“Let’s table this for another day,” Max interjects. “As much as I’d love to see Niki get his ass handed to him, now is not the time for this. We need to come up with a plan that’s well thought out for taking down Rory Quinn once and for all.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” I say as I come to stand next to him, a feeling of completeness settling deep in my bones. For the firsttime in my life, as I look around the room, I feel like I’m exactly where I’m meant to be. “Where do we start?”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Sphinx
The noise in here is ridiculous. It’s loud, brash and pummels against my eardrums in a cacophony of grating, grinding screeches. “How the fuck is this music?”
“What?” Veon yells, leaning closer and bringing his ear closer to me.
Fuck. Why does the grumpy idiot smell so good? Like rain clouds and cinnamon rolled up in one gorgeous package. The temptation to lick the shell of his ear is ridiculous. I almost do it,just to see what reaction I get, but I also don’t want him to walk away from me. I hate nightclubs. I find them oppressive and overstimulating, and Veon’s soothing presence is like a balm to my frazzled soul. “I said, how the fuck is this music?”
Veon shrugs and twists a little to bring his mouth closer to my ear. “I dunno. I kind of like it.”
His breath tickles my skin, and part of me wants to push him away. Does he even know what he does to me?
Probably not. He’s still hung up over Echo.
And he’s straight. So, there’s that, too.
I’m a fool. Pining after the one boy I can’t have. He turns back to surveying the crowd, watching Echo dance with Niki with a sad look in his eyes. What a pair we make, standing on the sidelines just waiting for that one glance that makes us believe in hope. Fucking hell, I need to slap some sense into me.
Besides, it’s fucking lewd how much Echo’s grinding on the guy, but she looks happy. I let out a deep sigh. Maybe I’m just jealous because I’m sat over here, wishing Veon was rubbing his dick against my ass the way Niki was with Echo.
We’d come out to Aurum after we’d spent the day arguing over the plan. Apparently, there was a plan. Now, I’m still not sure, but Echo assures me that she knows what she’s doing, and that’s good enough for me. To be fair, if it weren’t for Max and Veon, there wouldn’t evenbea plan. If it was left entirely up to Echo, we’d be winging it and hanging onto a fucking prayer. How that woman has lived to the age of twenty-five is beyond me.
The music changes, shifting to some slow, pulsing beat that is moderately better than the thrashing metallic chaos from before.
“I’m going to get a drink,” Veon shouts into my ear, his voice low and aggressive, and it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention.
And my dick. That fucker likes the way Veon growls.
I’m doomed. Completely, utterly doomed.
“Okay,” I reply, but he’s already walking away, his hands fisted and shoulders tense. Doesn’t stop me from checking out his ass in those tight black jeans, andhot damn. I’m so used to seeing him in combat trousers that seeing something that clings to the curve of his ass has me practically salivating.
I turn back to look at the dance floor and see the reason he walked away. Niki is kissing Echo with absolute fuckingreverence. His hands are tangled in her hair, cradling her head like it’s the most precious thing his hands have ever touched. He worships every inch of her mouth with whisper touches and deep, probing caresses, and I am in awe at the way he pours everything into that kiss. I’d give my left kidney to be kissed like that.
I’m not the only one who notices either. People around them have stopped dancing, drawn into watching them as they lose themselves in each other. It’s the most erotic thing I’ve ever seen.
Hoots and wolf whistles cut through the air, and Echo bursts into laughter before dragging Niki off the dance floor so people can get back to dancing instead of watching a private porn show.
“Come on, Sphinx,” she says with a giggle and a blush covering her cheeks. “You should be dancing.”
“I would be if I had someone like Niki to dance with.”
Niki grins like a psycho, and it’s quite unsettling with how the flashing lights catch the whites of his eyes and teeth. It’s like a scene from a horror movie, and I have a sudden urge to flee for my life. His hands move in patterns that I don’t understand, and I have to look to Echo to translate for me. She doesn’t mind, but I feel a bit guilty that I seem to be the only one who can’t sign. Even Veon understands the psycho.
“He says he’d happily take you for a dance,” she shouts over the music with a wide smile. “He thinks you’ve got a nice ass.”
My eyes blow wide. Maybe I’m better off not knowing how to sign if these are the sort of comments I’m going to get. “Thanks, but I think I’ll pass.”
Niki signs again, and Echo snorts. “He says it’s your loss, and I have to agree. He’s a pretty good dancer.”
I look Niki dead in the eye and hope that I convey more confidence than I’m feeling. “I’ll be sure to reach out if I can’t find anyone, but you won’t be the only one who likes the look of my ass.”
Echo throws her head back, laughing heartily at my challenge. “Come on, let’s get a drink.”
