Page 42 of Realm of Wind and Vines
Iwasbluffing, of course.
But Orion doesn’t need to know that.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Both Draven and Isera start in surprise when Orion stands up from the table and holds out his hand to me. Without looking in their direction, I take his hand and let him lead me to the makeshift dance floor. The dragon shifters who are already dancing there flick a glance at us but thankfully don’t make an issue of it.
“Just a heads-up,” I begin as we position ourselves on the floor. “I don’t actually know how to dance.”
Orion gives me a look that is somewhere between incredulity and exasperation. Heaving a sigh, he rolls his eyes. “Of course you don’t. Malachi’s balls, you really are uncultured, aren’t you?”
Without waiting for a reply, he simply places one hand on my waist, moves mine up to his shoulder, and then takes my other one in his. I suck in a sharp breath between my teeth as he suddenly pulls my body incredibly close to his. Then he starts moving us in the same dramatic and passionate way in which the other people are dancing as well.
He is an incredibly skilled dancer. Which, I suppose, shouldn’t surprise me since he is the king. I don’t know if this style of dance is common outside the Purple Clan or if Orion is simplyexcellent at adapting the way he moves so that it is in tune with the current music, but we spin and twist across the floor as if he has performed this dance thousands of times before.
And all the while, his body remains close to mine. His hand even slides a little lower down my back. It makes my skin crawl, but I block out the emotion because I know that it serves a purpose.
“Just so we’re clear,” Orion begins, leveling a haughty stare on me. “I’m quite repulsed by this.”
“Oh trust me, the feeling is entirely mutual,” I reply, shooting him a pointed look back. “But let’s make it look good anyway so that we can make the people we actually care about jealous.”
He clicks his tongue. “Fine.” Then alarm suddenly flashes across his face, and he practically blurts out, “I mean, I don’t care about Isera.”
“Sure.” The word practically drips with sarcasm.
“I don’t.”
“You know, I never specified Isera. That was all you.”
Clenching his jaw, he tightens his grip on my hand while frustration flickers in his eyes. “She is the most infuriating, stubborn, arrogant, unbending woman I have ever had the misfortune of meeting. I most certainly don’t care about her.”
“Really? Then I suppose you don’t care that she is currently glaring at me through narrowed eyes?”
Orion misses a step.
I grin. “Thought so.”
Quickly recovering his step, he clears his throat and tries to appear unaffected. We have deliberately refrained from looking in their direction since this dance began, but his gaze now darts towards Isera for a second. When he turns his head back to me, he is smirking like a satisfied cat after seeing that Isera is indeed watching us through slightly narrowed eyes.
Keeping my gaze on Orion, I ask, “And my target?”
He flicks a glance at Draven. A knowing smile plays overOrion’s lips when he shifts his attention back to me and replies, “Currently deforming this establishment’s cutlery.”
I risk a quick look in Draven’s direction while Orion spins us around again. Just like the Unseelie King said, my mate is currently gripping the fork in his hand so hard that it has started to bend in half. Pressing my lips together, I suppress a wicked smile.
“Excellent,” I say.
Orion’s gaze slides back to mine. “Let’s finish this off with a bang then, shall we?”
Before I even have time to reply, he spins us around and then bends me over his arm while leaning down so that his face is right above mine. His long dark blue hair falls down around us like a curtain. Since no one can see our facial expressions at the moment, we just look back at each other in mutual disgust.
Then Orion is abruptly ripped away from me.
It happens so fast and so violently that I don’t even have time to straighten. His arm just disappears from behind my back, making me topple backwards towards the floor.
However, before I can fall too far, a strong hand grips my arm and yanks me back up. Blinking, I toss my hair out of my face and whirl towards the person responsible for the sudden interruption.
Draven releases my arm and instead buries his fist in Orion’s collar.
