Page 120 of Scorned
Lynx took her hand, leading her to the dance floor.
“Aw, shite,” Demi mumbled under his breath. “I’m not gonna let a woman sit.” He rose from his seat and reached his hand down to Stephanie.
She stared wide-eyed, looking around as if confused.
“It’s just a dance, darlin’, not a proposal. Don’t get your knickers in a twist.”
She laughed, then happily took his hand.
I glanced at Heston, seeing if he had any thoughts about asking Randi. He crossed his arms, leaning back in his lawn chair, attempting to make himself invisible. It took all my strength not to laugh.
Other than us and Ravage, everyone was dancing.
His eyes locked on Luka. “I know I taught you better than that, son.”
Luka pulled his arm from around me and stood, lowering a hand, and I shook my head profusely. “Oh, no. You don’t have to.”
“I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to.”
My heart sped up with the familiar words. Before I had a chance to resist, Luka had my wrists, dragging me to my feet, pulling me into the middle of the other people on the makeshift dance floor.
His hands slid onto my lower back and he yanked me into him. Even though I hated being controlled, the casual possessiveness had me melting in his arms. I wrapped my hands around his neck, laying my head on his chest, swaying in peaceful bliss until the song ended. When it restarted, I popped my head up and Ravage winked at me, and I realized Luka had planned this.
He brought my attention back by grabbing my chin, forcing me to make eye contact. “Look right here, Princess.”
When I locked eyes with him, a sense of calm washed over me, making all my worries and stresses melt away.
Ravage played the song three times while we enjoyed our lives for just a few brief minutes.
Once the song finally changed and everyone began mingling, Luka pulled me away from the bonfire. I didn’t ask where we were going because as long as I was with him, I didn’t care.
We went to the side of our cabin, my forehead wrinkling when I saw my Jeep because I knew I hadn’t left it there. Luka’s hands gently rested on my hips as he effortlessly lifted me up onto it, joining me with a graceful hop.
After pulling me to my feet on the roof of my car, he lifted me once again. “Grab the edge.”
I did what he said and clung to the roof of the cabin before pulling myself up onto it. Luka jumped up next with ease.
“What are we doing?” I asked, catching my breath.
Luka took my hand and guided me to the peak of the roof where a blanket laid and I finally realized he had planned this too.
He took a seat, pulling me down with him. “Showing you this. Look up.”
I tilted my head back and marveled at the vast twinkling stars. “I’ve been out here for months and I don’t think I have stopped worrying long enough to look at the sky at night.”
“I think it’s healthy to take twenty seconds for yourself and look at something beautiful.”
As I glanced over, I noticed that his attention wasn’t on the stars but on me with admiration. I laughed. “Then why aren’t you looking at the beauty?”
His eyes shimmered with a mixture of emotions as he softly whispered, “I am, Princess.”
It may seem cheesy to some, but my heart completely melted. Perhaps only figuratively, but it might have if it weren’t so cold away from the bonfire.
The way he gazed into my eyes compelled me to confess the passion, the happiness, and the affection which stirred inside of me, but the intensity of my feelings rendered me speechless. Each emotion which engulfed me was indescribable, and almost unbearable. It appeared as if there were no words in existence that could help me accurately express my emotions to him.
Well . . . except there actually was.
I diverted my gaze, counting the stars above to gain time. When I got to thirteen, Luka’s fingers slid in between mine, and when he locked them around my hand and squeezed, I felt safe. Secure. A feeling I hadn’t experienced in a long time.
