Chapter 41
Dahlia
The SUV glides to a stop in front of a multistory club. The line outside stretches half a block. Our driver doesn’t bother parking. He pulls up to the rope. The doorman takes one look at Misty and lifts it.
Inside’s all soft light and deep bass. The sound lives under my feet. We slip past the bar to an area roped off in the back. A host greets us by name and leads us to a curved booth that wraps around a low table. From here, the crowd looks like glitter in motion.
Misty drops into the center and kicks off her heels. “Champagne, please!” she tells the server.
“Two bottles,” Scarlet adds.
“Sparkling water too,” Anastasia says. “We’ve gotta return her upright.”
I sit and smooth the dress again. The leather’s cool against the backs of my thighs. The server comes back with a cold bottle and pours four glasses.
“To the new sister,” she says.
Anastasia studies me over her rim. “How’s married life?”
I smirk. “He’s…a little overprotective.”
Misty chokes on her drink. “A little?”
Misty taps my knee. “Since we’re sisters now, we’ll be honest. Damon basically blackmailed me into marrying him. I was his PR person. It was messy. Wouldn’t change it for the world.”
Scarlet swirls her drink. “Matthias and I grew up together. He didn’t talk to me for ten years. Then he kidnapped me and put a ring on my finger.” She holds the sparkling diamond for me to see.
Anastasia adjusts her dress strap. “I tried to steal from the Order of Saints. Bash caught me. Then he emptied my house and moved me into his. I love that sneaky bastard.”
I blink. “This is supposed to make me feel better?”
“It will once the champagne hits,” Scarlet says.
“You get used to it.” Misty grins. “It’s actually kind of sweet.”
I huff out a laugh. “If you say so.”
“For all of their faults, no one loves like the Everette brothers do. Once they fall, that’s it.
You’re all they can see from that point on.
Makes them do some not-so-legal things, but there’s something that feels good about it too.
” Misty gives me a knowing look. “Knowing that they’re obsessed with you. That you’re all they’ll ever need.”
That hits a little too close to the truth, and I drain a glass of champagne to settle my nerves. The knots in my shoulders start to unwind. The champagne’s crisp on my tongue.
“By the way,” Scarlet says, lowering her voice, “one of Matthias’s guys is pretending to text near the pillar behind us. Don’t look.”
“Forget the pillar,” Scarlet says, tilting her head up. “They’re in the surveillance room.”
A prickle slides down my spine. I set my glass down. “You’re serious.”
Misty lifts her glass again. “To the illusion of freedom.”
We clink. The bubbles go to my head fast. Warmth spreads behind my ribs. I didn’t realize how much I needed to sit with women who tease and hand me lip gloss and tell me I can go home if I want. There’s an understanding between all three of them, and they’re extending the invitation to me.
Scarlet props her chin on her hand. “What’s he like when the world’s not watching?”
“Focused,” I say. “Patient when he wants to be. He listens.”
Anastasia sighs. “Xander’s always been more relaxed with his family than with the public, but I’m still having trouble picturing him as playful. Bash, sure. Xander? Not a chance.”
A sly smile curves her lips. “I bet he’s completely feral when he’s with you. It’s always the cold ones. Right?”
Heat climbs my neck. The server arrives with another bottle, saving me from answering.
Misty stands. “Alright. Enough talking. Before the cavalry arrives, we’re dancing.”
“I’m not a dancer.”
“You’re a person with a body,” Scarlet says, sliding out. “That’s enough.”
Anastasia smooths her dress. “Stay close.”
We push into the crowd. The music grabs my pulse and drags it along.
Lights flash across the floor in purple and white.
Misty finds a pocket of space, and we fall into a loose circle.
I start small, hips swaying, shoulders rolling.
The dress moves with me. Sweat beads at my hairline.
Scarlet throws her head back and laughs.
It feels good. Alive.
Misty leans close. “Twelve minutes.”
Scarlet answers without looking up. “Ten.”
“You’re giving them too much credit. Five,” Anastasia says.
“What are we betting on?” I ask.
“When they’ll show up,” Scarlet says.
“You’re kidding.”
“You’ll see,” Misty says, eyes bright.
The song shifts, and the bass gets heavier. A man steps toward me through the lights. Tall, clean shirt, polite smile. His mouth moves, but the sound’s eaten by the beat. I shake my head, but he still takes a step closer anyway.
A hand slides around my waist, tugging me into a hard chest possessively. Expensive cologne and a natural scent that could only be his fills my nose.
Xander.
The man in front of me freezes, catches on quickly, and disappears into the crowd. Annastasia’s grin turns feral.
“Five minutes,” she says. “Pay up.”
Scarlet groans and pulls a bill from her bra. “I should’ve known.”
