Page 89 of Forged By Sacrifice

The song ended, and she pulled away from me, and I felt empty. Scattered. Like I needed an anchor to hold me down in the storm.

“I’m going to use the restroom. I’ll be back.”

I watched her move gracefully across the room, drawing eyes as she went. Tall and beautiful.

I turned back to where I’d last seen Dani and Russell, wanting to leave, wanting to forget everything but Georgie and the desire that flitted between us.

Dani was by herself at the edge of the dance floor, and I joined her.

“You ready to go?” I asked, surprised at the normalcy of my voice. I’d expected to squeak like the teenage boy I felt like tonight. Naïve. Full of longing for things and people I shouldn’t want.

“I’m spending the night at Russell’s,” Dani said.

For a moment, I came back to my senses, my protectiveness rearing up once more.

“What?” I growled, and she laughed.

“We have some work to do in the morning.”

“You don’t need to spend the night at his house to do work in the morning.”

Dani kissed me on the cheek. “Thanks for being all big brotherly, but I’m the older sibling, and I can take care of myself.”

“But it’s Russell.”

She smiled. “I know. Russell is very good at certain things.”

I put my hands to my ears. “No. No. No. Do not say that. Do not tell me anything further. I don’t want to know. It’ll make me see things in my head that I do not ever want to see about you or Russell.”

She laughed again. “Goodnight, Mac. Have fun yourself.” She winked at me as Georgie made her way across the ballroom toward me. “Just don’t make her leave, because I kind of like having her around.”

Then, she moved away to join Russell as he appeared from nowhere with two glasses in his hands. I didn’t want to think about it—Russell and her doing who knew what godawful things together. It made me want to puke up the champagne and appetizers.

Instead, I turned my attention back to the elegant woman who was smiling at me.

“Are we leaving?” she asked.

“Yes. I guess Dani is going back to Russell’s.” The growl was still evident in my voice.

Georgie laughed, tucking her arm into mine. “She knows what she’s doing.”

“What? Has she told you something she hasn’t told me?”

Georgie shook her head. “I’m not going to tell you anything. She’s my friend. If she wants her brother to know, she’ll tell him.”

I let it go because I didn’t want to think about Dani anymore. I texted the limo, and Georgie and I were quiet while we waited.

When it arrived at the steps of the embassy, I followed her into the back seat, and as she went to scoot farther into the car, I pulled her gently back toward me, my hand on the green silk that covered her long legs, running across it with my palm.

“This does look beautiful on you.”

“Thank you.”

My hand moved up her thigh, edging toward the place I wanted to have her crave me as much as I was craving her. I drifted over her core and was rewarded with her breath hitching, but I wasn’t ready to go there yet. Instead, I continued sliding up to her waist, pulling her tight against me.

I’d been watching the movement of my hands, but once I had her where I wanted, I raised my eyes to hers and had my own breath stalling and restarting at what I saw there. Desire. Longing. It was like a mirror of my own emotions.

I bent my head. “If I don’t kiss you, my body will slowly dissolve into nothingness.”

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