Page 58 of Defiance
Charlie bowed her head to Director Caher with a gracious smile and raised her voice so that everyone could hear. “Thank you for allowing us to share this with everyone, Director Caher.”
Novak would have found the director’s pallor funnier if he wasn’t so caught up in potential threats. The jumble ofchemiain the courtyard was filled with cortisol, adrenaline, testosterone… There was a distinctly possessive outrage among the crowd, even if they looked on with polite distaste.
“This is a slow dance,” Charlie informed them all imperiously.
“This is a terrible idea, is what it is,” Novak hissed privately, curling his tail into a tight spiral behind him.
Charlie slid his hand around her waist. He held her carefully, aware of the havoc his claws might wreak on her delicate dress. She swayed to the music, sliding her palm up his arm to rest there. It was intimate, defying the ring of mild horror and awe that surrounded them.
“Probably,” she admitted, “but I’m too cross and too grown to give a damn. Let them try to bully their guest of honor into behaving. See what it gets them.”
“Let me guess,” he purred thoughtfully. “Censored swearing, traumatized children, and… a food fight?”
“You forgot looting.”
Novak barked with surprised laughter. Charlie grinned up at him and pulled away.
“Just don’t let go of my hand,” she said, swinging away and spinning gently. She tugged on his fingers and he pulled her in like a rubber band, their other arms winding around each other once more. Novak’s ears perked.
Oh, he liked that.
Charlie,what a tease.Pulling away so he could draw her back. It was like the Hunt, but softer. It tickled the part of his brain that craved pursuit, softening up the spiral of his tail so that he held her a little closer.
Charlie’s mine,he thought. A seductive, damning thought because it couldn’t be true. Hiscolearaswelled as he inhaled slowly, letting himself get lost in her mischievous eyes.
Sath stepped forward with a cough.
“Would you like to dance?” he asked a random shilpakaari man, extending his hand. He was still infuriating, but that charm was working in Novak’s favor. “I think, yes, that I understand the steps.”
The shilpakaari man accepted and they swayed onto the stones, looking at Novak and Charlie’s pose for guidance. Charlie critiqued them, laughing in her big, open way while he scanned the onlookers. A couple more searched for willing dance partners, but the murmurs were begrudging. Belittling.
“The human doesn’t know, surely…”
“When you have a woman in your arms, she expects to be your sole focus,” Charlie teased.
Novak met her eye with concern and she brushed down the plumes of his neck with her fingers. It had the opposite effect, making them stand up and shiver. He stretched his claws at the small of her back, wanting to draw her in despite the growing crowd.
“You have been my sole focus for a very long time,” he admitted.
“Good. I like it that way.”
Charlie slipped off his bicep again. He let her drift away, then drew her back, feeling that same zing of instinct. She slid her fingers around his shoulder and pulled him closer when they reunited, but her bluster had sweetened into something vulnerable.
“Will it still be that way after you take me back to Renata?”
Novak threaded his tail around her waist, eyes dilated like dinner plates. She smelled sogood.Pliant. Aroused… Her edges burned as he drank in more of her scent and the colors in the room began to glow—
A sharp claw gripped his shoulder and ripped him back. A woman gasped and screamed. Feet scurried back. A glass shattered.
Novak’s hold on Charlie tightened. He spun her around so he could see behind his shoulder.
Pioden snarled at him, baring his teeth. Black caps covered his viperous fangs so that they disappeared against the dark bed of his mouth.
“Uncivilizedveshtadt—”Guei’s security detail spat.
“Hey!” Charlie roared, eyes wide with rage. Novak’s tail wrapped more tightly around her middle, pushing her behind him.
It all happened so quickly.
