He stared at her, making the whole world disappear as she kept her eyes fixed on his. There was such an air of power and strength about him tonight, a confidence that he radiated and that she felt in her very core. It made her tremble with the desire to feel his strong hands on her body, to feel him touching her and taking her to dizzying heights of pleasure.
When he growled, a thrill ran through her, shivering down her spine and washing across her every nerve ending. They screamed for him, begging him to come to her and take her like she knew he wanted to.
He smiled and she blushed again.
“I wish you two would do it and get it over with already,” Sean said.
She blushed for a different reason, dying a little when she remembered that her and Erik weren't alone. It wasn't just Sean that had stopped to stare. She could almost feel the eyes of the band boring into her back. She quickly covered it with her shawl and was silently thankful when the doorbell rang.
“I'll get that, I need an excuse to get out of here before I do something I wouldn't regret.” Sean winked at her and she frowned until she'd got what he'd meant.
“Like I'd ever,” she said to his retreating back, disgusted at the thought of Sean wanting her body.
“No one gets to touch you but me,” Erik said, melting her and making liquid heat pool in her knickers when he stepped up against her, his body flush with hers.
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Mmm, I second that, and you're mine, buster.”
He grinned and kissed her, light enough that he was obviously trying not to get her lipstick all over him. When he pulled back, she smiled, answering the question she could see in his eyes.
“It's okay... it's this new stuff that never comes off. The shine is just a clear gloss.”
“So I can kiss all I want then?”
She nodded and squeaked when he grabbed her around the waist and dipped her backwards over his knee as he kissed her.
“Looks like the party started without us.”
She pushed Erik off her on hearing the strange voice. He pulled her up onto her feet so fast that her head spun and her hair fell across her face.
She straightened herself out, stifling the blush that threatened to creep up to her cheeks and clearing her throat.
When she finally looked up, she saw Erik greeting a fat old man. Next to the man was a pompous looking old lady wearing an emerald green dress, her yellow-white hair piled high on her head. Kim walked over to them, trying not to laugh at the couple's eccentric appearance and wondering if everyone was going to be as old as them tonight.
She hoped this Charlotte character was old.
Like ancient.
She fixed on her best smile as she went to greet the couple.
“This must be the human,” the woman said with such a note of disdain in her voice that Kim couldn't stop the shock from reaching her face.
She blinked and looked at Erik, waiting to see what he was going to say.
“This is Kim. I believe I mentioned her on the phone.” He put his arm around her and she thanked him for the show of solidarity. She hadn't been prepared to meet with this kind of reaction.
“Make her ours, quickly.” The man dismissively waved a hand in her direction and walked off.
Ours?
She mouthed the word at Erik. He tugged her closer and sighed.
“Don't let the old ones get to you. Some of them have a strange view of people.”
People? Humans? Did these lycans really see a divide like that? Were humans below their notice?
The questions crowded her mind as more people entered, this time a young group that didn't bat an eyelid about her being human. More than one of the men did give her a hungry look she didn't like though. She shuffled a little closer to Erik and wasn't surprised when his hand settled firmly against her waist. She held it, letting everyone see that she was spoken for.
What annoyed her more than the men eyeing her, was the way some of the women flirted with Erik, completely blanking her. Would it always be like this, even after the mating? Erik was an attractive man, handsome and confident, rich and powerful. There was no doubt that women were always going to be drawn to him, but she knew that he wouldn't flirt back. He loved her too much.
When the room began to get more crowded and people didn't seem to be arriving any more, she followed Erik across to the table where the champagne was. She needed a drink after enduring such a mixed reaction. Half of the room clearly hated her presence. She wondered why they'd bothered coming.
Her heart melted when Erik pulled out a box from under the table and opened it to reveal two bottles of Dom Pérignon Rosé covered in ice. He popped the cork to the amusement of people nearby and handed her two glasses. She held them steady as he filled them and then giggled when he hid the champagne again. It was a sweet touch that reassured her more than he could possibly imagine. It showed her how much he cared about how she felt and how much he loved her.
* * * *
Kim found herself swept along by the music, the chatter and the champagne as the evening progressed. Coming out of her shell hadn't been hard after a few glasses and a few dance requests. Erik had danced with her the most. He didn't seem to be able to let her out of his sight for more than a few minutes before he came back to claim her from whomever she'd fallen into conversation with.
Sean had shared Erik's work getting her introduced to the younger set and she was grateful for his attentiveness. Without him and Erik leading her around the room, she was sure she would've been sitting in the corner all night long.
She laughed as the couple she was talking to said something amusing and then sipped her drink again. Realising that she'd reached the bottom of her glass, she made her excuses and went off to get it refilled. She hadn't seen Erik for a while now and she was beginning to wonder what was keeping him.
