The Duke and the DJ (The Rebel Royals 3)

Lark walked beside Parker toward her table. Zhi set to follow them until he noticed Spin wasn't beside him. He turned back to her. "You coming?"

She shook her head. "I'm gonna hit the dance floor."

Zhi stepped up to her so that she could hear him over the music. "What if I need you?"

Something sparked in her eyes at his comment. He felt his own cheeks heat at his needy admission. He hadn’t meant it that way. Had he.

"You won’t,” she said after a long moment.

He didn't like how final that sounded. He wanted to protest. He wanted her at his side, like a security blanket on his first day of school.

"She's digging you now," said Spin. "Don't pretend anymore. Just be you. If she doesn't see how cool you are, then it's her loss."

If only it were that simple. Zhi desperately wanted to explain his predicament to Spin then. He wanted her to understand the dire straits he was in. But she turned from him and got lost in the crowd. Zhi felt lost standing without her.

Duty tugged at him. He turned and headed to Parker's table. Once there, Parker scooted over and made space for him. Zhi took the seat.

Parker smiled at him.

Zhi smiled back at her.

He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

Parker turned her attention to the person on her left.

Zhi turned his attention back to the dance floor.

He caught a flash of Spin. Her eyes were closed as she moved in time to the music. Beside him, he heard Parker ask him a question. But he couldn't tear his gaze away from the woman on the dance floor.

Spin was completely unguarded as she moved. All her defenses were down now that she was lost in the music. It was as though he saw the burdens lifting off her shoulder as the beat dropped.

He envied her that. He was always able to get lost in the music from the piano when he or his mother played. The melodies were the only things strong enough to lift his cares away. He had the urge to join Spin out there, leave it all on the dance floor. Unfortunately, another man stepped up behind Spin to take the place Zhi hadn’t claimed.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The beat vibrated from the speakers into the air. The base urged Spin’s feet to move. The treble lifted her hands over her head. She shimmied her shoulders and swirled her hips to the melody, shouting the repetitive lyrics of the popular song at the top of her lungs.

It was exactly what she needed. To get lost in the music. To find solace in the beats.

The problem was that the only thing the pulsing rhythm did was to heighten her senses. Her fingertips still burned where she’d placed them in the crook of Zhi’s elbow. Her cheeks were still hot from the blast of his breath as he’d spoken to her. Even though she closed her eyes, she still saw his eyes gazing down upon her with need before she’d pulled away from him, and he’d turned to Parker.

Spin wrenched her eyes open, staring straight into the neon lights. She hoped it would laser off the memory of him from her vision. It didn’t.

Like a beacon, she found Zhi across the room. He sat behind a table roped off with velvet. Waiters served small plates of food meant for sharing. Parker leaned her elbows on the table as she talked to the person on the other side of her. Zhi’s arm was behind Parker on her seat. But his head was turned from Parker. His eyes were on Spin.

Spin felt their connection even across the room. She saw the shift in his pupils as he watched her move. She saw the flare of his nostrils as his gaze traveled to her lips.

This connection between them was insane. It had to be broken. He wanted to be with another woman, a woman whose body was turned from his.

If it wasn’t clear through their brief interaction on the ship, or in their sparse direct messages in which Spin was often the intermediary, Parker had zero interest in Zhi. Zhi had nothing in common with Parker. Spin couldn’t fathom why he wanted her so badly?

From her place on the dance floor, Spin stared into his eyes trying to see if she could suss out his reasoning. Zhi had everything. On the outside.

Inside his house was a different story. His father was abusive. His mother was compliant. His home needed repairs. On top of all of that, why would he want to bring a woman who didn’t understand him into the mix?

From his place at the dining table, Zhi’s gaze narrowed. His lips turned down in a frown as he held her gaze. Had he heard her thoughts? Were they speaking telekinetically now?

No. That wasn’t it at all. Zhi's frown came not from their connection to each other.