Page 34 of Betrayed By Dragons

My pussy throbs. That may include isolationist informants, but it also includes secret fated mates.

I've scarcely so much as touched either of my mates except behind a locked door. Here, in this club? Hidden by dancing, writhing bodies, protected by our very exposure, in this glittering world of glittering people?

Anything feels possible.

As if he can hear my thoughts--and he can, or at least the tenor of them--Rafe surreptitiously grazes a knuckle down my spine, and I struggle to keep my knees from going to water again.

Even if the vibe of the room weren't saturated with hedonistic lust, I'd feel sexy. Jianyu's people outfitted me with a black dress made of the softest, silkiest material I've ever felt. It's modest enough in the front, but open in the back, and the skirt barely goes to mid-thigh. I'm tottering around on heels that are way more comfortable than they have any right to be, considering how high they are. Expensive clothing has its perks, I guess. My hair is twisted into an elegant knot on the top of my head, and I'm made up to the nines, with deep red lips and smoky eyes, and a delicate black choker draped across my throat.

Rafe is on full display, too, in well-fitted black jeans and a dark maroon collared shirt that he's only buttoned to mid-pec. His cologne is spicy and dark and makes me want to lean back into him and take advantage of the sultry music and the dark.

"Keep it together, hornball," Amy whisper-yells, catching up with me in her own teetering heels. She's gorgeous, her bright pink hair fluffed up into a cloud, her lips shining with gloss, and her pale shoulders on display in a strapless black mini-dress.

She's also a heck of a contrast to Sister Grace, who's shucked her usual robes for a slinky white dress that makes her ebony skin glow. It probably shouldn't be a surprise, considering how physically taxing combat magic can be, but Grace is stacked, with sculpted arms and legs that look carved from obsidian. She doesn't wobble a bit in her heels.

I roll my eyes at Amy and continue walking. Who cares if she's right? I do need to keep my shit together, but I don't need her reminding me about it.

I told her repeatedly that it wasn't necessary for her and Jett to accompany us on this particular adventure; in fact, it would be a hell of a lot safer for them if they didn't. Amy wasn't about to miss out on a trip to a club like this, though, and once she was in, apparently Sister Grace was, too.

Big shocker there. I already knew they were joined at the hip, but tonight, they've just cemented it.

Biting my lip, I glance back at Jett. He's looking fine as hell, if I do say so myself, outfitted in a black, sleeveless, high-collar tunic and wide pants. He's also watching his sister and Grace with the same appraising eye that I just was.

I haven't had a chance to talk to him of late, but I'm going to have to try to get his ear about what's going on between the two of them at some point. If my suspicions are correct, I'm happy for my friend. But I'm worried, too. Amy was excited to get out and see the world, but her life is in Unity. Given her role at the Grand Temple, Sister Grace's life is definitely here.

There are also the ideas Amy's been getting in her head, thinking her dragon side is the problem when it comes to advancing her magic. I'm not sure Grace has been planting them there, exactly, but her romanticizing the way the Sisters of the Stone Kingdom Temple have bred the dragon out of their line certainly hasn't helped.

I don't have time to be worrying about my friend right now, though. Jianyu raises a hand, and I follow his gaze to a big, plush booth in a shadowy corner of the club. His friend Ben is already seated there, and he returns the wave.

As we approach the table, a burly stone dragon standing in front of it lifts a literal velvet rope to let us through. I pretend to be totally cool as I slip past. Like this kind of VIP treatment is a very normal thing in my life.

"We have a problem," Ben says as Jianyu takes a seat beside him.

It's scarcely perceptible, but I don't miss the way Jianyu's energy changes. "What?"

Ben glances around. "Our contact has been unavoidably detained."

I slip into the booth next to Jianyu, with Rafe sandwiching me in on the other side. Sister Grace, Amy and Jett end up on the other side of Ben, and it would all be very fun and cozy if it weren't for the barely repressed tension permeating our group.

"You couldn't have let us know before we waded through all of this?" Rafe grouses. Annoyed as he is, he leans into me, and I can't quite keep in the shudder that passes through me at the contact.

Ben narrows his eyes briefly at Rafe. Jianyu may have accepted Rafe as part of his life, but the jury is still out among his friends, and Ben is clearly only putting up with the man because Jianyu insisted. He taps his phone in irritation. "I literally just got word."

"How long of a delay are we talking?" Jianyu asks, redirecting us back to the issue at hand.

Ben tilts his head back and forth. "Couple of hours."

"Oh no," Amy deadpans from his other side. "What on earth will we do at an amazing club for two entire hours?"

"We need to keep our heads in the game," Jianyu warns.

"We need drinks." Rafe looks around for a server.

One pretty much instantly appears. "Would you like something from the bar?"

"Rafe..." Jianyu is not amused.

"One drink," Rafe insists.

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