Page 78 of Shattered & Returned

Sebastian leaned closer, his fingers tightening on my shoulder as he hung on my every word. “Tell me more about your life.”

I smiled at him as I downed another drink. Sebastian had an endless supply of them.

“Later,” I offered, my words slurring. My eyes caught the sensual, scandalous dancing in the other room. “Let’s dance.”

I wanted recklessness, scandal—to match the secret I’d already buried.

While everyone around us howled with cheers or disappointed curses, I held Sebastian’s hand and dragged him toward the dance floor. Alcohol emboldened me while making everything spin. Even in my moment of drunken recklessness, I knew that Sebastian wasn’t safer than Ravencrux, just dangerous in a different way. The golden boy had fangs too; he just hid them better behind gorgeous smiles and charm.

But I’d rather be here, drunk and reckless with Sebastian and his hidden fangs, than alone with thoughts of Ravancrux and Morrigan.

Anywhere was better than in Ravancrux Tower tonight.

“Have you had success with your mission?” Sebastian asked as we reached the edge of the dance floor.

“What…mission?” I asked, my voice sounding strange in my ears.

“Gathering evidence of Ravencrux murdering the redheads,” he said, his deep voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “Do you need more help?”

The question sliced through my alcoholic haze. The horrific photos of women who looked so like me, it could have been my corpse in those images. The implication that Ravencrux was involved.

I swallowed. That was one of the reasons I’d joined him here—to uncover the truth about the murders.

“Are you sure Ravencrux is the only suspect?” I asked, my head throbbing. I’d probably consumed too much alcohol.

Before Sebastian could drag me deeper into murder theories, I kicked off my dress shoes, letting them clatter against the stone floor.

Club music pulsed through me.

“Let’s just dance,” I called, my tongue twisting loose from alcohol.

In France, I’d danced alone in forests where only trees witnessed my movements, twirling to music that existed solely in my mind. Mom would have lectured about propriety and restraint had she caught me. But here, where the bass vibrated through my bones and drums matched my heartbeat, I surrendered.

“Agreed,” Sebastian said earnestly.

The crowd enveloped us as we moved together. Sebastian’s hands found my waist, confident and somewhat possessive. I leaned into the rhythm, my body remembering steps it had never learned. The booze made me bold and effortless, melting the rigid boundaries of the girl I’d been.

Sebastian pressed closer with each song, until his body aligned with mine from behind, his arousal evident against me.

Academic curiosity, I told myself, as his minty breath cooled my temple. My body remained unmoved, aware but unstirred. Not like with Ravencrux, whose voice alone could set me on fire, whose presence made my flesh throb with painful need. Even now, drunk and dancing with another man, my body remembered his touch, craved it again, like a forbidden flame in my soul.

Sebastian conjured two more drinks from a passing tray. We clinked glasses and downed them in unison. Heat bloomed in my chest, liquid courage transforming me into a wild thing who refused to care about tomorrow’s regrets.

I closed my eyes and giggled, letting lights paint patterns against my eyelids as I moved against Sebastian, pretending I could dance away the memory of a man who’d never been mine to lose. The bass vibrated through the soles of my bare feet, numbing my heartache one beat at a time. For a precious moment, the ache in my chest eased a notch.

Suddenly, my senses sharpened. My left eye twitched, and the top of my right earlobe grew warm: a warning of danger and reward at once. Sebastian’s hard muscles flexed and tensed against me, his rhythm faltering.

The crowd parted like a tide, silence rippling outward from the entrance.

I opened my eyes.

Shit.

Nero Ravencrux stood there, formidable, imposing, and coldly furious. His eyes found me immediately across the chaotic space, zeroing in on Sebastian’s hands gripping my hips, on the empty glass in my fingers.

His face hardened to ice, each line of his body deadly. His irises shifted between emerald and winter-green before darkening with a rising storm.

Was he looking for me?

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