The room was so full of chatter that it was hard to hear the music and she wasn't tall enough to see over most of the guests. It had been an exciting night so far. She'd met all breeds of lycans, from leopards to cheetahs, lionesses to tigers, and even wolves and bears. Her head spun a little as she thought about how amazing it would be to see the whole room in their animal forms. Of course, that would mean that everyone but her would be naked when they changed back.
Heat flushed her face and she pressed her fingers to her lips, giggling at the visual.
She paused when she reached the dance floor and looked back over her shoulder. Clearly, she'd taken a wrong turn somewhere because she was further away from the champagne now, not nearer. She shrugged and watched the dancers. It was stunning, an exotic mixture of colours all blurring past her as they danced to a fast waltz. There was no way she could do that.
Her eyes widened and she almost dropped her glass when she spotted Erik dancing with a beautiful blonde woman. The red dress she wore revealed so much it was bordering on indecent and her blood boiled when she saw the woman smiling up at Erik.
That wasn't just any old smile.
She'd smiled that smile at him.
That ‘come fuck me' smile that he always loved to see.
What made her even sicker was the fact he was smiling back. Okay, it wasn't one hundred percent seductive but there was more than a hint of it in there.
She went to turn away but found her feet wouldn't cooperate. All she could do was stare at Erik as he danced with this woman, too close for her comfort. She looked around her to find everyone staring at them too. She even heard and old couple a few feet away mention that Erik should have chosen Charlotte over her. She knew that they'd said it loud on purpose. They hated her.
Intense jealousy mingled with her residual upset at the way she'd been met with insults by half the room and it coursed through her, eating her up from the inside out and whispering poisonous words into her ear.
The waltz began to slow and she still couldn't move. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle in the way they always did when Erik was looking at her, but when she caugh
t sight of him, he was staring straight into the woman's eyes.
Tears burned her eyes but she wouldn't let them come. She was overreacting. It was the champagne making her feel so out of control of her emotions.
It wasn't the woman.
It wasn't everyone else in this damn room.
When the music stopped, her feet seemed to be suddenly freed and she panicked as she looked for an escape route. She went to dodge into the crowd to go and get a much needed drink, but Erik stopped her.
“Kim!” he said and she froze, cursing him.
She plastered on a smile, turned and swallowed every ounce of hatred she was feeling towards the woman walking towards her with Erik.
“I'd like you to meet someone.” He smiled at her.
She could guess who this gorgeous skinny blonde bombshell that was draped all over him was.
Charlotte. The ‘it'll be great to see you again' and ‘it's been too long' phone call.
“This is Charlotte,” he said, still smiling.
Her stomach dropped and she barely contained the sneer that twitched her lip.
“Lovely,” she said, her voice carrying just enough sarcasm that both Charlotte and Erik raised a brow at her. She waggled her empty glass. “I'm all out of champagne.”
She went to leave again but then stopped herself. Who was she running away from? She couldn't spend her whole life running away from the competition. Erik was hers and she was damn well going to fight for him.
There was an awkward silence in which Erik looked as though he was trying to understand what was wrong.
“Erik,” she said, voice commanding now. “Dance with me.”
It wasn't a question. It was an order. On the dance floor she'd be safe and Erik would be away from Charlotte.
“How can I refuse you when you put it so bluntly?” There was a hint of annoyance in his voice but she didn't care.
She just handed her glass to Charlotte. “Lovely to meet you.”
Grabbing Erik's hand, she dragged him onto the dance floor and as far into the crowd as possible. She huffily placed his hands on her hips and wrapped her arms around his neck. When her eyes met his, he laughed, his whole face brightening.
“You seem a little tense,” he said, his hands sliding up to grip her waist and making her belly heat through.
She cursed the way he could do that, could chase away all her anger with just a touch and steer her feelings down a different course.
“What's wrong?”
She looked back in Charlotte's direction.
He laughed again, turning with her on the spot and starting to dance.
“She's just a girl I knew in my youth.”
She frowned, searching his eyes. “You knew her, or you knew her?”
He sighed and shifted her arms, one hand clasping hers while the other held her waist. He danced with her in silence for a few seconds and more of her anger dissipated, drifting away on the notes of the music.
“Kim?” he said, voice heavy with emotion, so much so that she looked straight at him to see if she could make them out in his eyes. “You're being ridiculous. I only met her after I started having my visions of you.”
“And?” She wasn't satisfied with that answer. It didn't mean he hadn't done anything.
He lowered his mouth to her ear. “I've not been with anyone since they started.”
She stopped dead and stared at him, and then realised that everyone was stopping to see what was going on. She started dancing again, her pulse racing as she thought about what he'd said. He'd not slept with anyone in the twenty seven years before he'd met her. Dear God. No wonder he'd come after her with a vengeance and he'd been intent on winning her.
No, it was more than the lust. He needed her. He'd waited half his life for her, from when he was barely in his twenties to after he'd matured and stopped ageing during his thirties. Literally waited. She was more than flattered. She was speechless.
Not knowing what else to do, she kissed him, hard. She unleashed everything she was feeling and hoped he could feel in her kiss how his confession had made her feel.