Xander doesn’t look at them, his focus completely on me.
If it weren’t for the way his fingers grip my hips and lock me into place, I’d think he was completely calm.
He releases his hold just enough to let me turn and face him, and I get lost in his dark gaze, the world narrowing to just us.
I sway with him, letting him control our movements, distracted by the way his chest presses against mine.
“Are you having fun?” he says quietly and brushes a strand behind my ear.
I nod, biting my bottom lip. “They’re great.”
“Wait until you meet their kids.” He pauses, then smiles. “They’re pretty great too. They’re going to love their new aunt.”
Aunt. The label hits just as hard as sister. Like I’m in a dreamland that I never dared to reach for. Xander looks genuinely happy talking about his nieces and nephews, and for the first time in my life, I let myself think about how great it would be to have kids.
It takes a few seconds for me to snap out of it and change the subject.
“You were watching.” It should annoy me. Instead, my pulse trips and lands somewhere low.
He dips his head until I feel his breath. “Were you going to let him touch you?”
“Possessive jerk,” I mutter. It comes out softer than I want.
“I’m not kidding, Dahlia. It won’t end well for him.”
I search his gaze. “You don’t need to worry about that. I’m not interested in other men.”
“So you admit you’re interested in me?”
Misty claps. “Alright, you two. Before this turns into a story we have to explain to a judge, take her home.”
Scarlet lifts her glass from a passing tray. “To love and surveillance.”
Anastasia clinks her glass against hers. “And to men who never learn.”
Xander slides his hand up my side an inch. He doesn’t look away from me. “Say good night.”
I break free, or more aptly, he lets me break free, and turn to the girls. “Thanks for the kidnapping.”
“Anytime,” Misty says. “Text me tomorrow. We’ll do coffee that turns into lunch that turns into dinner.”
“Bring him if you want,” Scarlet says. “Or don’t.”
Anastasia kisses my cheek and whispers, “You looked happier when he got here. Don’t worry, I won’t tell him you’re already caught.”
She just gives me a knowing smile when I jerk back, and I can’t even deny it. Everything I thought I knew about Xander when I woke up in the hospital, tattooed and married, ended up being completely wrong. The man I’d been terrified of ended up being the one I trusted most.
I nod, throat tight in a good way, and let Xander guide me off the floor. The crowd parts without touching him. A security man by the pillar tips his head, pretending he’s still on his phone.
“You could’ve stayed at home,” I say.
“Not an option,” he says.
“You’re ridiculous.” I laugh.
“Then I’m ridiculous.” That playful grin of his does things to me.
We reach the hall to the exit and pass the open door to the camera room. I catch a flash of monitors and familiar silhouettes.
Xander’s mouth tips. “Don’t say hi.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Outside, the air’s cool on my skin. Our driver’s already waiting with the door open. Xander settles me in first, then slides in beside me, pulling my legs over his lap. The city drifts by in streaks of light.
“You looked happy,” he says.
“I was.”
“You needed that.”
“I did.”
He nods, pleased. “Next time, ask me to dance.”
“Next time, let me go without shadowing the building.”
“No.”
I huff and lean back. His fingers circle the bare skin above my knee, thumb stroking arches.
My mind is fixed on where he’s touching me, and I struggle to keep up with the conversation.
He moves his hand higher up my leg, pushing up the hem of my dress.
Heat rolls in my stomach, followed by a hint of frustration that he doesn’t bring it any higher.
I twist and grip his collar and tug him until he is forced to face me.
I suck in a breath when I meet his gaze that’s anything but indifferent.
The tendons in his neck are pulled taut, a muscle ticking in his jaw as his hungry gaze swallows me.
A barely audible whimper escapes my mouth, but he hears it. The restraint he’s been holding on to slips, and his hand buries under my dress, moving all the way up my hip until his thumb brushes the edge of my underwear between my thighs.
If he just moves it just a little, he’ll feel how soaked I am. I’m dying for his touch, and I shift closer, trying to force his hand where I need it. His grip tightens, holding me in place.
The car slows and pulls into our driveway. I drop my head to his shoulder, groaning, and he chuckles.
I glare up at him. “This is your fault.”
Xander gives me a wolfish smile, entirely too pleased with himself.
He walks me to the door with his hand on my back.
I stop and turn. He’s close enough that his tie brushes my knuckles. “For the record,” I say, “I liked dancing without you.”
“I know.”
“I liked it more when you showed up.”
“I know that too.”
I make a face. He smiles anyway and kisses me like a man who’s waited years for me.
When we break apart, I’m breathless. He looks smug.
“Don’t get cocky,” I say.
“Too late.”
I grab his hand and pull him upstairs.