Page 4 of Dancing with My Elf
Stop, I’m working,I scolded him.
Mate more important.
I gritted my teeth and ignored my dragon’s foolishness. As I got back into the rhythm, my body naturally seemed to work its way closer to Zoe. I muscled my way in front of Tony.
He maneuvered back in. Competitiveness rose, spiked with an unnatural dose of jealousy. I growled again and nudged in front of him to get closer to Zoe.
She stood, eyes wide with exasperation, and barely reached my chest. She raised her hands, palms outward. “What is this—a couple of peacocks ruffling feathers in a macho dance off?”
Zoe
I shouldn’t have stopped their freaky performance. It doused my ability to blend in and scan the crowd for trouble. I was supposed to be playing the role of a woman out for a good time with her friend for some male entertainment, but the outlandish attention overwhelmed me.
Nova stood beside me. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, fine.” My gaze moved from the darker one to the blond, Lucas. “There are tons of other woman here. Why are you both all over me?”
He flashed a flirtatious smile. “What can I say? We were both drawn to the prettiest woman in the club tonight.”
“Bull.” What a load of crap. I handed them some dollar bills, not going anywhere near their crotches. “Thanks for the special performance. It’s a bit much for me.”
The dark-haired one took the hint and the money. “Thank you.” He danced his way over to the next table, swaying with a few hip thrusts en route.
“Fancy seeing you here.” Lucas tipped his head at Nova.
“This is my friend, Zoe.” She motioned in my direction. That was smart of her not to mention the Network or our working relationship to avoid it being overheard.
Lucas’s eyes twinkled as he glanced at me. He’d already introduced himself when he’d bent down and spoken to me, but Nova likely hadn’t heard over the music.
He took my hand, bent, and kissed it. “Enchante.”
“I would say the same, but that would be a lie,” I replied with a sardonic grin. “Overwhelmed might be a better description.”
I never expected having two strange men thrusting their barely covered packages in my personal space.
“My apologies, milady.” Lucas tipped his fireman helmet, one of the few things he still wore after stripping down. “I’ll make sure the others give you space. Hope you enjoy the rest of your night.”
He turned and strode away. My gaze automatically dropped to his butt, which was tight and round as if he did a thousand squats before breakfast. Sweet and sour potions, it had been too long since I’d been with a guy. I’d spent far too much of the last few years buried in work. Although Lucas’s moves had left me flabbergasted, I couldn’t deny how long neglected body parts tingled with awareness as if waking from a long, Snow-White slumber.
It took some serious willpower to yank my gaze away and turn to Nova. “That’syour tenant?”
Her face was pale. She exhaled. “One of them, yes.”
“He certainly works his ass off to pay rent,” I quipped.
She chuckled, breaking the odd mix of discomfort and sexual tension that had simmered in this space. “What a strange night. Do you think we can salvage what we came here to do?”
I scanned the crowd. No way was I ready to quit. “Yes. Continue to observe. See if anything—or anyone—stands out as unusual. Something we should further investigate.”
“Got it.”
“I’m going to walk around. Be right back.”
As I strolled through the club, I kept attuned to any odd scents or signs of dark magic. Nothing stood out.
The performances continued through the evening, but dancers avoided our table. Lucas must have indeed told the others to give us space.
When the club closed, I drove Nova home, disappointed at what seemed like a waste of a night. “Looks like tonight was a bust.”
