I try not to flinch when he takes a step closer to me and then another until he’s inches from my face. This close up, I can see the flecks of darker gray in his gaze and the ink from the tattoos inking his skin.
“Are you going to play nice and give me the card?” He stares me down.
“No.” I don’t back down.
“Why the hell not?”
“Because I can.” I throw his words back at him and abruptly turn, walking away.
Chapter Six
Three. Two. One.
Dragneel
A rational being would back down, stop purposely pissing off the person who is hiding the one thing in the world you seek, but my desire, and my ego won’t let me. A full minute goes by before I growl out my frustration and quickly follow her, cutting across the dance floor. Once in the center, the band changes the song from a fast, upbeat dance song to a slow, sultry tune.
At her heels, I reach across the small space between us and grab her wrist, forcing her to stop walking. The lights dim around us before she turns around and stares at me with confusion and anger in her brown eyes. I try not to think about the deep layers of chocolate framed by her long, thick lashes. Or the way her red lips parted with a gasp when she saw it was me who grabbed her.
My fingers buzz with the awareness that I’m touching her skin again.
I close my eyes briefly and clench my jaw. What the hell is that?
When I reopen my lids, I notice Katya has moved closer, her expression unreadable.
“Aside from the dagger, what else do you want from me?” she whispers.
Something odd builds inside my chest, pressing down until it hurts to breathe. The intensity in the room shifts with her question because it feels like it’s laced with a deeper meaning.
What else do I want? I have no fucking clue. “Dance with me.”
“I can’t.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Dancing with you . . . it would be intimate.” She smiles sadly. “And the last thing I need in my life is to be intimate and obsessed with a guy who lies, cheats, and steals for a living.”
“And yet, you’ll let me finger fuck you in public?”
When she doesn’t answer me, my eyes move over her, taking all of her in.
Fuck, she is beautiful.
I reach for her, not sure what I’m trying to accomplish, maybe just needing to touch her.
She slowly steps away from me. “What we did was not intimate. It was lust.”
My chest feels tight and off as I stare at her like she’s the forbidden fruit I want.
The truth is I like pissing Katya off because I like getting a reaction out of her.
And that scares me . . . because I think she might be able to tame the untamable.
I consider her words. She doesn’t want intimacy. Fine.
However, she didn’t say no to more meaningless sex with me. Did she?
And that, my friends, is how I am going to get what I want from her tonight.
“Come with me,” I demand, taking her hand and guiding her off the dance floor.
Without a word, Katya lets me drag her up the rainbow stairs and back toward the second-floor loft. A handful of the ball’s guests who were waiting for readings are now focused on another cube, whispering something about a Fae showdown. Apparently, someone was drugged, and when they woke up, they got pissed off, screamed, and shattered the cube’s walls. We must have just missed the ensuing showdown; whatever happened up here seconds ago, it appears to be over now.
The door to the pink cube sits wide open. And my luck—it’s still empty. I guide her back into the private space, and once we’re in, I release her hand, and the door slides closed behind us. This is not how I fucking imagined tonight going. When I turn to face her, I’m hit full-on by her beauty.
My heart thuds in my chest, and it hurts to breathe. I shouldn’t have touched her. Ever. I’m supposed to be here for eternal magic, but touching her shifted my focus. And now look at me, drooling over her like a teenage boy with his first crush. I need to get her out of my system.
The weight of her gaze makes the silence around us feel heavier. Katya lifts her chin, her stance letting me know she is ready to show me her brass balls once again if I get out of line. I don’t say anything, wanting to fuck with her because she makes it so damn easy.
Instead, I ignore her. With a blank expression, I walk over to the couch and sit down.
I lean forward and place my elbows on my knees, remaining silent.
I’ve never been envious of anyone—until now. She’s so fucking calm.
“I know what you’re doing,” she points out.
“Do you?”
“Intimidation doesn’t work on me.”
“Doesn’t it?” I challenge.
“You don’t scare me, Dragneel.”
Watching her, I can’t help but smirk. She lies. I do scare her because she is attracted to me. And for some reason, that terrifies her. This isn’t a power struggle I’m willing to lose. There is too much at stake. The dagger. Once I break her, she’s going to hand it the fuck over. The end.
“I’m not trying to scare you,” I lie.
“Then why are you trying to intimidate me?”
“I want to see you dance.”
She narrows her eyes, confused. “What?”
“Downstairs was too intimate for you. Us dancing together was too intimate for you.”
“And a privacy cube is—”
“Private,” I finish her thought. “You dance. I watch. No intimacy.”
She frowns, looking around, and I slide back onto the sofa, parting my legs and resting my arms on the backside of the couch. When her eyes meet mine again, there is fire behind them.
“Whatever game you’re playing, it isn’t going to get me to hand over the dagger.”
“We’re at a ball. Who says business transactions can’t be fun?”
She rolls her eyes at the fact that I threw her own words back at her.
“Dancing, at a ball, is supposed to be fun. So”—I shrug—“show me you can have fun.”
One of my fingers runs across my bottom lip, something I do when I’m considering a strategy or thinking about my next step. Her gaze follows the movement, and I know I have her.
My gaze is brazen as it travels down her neck toward her chest, over her tiny waist and hips and her bare thighs. I image nestling my face between her legs as she screams out my name.
“Not so cocky now, are you, Kat?” I challenge.
Katya’s eyes come alive, burning bright as she pins me with a sexy, arrogant expression. Her breathing is slow, intense, her chest rising and falling like it’s taking effort for her to breathe.
Time stands still as I watch her try to figure out my angle.
Even still, she doesn’t bat an eye.
Katya is cool, calm, and collected. In control of her surroundings and demeanor.
“Can I ask you something?” she whispers.
“Go ahead,” I agree.
“When was the last time someone challenged you?” she asks.
I don’t answer.
The truth is never.
No one has ever challenged me.
Understanding crosses her face, and she exhales, her eyes darting between my mouth and chin. Something in me stirs. What the hell? She makes me feel desired in a way no one else has.