though they’d separated for reasons unbeknownst to Luc, the god-yoke was wreaking havoc on his brother’s system, dragging him back to Sevens. Luc right along with him.
So, despite Luc’s resolve, he couldn’t seem to escape the place. Worse yet, he was beginning to look forward to it. This awful little place was where Brinna was, after all.
Wait.
No.
Brinna Fareview. Absolutely not. She was a blight on his peace.
While he would do anything to get away from his banishment at Sol, visiting Sevens didn’t seem to be the answer. After what had happened at the hedge, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Brinna—but he didn’t need chaos in his life. With a huff, he ran a hand through his hair, irritated that he was even thinking about her.
But Nix needed him.
Luc owed Nix, so he went.
Brinna was standing with her sisters; his gaze sought her out the moment he and Nix arrived.
“Lucian,” she said curtly, a bright blush staining her cheeks. She didn’t smile, which irritated him. He was aware how frequently she smiled otherwise.
“Brinna,” he replied with equally false apathy. Two could play that game.
She looked away immediately.
As his brother whisked Aurielle out to dance, rather than ask Brinna—which Luc annoyingly wanted to do—he asked her sister Tarley.
Tarley nodded and let him swirl her into the throng of dancers. His gaze, however, returned to Brinna, watching them, a look she severed when she caught his gaze. She rolled her eyes instead and turned her head away.
Feeling devilish, Luc then asked Aurielle to dance, followed by Jessamine, and by the time he appeared before Brinna, her annoyance was a palpable creature with fangs.
“Would you like to dance?” he asked, offering her a grin.
She lifted her gray eyes to meet his. Even as much as she tried to shutter the look of hurt contained within by narrowing them, she replied in a huff, “No. I don’t think I do,” followed by a haughty shake of her head.
He shrugged, feigning indifference even though disappointment wove a new tapestry knitted with challenge inside him, lighting a fire in his gut. He hadn’t had many opportunities to be a hunter, and that spurned his competitive drive to want to claim something even if he wasn’t being honest about what it was. So, instead of walking away and leaving her be, he remained at her side.
Brinna, of course, rose to his challenge, remaining where she was. They stood side by side. Self-satisfaction bathed him each time a prospective suitor considered asking Brinna to dance before his eyes flitted in Luc’s direction and veered away, taking the suitor’s attention elsewhere.
Eventually she whirled on Luc, gray eyes shooting daggers that would’ve wounded at that range. “Why are you standing there?”
He raised his eyebrows at her with mock innocence. “Am I not allowed to stand here?”
Her mouth opened, then shut. Then she pointed at him. “No one is asking me to dance,” she snapped, the tip of her finger poking his chest with each word. “Because of you.”
That touch skittered like a skipping stone, shedding heat with each bounce, heat that slid through him with pleasant repercussions. He was suddenly relieved no one had asked her. “I didn’t think you wanted to dance,” he replied, glancing at where she’d touched him, smug for some reason.
She snatched her hand back and put both hands on her hips. “Who says I don’t?”
