I wanted Beth all to myself, but if having Jordan there made her more comfortable, I was all for it. Plus, I really wanted to see her in her hot new dress.
Sara was in the kitchen when we came in. “What’s a great idea?” she asked around a mouthful of apple.
Jordan stole a slice of apple from her. “We’re all going dancing tonight.”
Sara didn’t look nearly as excited as Jordan. “Didn’t you guys just fight a dozen Incubi or something? That wasn’t fun enough for you?”
“If you call watching someone else do all the killing fun. Now I have all this pent-up energy I need to burn off.” Jordan laid an arm across Beth’s shoulders. “What do you say?”
Beth thought it over for a moment. “Okay.”
“Don’t sound so excited.” Jordan laughed as she released Beth and headed for the door. She looked back over her shoulder. “I’m going to my place to get gorgeous. And then we’re going to show this town how to party.”
Chapter 13
Chris
“You’re staring again.”
I gave Nikolas a sideways look before directing my gaze at the dance floor.
“Half the males in this place are staring,” I growled. “Could that dress be any smaller?”
Beth’s dress – if you could call it that – was a short, strappy, burgundy creation with an open back and a neckline deep enough to reveal the smooth swells of her breasts. The fabric was gathered at one side of her waist, and it looked like a good tug would unwrap her like a present.
“It’s no smaller than what any other woman here is wearing,” Nikolas pointed out unhelpfully.
“I don’t care about other women.” I waved a hand at the three girls dancing together. “Sara’s not wearing a dress.”
Nikolas’s eyes practically devoured his mate, who was dressed in skinny pants and a black sequined tank.
“Sara doesn’t own a dress,” he said with satisfaction.
I’d never been jealous of my best friend until that moment. Sara had her share of admirers, but her outfit left a lot more to the imagination.
It wasn’t that I didn’t like Beth in the dress. She had a gorgeous body, and I’d nearly forgotten how to speak when she’d walked out of her bedroom earlier wearing that thing. My first thought had been, She’s all mine, and my chest had nearly burst with pure male satisfaction and pride.
That had lasted until we’d entered the club and I saw the male heads turn and the naked lust in their eyes. I didn’t care that none of these males would ever touch her. I knew what they were thinking, and it made me want to take off my shirt and cover her with it. I wanted to stand by her and growl at any male who dared to even look at my mate.
The tempo of the music increased, and Beth and Jordan raised their arms over their heads. Beth’s hem rose a few inches, and I choked on my saliva.
Nikolas slapped me hard on the back and forced me to turn around to face the bar we’d been leaning against.
“You’re two seconds away from doing something that will embarrass her and won’t end well for you.” He waved at the bartender. “What you need is a stiff drink.”
I wrung my head in my hands. “This is killing me. How did you survive it for so long?”
“A few months of pain was nothing compared to the thought of a lifetime without Sara,” he replied quietly. “I’d do it all again for her.”
When he said it like that, it put everything into perspective. What I felt for Beth went beyond a physical attraction or the influence of the bond we shared. I’d loved that girl almost since the day I met her. My feelings for her had changed and grown over the years, but the roots of that love went deeper than any I’d ever known. I couldn’t imagine a future without her by my side.
If I thought it would help my case with her, I’d declare my love for her right now. But Beth was skittish and afraid of her feelings for me. I’d seen it in her eyes when she realized she’d sought me out in my bed. She was wary of letting me in because of her fear of being hurt again. As much as I wanted to lay my heart open to her, I was afraid of driving her away.
I lifted my head to meet his serious gaze. “Beth is worth it, too.”
“I know.”
The bartender laid two glasses of Scotch in front of us. Nikolas picked up his and raised it to me. “Drink up. You’re going to need it.”
We downed the contents of our glasses and called for a refill. After the third one, we slowed and talked about work. Or Nikolas talked and I did my best not to turn around and see what Beth was doing.
“We’re delaying our trip to New York until the Lilin threat is over,” he said, swirling the amber liquid in his glass. “Tristan agrees that now is not the best time to take resources from here to start a new command center.”
“New York has gone this long without one. They can last a little longer.”
He nodded and drained his glass. I knew it was bothering him that Sara wouldn’t leave Los Angeles, even if she was stronger than the Lilin. It was built into our DNA to be protective of our mates no matter how capable they were of defending themselves. I was going to worry about Beth’s safety every second until the Lilin was dead or gone from here.
Sara came up behind Nikolas and slipped her arms around his waist. “Hey, handsome. Want to dance?”
He set his glass on the bar and turned to take her in his arms. I watched unabashedly as they kissed like they were the only two people in the room. Someday, it would be like this for Beth and me. I just needed to be patient and keep whittling down her defenses.
I looked at the dance floor, but there was no sign of Beth or Jordan. I could sense Beth, so I knew she wasn’t that far away. Still, I didn’t like not being able to see her, and I scanned the crowd for a glimpse of her.
Being taller than the average male and having enhanced vision came in handy at times like this. I caught sight of Jordan first, leaving the restroom on the other side of the club. I let out a breath when I saw Beth exit a few seconds later.
My eyes narrowed when they were intercepted by a tall man with blond hair. His back was to me, but Beth’s and Jordan’s smiles told me they knew him. Jealousy flared in me as I watched the man move closer to Beth, who didn’t seem to mind his nearness. She’d been in Los Angeles for weeks before I got here, and I had no clue whether or not she’d seen anyone during that time. Was this man someone she’d dated?
I had no right to be jealous of anyone she’d been with before me because I’d had my share of lovers in the past. But the thought of another male touching her made my Mori growl and my jaw clench.
The man gestured toward the smaller bar on that side of the room, and Beth smiled and shook her head. They talked for another minute before she pointed in our direction.
He nodded. Then he reached out and took her hand, lifting it to his mouth.
Mine.
Something dark and primal surged in me, and my vision tunneled on the lips brushing against the back of Beth’s hand. I heard the sound of breaking glass, but my attention was riveted on Beth.
The man released her hand, and she smiled again before she and Jordan walked away from him.
“Feeling a little rage there, my friend?” asked a voice laced with laughter.
I looked over at Nikolas and followed his gaze to the crushed glass in my hand and the Scotch-soaked patch on the front of my shirt.
“Here.”
Sara passed me some cocktail napkins, and I wrapped what was left of the glass in them. I used more napkins to press to the cuts on my hand.
She reached for my hand. “Let me see.”
I waved her off. “They’re shallow. They’ll be gone in no time.”
I watched Beth weave through the crowd. She walked up to us, and her eyes immediately dropped to my hand.
“What happened?”
The concern in her voice warmed me until I could no longer feel the tiny pricks of pain from my cuts.
“Nothing. Minor accident.”
I pulled the napkin away from my hand, pleased to see the small cuts were already closing. Stuffing the napkin in my pants pocket, I took Beth’s hand in my uninjured one.
“It’s my turn to dance with you.”