We belong together.
What I want is you.
I put a hand to my mouth and touched the place where his lips had been right before he’d walked out. If his plan had been to unsettle me, then mission accomplished. My emotions had been in a tailspin ever since.
He couldn’t be serious about not breaking the bond. Four years had gone by without a word from him. Four years. And now because our Mori liked each other, he suddenly wanted me?
I swallowed, remembering how my body had reacted to him, how I’d stood there breathlessly, waiting for him to kiss me. Wanting him to kiss me. I couldn’t even try to blame the bond for my desire for him. It might have heightened my emotions, but my physical attraction to him had always been there. Apparently, neither heartbreak nor time could change that.
“You might want to tone it down a notch.”
I turned my head to find Jordan dancing beside me. When she’d heard about the rave, she’d volunteered to come with me, and Sara had been only too happy to relinquish her pass.
“Tone what down?”
She arched an eyebrow. “That sexy vibe. If you don’t want every male in here lusting after you, stop thinking about him.”
“I’m not…”
My gaze went to my dance partner, who was watching me with undisguised interest. When our eyes met, he smiled and closed the gap between us.
“What school do you girls go to?” he said over the music. “I haven’t seen you here before.”
“Not from around here,” Jordan said before she began to dance provocatively against my back. The boy’s eyes bugged, and I had to fight not to laugh. Jordan was incorrigible.
Discretely, I elbowed her to tell her to behave. She let out a throaty laugh and danced beside me until the song ended. Then she waved at the boy and herded me off the dance floor, where we ran into Alicia and another girl.
“Beth, you made it!” Alicia squealed. “Is Sara here, too?”
“Sara couldn’t come. My friend Jordan used her pass.”
I introduced Jordan, and Alicia introduced us to her friend Mei, who smiled shyly at us. Mei was petite and pretty, and she reminded me of a doll Chris had once brought me from China. And I was thinking about him again.
Alicia beamed. “Isn’t this amazing? I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many hot boys together in one place.”
I glanced around the room and realized she was right. Most of the people in this room – male and female – were attractive. And except for one or two, everyone looked to be in their late teens. Who opened a club and invited only people too young to drink alcohol?
Jordan nodded. “How often do you girls come here?”
“It’s my third time,” Alicia said. “I had to work to convince Mei to come tonight.”
I looked at Mei. “Not into raves?”
“Not really, but Alicia promised we’d only stay an hour.”
Alicia gave us a pained look, as if her friend had asked for a kidney instead of cutting their night short. She looped her arm through Mei’s. “We’re going to get something to drink. Want to come with us?”
“I’m good,” Jordan and I said together and laughed.
I leaned against the wall and watched the two girls disappear into the crowd. Jordan and I had been here for an hour already, and I hadn’t seen anything out of place. It looked like a bunch of high school and college kids letting loose. But nothing too wild.
“You didn’t have to come tonight,” Jordan said. “I could have handled this on my own. Or I could have dragged Sara with me.”
I gave her a sideways look. “Why wouldn’t I want to be here?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you bonded to someone less than two days ago.” She frowned. “I’d still be freaking out.”
“Nothing freaks you out.”
“That’s true,” she said with a smirk. “Still, this is Chris we’re talking about. The love of your life.”
I huffed loudly. “He is not the love of my life. I don’t even like him that much anymore.”
Her eyes widened. “Wow, you said that with a straight face. Have you considered acting?”
“Shut up. I’m serious.”
“No, you’re angry with him, and you’re hurt about what he did. Totally understandable. But be honest. Would you be hurt after all this time if you didn’t still care for him?”
“Yes… I don’t know.” I sighed. “I admit I do feel something for him, but it’s not enough. I can’t trust him. He’ll only hurt me again.”
Her face softened. “Have you told him that?”
“No, because it doesn’t matter. I’m going to break the bond soon. He and I both know it’s for the best.”
She moved to stand in front of me so I couldn’t avoid her gaze. “He’s not behaving like a male who doesn’t want to be bonded. In fact, I’d say it’s just the opposite. He argued against you coming tonight, and then he insisted on being our backup. If he could have used one of those passes, he’d be standing here with you now instead of waiting outside.”
“It’s the bond. It makes males overprotective.”
“It hasn’t even been two days.” Her brows drew together thoughtfully. “From what I hear, Nikolas was super protective of Sara early in their bonding, too. He was a total bear by the time they completed the bond.”
I shrugged. “Nikolas is an intense guy.”
She pursed her lips and studied me.
“What?” I demanded nervously.
Leaning closer, she lowered her voice. “You know what they say about bonded males going a little haywire if the female is a virgin.”
My mouth went dry. “Um, yes.”
“Nikolas was downright scary at times.”
“Can we please talk about something else now?” I pleaded. “What do you think of the club?”
She gave me a knowing look and turned to face the room. “It looks normal. Boring, really.”
My gaze swept the room again, taking in the smiling, dancing teenagers. Everyone looked happy, and I could almost feel the positive energy filling the air. If there was something wrong with this place, I couldn’t see it. Our people had checked into the club, and the owner was a local businessman with several restaurants in the area. Nothing unusual there.
“Let’s split up again,” I said. “I don’t think we’re going to find anything, but it’s better to be sure.”
She nodded. “I’ll hang out by the bar.”
“I’ll cover this side of the room. We’ll meet up again in an hour.”
As soon as Jordan left me, a boy approached and asked me to dance. Figuring I’d look less conspicuous if I was interacting with others, I said yes. I spent the next twenty minutes dancing with several guys and pretending not to notice their attempts to flirt with me.
Finally, I excused myself and headed toward a seating area where a few people sat and talked. The place was decorated with white leather couches and small lamps that cast an intimate glow. It seemed more fitting for an adult nightclub than for a teenage hangout.
“You look like you’d rather be somewhere else,” said a male voice beside me.
I turned my head to find a tall man with short blond hair and blue eyes behind dark-framed glasses. His mouth was curved into a wry smile. I would have guessed him to be around twenty-one.
“Why do you say that?” I asked him.
His smile widened, revealing a dimple in his left cheek. I immediately thought of Chris and then cursed him for invading my head again.
“Maybe it’s just wishful thinking so I don’t feel like the only one. This isn’t my usual scene.”
“What’s your usual scene?”
“I prefer a party with friends over a large crowd.”
I smiled. “Then why did you come?”
“I lost a bet, so my friend dragged me to this thing.”
He made a face and pointed to a dark-haired man on the dance floor who looked to be his age. His friend was slow dancing with a girl who couldn’t have been older than sixteen and who appeared to be totally enamored with him.