When she broke the kiss, she swore that he was blushing.
He swept her up in his arms, turning on the spot with her feet dangling inches above the floor.
The moment her feet touched the floor again, she continued their dance, battling him for the lead. She relented when he growled, the low dangerous sound sending a flash of heat racing through her.
Their song turned into another and so did their dance. It was a slower piece this time and she frowned when people began to change partners. Before she had a chance to tighten her grip on Erik, she was in Sean's arms. She was thankful that her temporary partner was a friendly face.
“You two still not found that room then? You've both got the old folks grumbling about propriety.” He was beaming at her. Clearly he didn't share the older generation's opinion that her and Erik should get a room. He found their moments of public intimacy a source of amusement. “If it wasn't for Prince Kristian attending, I'm sure most of them wouldn't have come. It's not a mark against you, but the old types prefer to mingle with other lycans and keep their distance from humans.”
She didn't really hear what he'd said after ‘Prince Kristian attending'. Her eyes scanned the room. She'd completely forgotten that he was coming and when she cast her mind back, she couldn't remember greeting anyone that could've passed for royalty. Surely he would be wearing something that would make him stand out. She wanted to meet him so she could tell everyone back at the office that she'd met a real prince.
She was just about to ask Sean to point him out when everyone shifted partner again and she was in the arms of a slightly rotund middle-aged man. He smiled, moustache bristling. There was more hair on his face than his head. She wondered what possible animal he could change into and then reminded herself that it was rude to stare. She looked around again, still trying to find a sign of the prince.
Two more partner changes and she was growing tired of both the constant switching and her search for the prince. Screw him then. So she wouldn't meet royalty tonight after all, but she had got to meet a whole group of depressing old fogeys that had barely touched her while dancing and had given her looks that made her feel diseased.
She was about to call it quits and make her excuses when her next partner took hold of her.
And he really took hold of her.
The surety and tightness of his grip on her waist and hand made her think it was Erik at first. The way she felt on being in their arms, close to them, was exactly how Erik made her feel. She opened her mouth to speak, raising her eyes at the same time. Her voice left her. In place of honey eyes were dark ringed ice blue ones that sent a shiver through her.
He smiled, exposing perfect white teeth. All she could do was stare, and she didn't care how rude it was.
Or the fact she was staring at royalty.
There was no one else this man could be. The power he emitted, and his looks, even his poise and clothes screamed of prince. He was dressed in black, a tall collared and very military looking jacket with a long white and red sash that darted diagonally across his broad chest. His hair was cut short around the sides but longer on top and was pure white, as white as fresh snow. His eyebrows were dark, knitted into a frown of sheer concentration as he looked at her, sweeping her along without her even noticing where they were going or what was happening around them.
She had to think of something to say before he got the utterly wrong impression that she thought he was hot. Because he wasn't. That winsome but sinful smile that tugged his full lips, causing cute dimples in his cheeks, was not making her tremble inside.
No one but Erik did that.
Or the mystery man.
Her eyes widened when she sensed a change and the man's hands tightened against her back and around her own hand, almost painfully.
She looked into his eyes again, this time not seeing him but seeing herself being swept along in his arms. S
he felt his heart pounding steadily in her own chest, a beat that made her stomach dance and jig with it.
“Hell no,” she said, frantically pushing against his chest as the panic crashing through her sent her own heart thundering.
He held her tighter, the smile still there, his eyes intent on her.
“I do not believe we have met,” he purred, his accented voice making her shiver in a way that was wrong—it felt good.
“We bloody well have,” she muttered and tried to get free again. He wasn't letting her go. What was she supposed to do?
The thought of kicking him in the balls crossed her mind, dredging up memories of Alistair again, and she felt sick to her stomach.
“Let me go,” she said, almost pleading.
“Never.” His voice was a deadly whisper, too close to her ear for comfort. “Not until we have been introduced. Such a beautiful woman as you must have a name.”
“Let's just say I'm not yours.”
He laughed and the timbre of it sent another shiver through her.
“I am Prince Kristian of Denmark, but you, my sweet, may call me Kristian.”
“I'm not your sweet and I don't give a damn what your name is.” She shoved him hard and he lost his grip for a split second but before she could move, she was back in his arms again.
Surely someone had to have noticed their struggle by now?
An electric shiver bolted through her.
A second later a roar split the air.
She didn't need to see them to know whose it was. Her heart rocketed as she redoubled her effort and managed to break free of Kristian's arms. He gave her a hurt look, holding his hand out to her as though she was going to go back to him. He clearly didn't know how to win a girl over because he'd made one hell of a bad first impression on her.
She squeaked when a hand closed around her wrist and she was yanked backwards, her face pressed against someone's chest before she could see who it was. Not that she needed to see. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as the comforting scent of Erik's aftershave calmed her.
In Heat: Mating Call (In Heat Shapeshifter Romance Series #2) Page 9