Page 40 of Burn With Me

I resist the urge to roll my eyes and clap him on the shoulder as I pass by. “I’ll make sure to be more understanding when you find yourself obsessed with a woman.”

He snorts. “Fat fucking chance of that happening, asshole,” he mutters. Still, I’m already on my way to the exit, hitting the button for the private elevator, and imagining what I’m going to say to her when I get Aurora Summers alone.

I didn’t come here tonight with the expectation of meeting her, but I guess fate is just funny that way. I can’t deny it anymore. Paris is right—I want her. Far more than I fucking should.

The doors slide open revealing the bottom floor amidst its chaos—lights, dancing, free pouring alcohol. It smells like sweat and expensive cologne down here. I step out into the mess of it all and go in search of my prey.

19

RORI

Unwanted hands find their way onto my waist for what has to be the tenth time in the last hour. Fueled by alcohol and irritation, I whirl around on the new offender and glare up into a pair of dull green eyes. The guy is obviously intoxicated. I shove his hands off even as I scowl at him.

“Hands off,” I snap. “I’m dancing with my friend. Not you.”

I turn to face Selene once more, who hasn’t even noticed my absence. Maybe I shouldn’t have given her that earlier shot, because she’s easily the worst lightweight ever. She’s swaying in time with the beat. Her eyes are closed as she leans into one of the other models from her agency, mouthing the words to whatever pop song is playing over the speakers. I barely make it another step towards her when the offending guy grabs my hips once more and directs me back to him.

“Come on, don’t be like that,” he whispers into my ear. I flinch away as his hot breath hits my neck. “I can show you a good time.”

“The only good time I’m looking for,” I say through clenched teeth as I grip his hands against my body and quickly push him back, “is one where you’re not around.Back. Off.”

“I just want to—”

“I believe she told you to get fucking lost.”

I stiffen at the familiar voice that interrupts.

Are you fucking kidding me?I wish a hole would open up in the center of the dance floor and swallow me whole.Hecan’t be here. There’s no fucking way the universe could be that cruel, but as I lift my gaze and meet a pair of stormy, ocean-blue eyes over the guy’s shoulder, I know it can. Because it is.

Isaac places a hand on the stranger's shoulder and jerks him away from me. The dude stumbles back and barely manages to catch himself before falling. He does, however, manage to slam into a couple of girls dancing on their own and when they gasp, catching his attention—he grins and redirects the full force of his drunken gaze on them, leaving me alone with my tormentor and unexpected savior.

Isaac looks back at me, and fuck, but he looks good enough to eat. His golden blond hair is pushed back. The lights from the club, as they flow across the room in a circular motion, rise and fall over the plains of his face that only make the sharp angled lines of his features even more prominent; he looks like he could be sculpted from pure stone.

I blow out a breath. “What are you doing here?” I demand, crossing my arms. It’s a defensive move. I can’t help it. I feel like I have to constantly keep my guard up when it comes to him. Isaac Icari gives me no ounce of peace. He’s nothing but danger and darkness. Maybe that’s why I can’t help but be attracted to him. There’s something wrong with me.

“It’s opening night,” he says, stepping closer. So close, I can smell a hint of mint and whisky on him. It’s alluring.

“Don’t—” But it’s too late, Isaac’s hand slides around my middle. He pulls me into him and suddenly, we’re dancing. Not the cheap grinding that some of the other couples are doing, but a soft sway back and forth that is far more intense.

Each brush of his body against mine sends my mind careening into full-blown panic. Heat shoots through me, lighting my flesh on fire. The soft stroke of his hands on me reminds me of a time when they were rough. When his cock was in my mouth, down my throat, and he was shuddering above me. I growl out a curse.

“I don’t want to dance with you,” I say through gritted teeth.

His fingers merely tighten against me as he yanks me harder into his chest at that statement. “Too fucking bad, Sunshine,” he says, bending low until his lips are right next to my ear.

I should feel just as repulsed by him as I was by the other guy, but my traitorous body hasn’t gotten the fucking memo. She’s completely obsessed. Enough that I can feel the dampening of my panties. Jerking my head up, I glare into the twin pools of dark blue that are his eyes. He doesn’t need to know what he does to me.

“You’re not the type to do something for nothing,” I say cautiously. “What do you want for the save?”

Isaac releases a breath and spins me in a circle. It’s a precise movement, practiced. He’s a good dancer. No uncertain hip thrusts or back and forth shuffle. Isaac spins me away and then back to him until I land against his chest with a breathless gasp. The room is spinning. My head is foggy. I look back across the dance floor. We’re getting farther and farther from Selene and her friend, but I don’t say anything. If Isaac wanted to hurt me, he would have done so already. And if I can keep her away from him for the time being, I’m willing to do it. I don’t trust him and I don’t want my friends near him. Not Selene. Not Hel.

“Just dance, Rori,” Isaac says. Shock hits me. Rori. Not Aurora. Not Sunshine. Not Goddess. It’s the first time he’s ever actually said my nickname. That, more than anything else, tells me that this meeting isdifferentfrom our previous ones.

Hesitantly, I let my hands drift up to his shoulders. They’re wide—he definitely has the frame of an athlete. I swallow reflexively as on the next spin, one of his legs slides through both of mine and I’m nearly knocked off my feet. He keeps me steady, though, sliding a palm to the small of my back and gently urging me closer. There’s no room between us. His chest against mine has my heart beating faster. More sweat collects at the base of my skull and slides down my spine beneath the dress.

“This…” I don’t know what to say, but this feels almost wrong. It’s strange to be in Isaac’s arms and, for the first time since we’ve met, not be at each other’s throats.

“Just let it be,” he urges. “It’s just a dance.”

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