Page 36 of Savage Loyalty

Fine.

If he wanted to watch, I’d give him something to look at.

With a smirk tugging at my lips, I grabbed Caleb’s hand and pulled him toward the dance floor. “Let’s go.”

His brows shot up in surprise, but he followed, his grin widening as we joined the throng of bodies moving to the beat. Lucy whooped as I stepped into the center, the rhythm of the music already taking over.

The lights flashed in sync with the bass, casting the dance floor in alternating waves of shadow and color. I let myself move, the music pulsing through my veins as I swayed to the beat. Caleb matched my energy, spinning me once before pulling me back with an exaggerated flair that made me laugh.

Lucy and Leah danced nearby, their laughter blending with the music as they pulled each other into playful spins. Even Dani had loosened up, swaying to the rhythm with a drink in hand.

But my focus wasn’t on them.

It was on him.

I could feel Ryder’s gaze burning into me from across the room, the weight of it making my movements bolder and sharper. I let my hands trail up my sides, the hem of my dress riding just a little higher as I twisted to the music. My hair fell over my shoulders, catching the light as I threw him a glance over my shoulder.

He was still watching.

Ryder’s jaw was tight, his whiskey glass gripped in one hand as the other rested on the back of the booth. The women draped around him were saying something, but he wasn’t listening. His focus was entirely on me.

Good.

Caleb spun me again, his hand lingering a second too long on my waist as he leaned in to say something I didn’t catch. It didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was the way Ryder’s expression darkened, his eyes narrowing as I leaned closer to Caleb, my smile deliberately coy.

Lucy caught on quickly, her laughter ringing out as she leaned toward Leah. “Oh, she’s doing this on purpose,” she whispered loudly enough for me to hear.

“Damn right I am,” I muttered under my breath, letting my hips sway a little more deliberately.

The music shifted, the tempo increasing as the crowd around us grew wilder. Caleb grabbed my hand, spinning me one last time before stepping back, giving me space to move freely. The room blurred around me as I let go, my body moving in perfect sync with the beat.

For a moment, I forgot about Ryder, Axel, about everything else. It was just me and the music, the rush of adrenaline coursing through me as the bassline vibrated through the floor.

But when I finally stopped, catching my breath, my eyes found him again.

The lights strobed across the dance floor, shadows and colors blending in a chaotic rhythm that matched the pounding of my heart. The heavy bass reverberated through my chest, but it wasn’t the music that had me on edge. It was him.

Ryder.

He wasn’t sitting anymore, wasn’t lounging in that corner booth like he owned the place. No, he was moving, cutting a path through the crowd with the kind of purpose that demanded attention. His broad shoulders and towering frame were impossible to miss, and even in the chaos of the bar, people stepped aside instinctively, their gazes flicking between him and the dance floor.

Between him and me.

I told myself to look away, to focus on Caleb, who was saying something I didn’t catch, or Lucy, who was sipping her drink with a knowing smirk. But I couldn’t. My attention was locked on Ryder like he’d tethered me to him with an invisible chain. The heat in his gaze burned through the distance, making my pulse quicken, and my breath catch.

By the time he reached me, I was rooted in place. The adrenaline coursing through my veins made me feel alive and exposed all at once.

“Having fun?” Ryder’s voice was low, gravelly, and intimate. It was meant only for me, despite the sea of bodies around us. Before I could respond, his hand slid around my waist, his grip firm and possessive, as he pulled me back against him.

The heat of his body pressed into mine, and I could feel every inch of him—solid, unyielding, and infuriatingly familiar. My breath hitched, a shiver rippling down my spine as his lips brushed against my ear.

“What are you doing?” I hissed, my voice sharp, though it lacked the strength I wanted it to carry.

His smirk was practically tangible as he leaned in closer, his breath hot against my neck. “Making sure you don’t forget.”

Forget? As if I could. My body was still humming from the way he’d had me earlier, the raw heat of it still simmering beneath my skin. But this—this was too much. Too public. Too... him.

“Let go of me,” I demanded, though my voice wavered, betraying the battle raging inside me.

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