Page 47 of Mated to the Enemy
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“Thank you!” she shouted over the pulsing music, bouncing one hand in the air while vibing to the music.
Natalia just grinned, both hands holding tight to the bottom of her dress as she hiked it up so she could move. “I’m just glad you’re having fun!”
They were not there alone. The entire wedding party plus Jess was out on the dance floor, along with a number of others, shifters and humans each. The DJ was doing a great job of creating a fun atmosphere; she had to give him credit. Hitting up the dance floor was not a major pastime of Jessica’s, but she was having fun!
A large part of that was thanks to Natalia, Loren, Michelle, and Haley, all of whom had constantly come around to chat with her, involve her and most recently to force her to embarrass herself on the dance floor.
“He’s still staring,” Loren said as she leaned over from where she was dancing with some big shifter Jess didn’t recognize.
“What?”
“Klaue! He hasn’t taken his eyes off you.”
Natalia nodded smugly. “Of course he hasn’t. Look at her? She looks like a million bucks. Hell,I’mhaving a hard time keeping my eyes off her.”
The warmth in Jess’ cheeks wasn’t entirely from dancing. She wasn’t used to being the center of attention anywhere, but they were right, Klaue had barely looked away from her all night. Not to mention she’d caught more than a couple of admiring glances from others at the wedding.
All of which made ignoring the hateful looks easier. Many of the most ardent anti-Jessica supporters had left the wedding shortly after dinner had finished, and she’d been able to relax much more now.
“I owe it all to you,” she said, slowing her moves as she spoke to Nat.
The bride waved it off, but Jessica pushed on. “You’ve been wonderful to me since the moment Klaue knocked at your door. For no reason. It means a lot to me,” she said heavily, pushing back the guilt she was feeling.
The music died abruptly and Nat put an arm around her. “Klaue is a good guy, Jess. I like him. My husband likes him, as do a lot of other people around the House. If he picked you, well, then that means you’re alright in my books. He wouldn’t trust you otherwise.”
Slow chords of music swirled up, indicating a change in tune was coming. Nat grinned and reached in to grab Jess’ shoulders. “Okay, girl. Slow dance time, first one of the evening where the eyesaren’tall on me. Have fun.”
Jessica frowned and turned to see the other girls all paired up or heading to find their partners. Slow dance? With Klaue?
The nerves she’d been fighting back all afternoon came roaring in with a vengeance. Jessica panicked immediately and made a beeline for the bar. She needed a drink, something to fortify her will.
Klaue is a good guy.
The way Natalia had said it reverberated inside her, making Jess feel ill with a double dose of guilt that she wasn’t sure she could handle for much longer. First, there was her sister, languishing away inside Moonshadow Manor, a guest of Lorran’s still. They hadn’t yet resorted to using that connection against her, but Jessica knew it was only a matter of time. Still, there was nothing she could do about that, short of telling Klaue.
If she did that though, not only did she immediately put her sister’s life in grave danger, but she also put Klaue in a difficult, if not impossible, position. More so than the one he was already in because of her, which was the second source of guilt she was feeling. By bringing her to the wedding, Klaue had made it clear for everyone to see that he was taking her side in this, the consequences be damned.
Jessica didn’t feel worthy.
An arm reached out and snagged her as she was hurrying to the bar. It spun her around in a gentle twirl and then lifted her gently from her feet as Klaue picked her up, twisted her to the side and then moved with the last of her momentum back out onto the dance floor.
“Is everything okay?” he murmured in her ear, holding her just tight enough to make it clear he wasn’t going to let her run away.
Gently, they swayed to the music, shuffling around in a slow circle, their bodies less than an inch apart. It wouldn’t take much for her to relax into him, to rest her head on his chest as many of the other women were doing with their partners. That was what slow-dancing was for, after all. To be close to someone.
“No, everything is not okay,” she admitted. “But nothing is going to change that tonight.”
“Is someone giving you a hard time?” he growled. She saw his head twisting left and right, trying to pick out who.
She smiled, just looking at the suit he was wearing, admiring the way it fit him. “That’s not what I meant, Klaue. Those people are mostly gone anyway. Nat and the others have been keeping me distracted as well.”
“Do you want to leave?” Klaue sounded worried.
Slipping one hand free, she patted his chest. “That’s not what I meant. I’m just…there’s a lot going on up here,” she said, pointing at her head. “Lots of thoughts. Emotions.”
“I see.”
