Page 21 of Those Heartless Boys

Meghan is all smiles until Stone grabs her wrist, tearing her fingers away from him. “That was rude.”

“Well, it’s true,” she says, still using her teasing voice like this is all a part of her mating ritual. Flirting and insults. It’s disgusting.

“Come on,” Lucas says in my ear until I stop fighting him. If Stone is attracted to that kind of trash, he can have at it. Meghan turns, glaring at Lucas’s hands on me, but all I can feel is the heat from his flesh on mine, his fingers gripping my hips where my shirt doesn’t cover. “You can deal with that,” Lucas says to Stone, giving him and Meghan a mocking salute.

I let Lucas steer me away to where the radio is. Couples dance, swaying to the music like the stars above have put them in a trance. He lets me go in the thick of things and twists me around. “What are you doing?” I ask, placing my hands on his, which are still curving around my hips. The only thing is, I don’t shove them away. My fingers just stay there, like I’m holding him to me. His brown eyes capture mine. The bored look I’ve seen since he started school at Saint Clary’s is gone. In its place is a tumultuous hold on the present. He always has this way of simultaneously looking like a stray cat, but also with a sly gaze that says he knows too much. I heat under his inspection. “Stop touching me,” I say, my voice coming out too breathy.

“You like it when I touch you, Dakota. You might as well admit it.” He yanks me closer, and we start an easy rhythm of sashaying to the Imagine Dragons song that just started. My neck pricks as people watch us. I try to break free, but his hold only tightens, his hips firmly against mine as he pins me against him. Not to the point of pain, but to the point of captivity, caught between two steel arms. It’s not just his arms either. It’s his stare. His brown eyes shimmer with the reflection of the bonfire flames.

“What are you doing?” I ask. I’m used to flying under the radar, but this definitely isn’t that. It’s my book heroines who get dragged onto a dance floor with the sexy guy who says something to them that they’re not used to hearing. Do I like it when Lucas touches me? In two words, fuck yes. But that’s my body talking, not my mind.

“What am I doing?” he asks playfully. “Holding you. I thought that part was obvious.”

Despite trying not to dance, I get carried away. His hips move against mine, and if I didn’t move with him, it would just look awkward as fuck. “Why? You came here because of Lance. That’s it. You’ve done nothing but treat me like shit.”

A small smile parts his lips. “That was when you were working against us. You just said that we can have you, and I mean to take you up on that.”

“I meant as partners. Partners in treasure hunting, Lucas.” I manage to make enough of a gap between us, so he can read my face clearly. “Nothing more.”

He lets go, his face pulling taut. “I guess you can head back over there and let Meghan pick you apart then. Would you rather that?”

“Meghan?” I scoff. “Please. She’s tried her best since Kindergarten, but I’m still standing. Her idea of winning is pointing out how she’s the best while tearing everyone else down. She’s a coward, and if I felt the inclination, I’d kick her ass. Instead, I find her sad and petty. I don’t give a fuck what she thinks, nor anyone in Clary for that matter.”

A slow grin tracks over his face. “There you are.”

I narrow my gaze.

He takes a curl that came loose from my topknot and holds it between two fingers. “I was surprised to see you here, like this.” His stare eats me alive. It’s simultaneously sexy and dangerous. “For years, I thought you were shy, a little meek. But you’re also funny, adventurous…” He drags his gaze down me again. “…sexy.”

I bite down on my lip, wishing his words away. “That’s where you’re wrong. In Clary, I’m an outcast. You’ve been here a few days, so I’m sure you’ve heard the stories. The rumors. The whole town thinks the Wilders are a bunch of freaks.”

“You know what I think?” Lucas asks. He cups my face. “I think—”

A booming voice interrupts us. “What the hell are you doing?” Wyatt asks.

I jump, immediately moving away from Lucas after getting caught in his stare again. Somewhere in our conversation, I’d completely forgotten the stay away from the archenemies rule. His hand was on my cheek, and the way he stared at me... It almost looked like he was going to kiss me.

“Fuck off, Longhorn,” Lucas spits, his voice thick with alcohol.

Wyatt grabs a hold of Lucas’s upper arm and drags him off to the side. They stand and argue. I can’t hear what they’re saying, but their shoulders are tense. I hug myself, close my eyes, and try to talk some sense into my brain. I can’t get caught up in them. This is a business transaction, nothing more. In fact, I’m using them to find my father.

“Hey, are you okay?”

I peek up to find Stone. He’s looking over my head at Wyatt and Lucas arguing, but then he moves his gaze to meet mine. I cock my head. “Are you serious?”

“Dead serious.”

Anger rolls through me. These guys just can’t strong arm me into working with them and then pretend like they give a shit about what’s going on. “What do you care?” I force out.

Stone’s jaw tightens. He grabs my arm and moves me behind a boulder, out of view from the rest of the party. “Come on, Dakota.” His smile turns devilish. “We’re partners now.”

I laugh because that’s just rich. “You blackmailed me. We’re partners under duress. Just admit it, Stone, you don’t give a shit about me or my family. This is all because you saw me as prey and you know you need me to find the treasure because you were never going to find it by your damn selves.”

“Technically, I am your family. I’m your stepbrother, remember?” His eyes flash greedily, raking me over. He grins as my body heats all over. “You still can’t keep your needy eyes off me, watching me with every move I make. Practically eye fucking me from moment one. And now, you decide to grow a spine because you’re jealous over some made-up Barbie doll.”

I suck in a breath. His words are so wrong. That’s not what’s happening at all. “If you weren’t watching me, how would you know I was watching you?”

“I’m not the one lying to myself. You bet I was watching you.” He drags his gaze down my body. Heat creeps up my neck until my face is flaming. His mouth parts as he takes me in. He trails his fingers just below the hem of my crop top. “Why in the hell would you hide this all these years?”

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