She opened her mouth and closed it. “Well . . . if you’re okay, then I guess I’ll see you later.”
She moved past me and I captured her arm. Raising her eyebrows, she gazed at my hand on her and then looked back at me. “Yes?”
“Can we dance together?”
A shocked expression spread on her face. Her cool demeanor melted right before my eyes. “Dance?”
An electric charge surged between us, stronger than before. She shuddered under my fingers. It made me crazy to feel that reaction. There was something that bridged between us, if we were willing to explore it. Something told me that electric yearning, that unexplained allure would be right there, something thick and intense that neither one of us would survive if we followed all the possibilities. All this in my head from just one touch? The stop signs danced in my brain. They said let her go and turn around, run upstairs to your room or at least rush off to Madam Miriam’s discreet house of pleasure. But it was too late. I craved Elle, and she stood there warm and right in front of me.
I’d been in control all day. Tonight, I relinquished it for another day.
“I want to dance with you.” I slipped my fingers down that soft arm and heard an intake of breath. It thrilled me even more to realize that my caress made her crazy. I seized her hand and guided her toward the front patio where Hex held his dances.
I should stop this, but I won’t.
Our fingers threaded together. It was such an odd thing to do with a person I hadn’t even known two nights before, but I walked with her fingers locked against mine. “I’m sure you’ve been hearing this all night, but you are enchanting.”
A red tint spread across her cheeks. “Thank you.”
“Who was the guy you were talking to?”
“Oh, that was Edward. He’s one of your brother’s friends, I guess. According to him, he does pretty things with glass.”
“Interesting.” He would be the first person on the plane tomorrow afternoon. I just had to check with Reece to make sure it happened.
“Have you already been outside?”
“No.”
“Oh.” She widened her smile. “Well then, let me be your tour guide for the festivities.”
She unlatched her fingers from mine. I gritted my teeth and said nothing else, once she hooked her slim arm under mine. “We’re going to take the longest route possible to the dance floor.”
“Why the longest route?”
“Because it’s the most scenic.” She winked at me.
Violin music carried on the cool breeze when I opened the door. Strings of white paper lanterns hovered over the area and bathed the space in a magical glow. Dancing couples packed the floor. Dressed in a ruby gown, a slender woman with red hair and a dragon tattooed along her neck sang a slow song about holding on to her first love.
The singer grinned. “And I won’t let go. I’ll never let you be free.”
Tables lined the floor full of silver bowls with pink sauces and brown soups. Several roasted pigs stuffed with apples rested on glass platters at the center of the tables, and all around the meat was tray after tray of steaming vegetables, crisp white rice, and stacks of bread dripping in butter and embellished with garlic. The food’s aroma taunted my stomach, but still it wasn’t as enticing as Elle’s perfume and not enough to drag me away from her.
“You ensnared me in your love.” The woman spun around and swayed her hips to the violin’s melody. “You’ve captured me.”
“What’s the name of the fragrance you’re wearing?” I asked.
“Sakura. It’s one I used to import from Japan.”
The singer shook her head. “I don’t have any control, no power to be free.”
“Why did you used to import it?” I asked. “Have you stopped?”
“Yes. I’m on a budget now. It costs several thousand dollars per bottle.”
The singer touched her chest. “You’ve ensnared my heart and love. You captured me.”
“I’m not on a budget,” I said. “I’ll have a case delivered to your room by the end of the week.”
That shocked expression reappeared on Elle’s face. “You don’t have to.”
“I know.”
“Then thank you.” She pulled me to the side where a man in a silver costume stood. Multi-colored glitter covered his face. “Oh, look at this. He’s so funny.”
The man juggled sharp knives with little bells at the end. There were five of them. Each time the knives flipped over, they rang out a little melody. He hummed and stuck his tongue out when it seemed that he was close to dropping them, and then after a minute or so he slung them all in the air at once.
“Oh my god.” Elle covered her mouth. “Watch this.”
The knives soared high into the sky. The man whistled, catching my attention. I turned back to him for a quick second, to see a tiny gray bird fly out of his mouth. A little rope with several bells trailed behind the bird as it flew away and rang that same song the knives had made.