Fang held my hand gently in his while his other arm was behind his back. He leaned forward to plant a kiss on the back of my hand, “I hope you don’t mind a subtle touch there.” 

I smiled at him for how much he was trying to not go against my word. When I had asked Fang to keep his hands to himself in the morning, I did not know he would actually follow suit. Not that he did not at all touch me, but he was very careful today. “I think it is fine till we are on the dance floor,” I remarked as I held the side of the dress, presenting him a courtesy bow. He stood up straight and led me with our hands, entering the dance floor a little before we both did. 

Fang turned me to face him and extended his other arm ahead but did not curl it behind my back. 

He waited for me to step ahead and I did it to be in his close space.

Fang gently let his hand rest on my lower back and started swaying lightly. I could not hold back my smile for some reason. It just felt like an odd sense of happiness being here, in his arms and away from everything that had stressed me for many years. I did not know finding comfort was this easy with Fang. “You have a beautiful smile,” Fang remarked. 

My smile stretched further, “you flatter me.” 

“You have been the hardest to do that to,” Fang said before he raised my hand above my head to swirl me. He pulled me back close to him as he leaned forward to whisper in my ear, “I am glad you finally came around.” 

My smile fell as I gaze at Fang when he stood back straight. “I am glad too,” I replied. 

Fang smiled at me. A smile I so rarely saw on his face. He let me take a step back and then he pulled me with a jerk and a twist to have me turn in his arm and hit my back against his front.

I could see the dance floor this was and the eyes of the ladies were more on me than their own partner. 

His free hand rested on my shoulder before he buried his nose in the crook of my neck. “You smell so good,” Fang’s whisper sent tingles down my spine as my eyes gently fluttered. He pushed me by my shoulder and then pulled me back to him with our front, making contact this time. His hand snaked around my waist tighter this time as I strained my neck to look into his sinful eyes, “you make it tough to hold back, little one.” 

I took in a sharp breath as my lips parted to take in a whiff of his scent. My left hand slid down from his shoulders to over his biceps and even through the thick fabric of his suit, I could feel his muscle tense under my touch.

His Adam’s apple gently bobbed, tempting me to run my fingers around his throat. 

Fang moved me slightly to the side before he dipped me low. His arm strong around me. 

I stared into his eyes before I let go and my head dipped lower. My medium-length hair almost touched the floor till I saw the ceiling with pictures painted on it. I felt a gentle kiss that Fang planted just a little lower on my mate mark. I was free with it exposed today for some reason, as it made me feel more in my skin. He planted another kiss below my collarbone, a threatening distance from my chest which had me draw a sharp breath.

Before going further, he brought me back to face him as he held me flush against him. I gulped as my lips parted and my eyes slowly traced his perfect face to his luscious lips. 

“Selene,” I jolted as I heard Hailey’s voice right behind me. 

With a flustered look, I cleared my throat. Fang’s gaze lifted with mirth as he stared at Hailey. I turned around and she was… she looked absolutely alluring. Her maroon body fit dress accentuated every curve of her body. That was not the only thing. The dress was utterly revealing, with the V cleavage reaching to her upper abdomen and a large slit that ran all the way to her waistline. It made me go red thinking of how she could even carry it so well. I questioned Hailey, “what took you guys so long?” 

She ran her fingers through her hair, a different shine on her face, “oh come on Selene, is that obvious?” 

No, it wasn’t obvious. 

“Okay, so here is the thing,” she dived straight into it, “I will be going with Fang to meet Mr Gillard. The best that old man would reveal to me about the whereabouts of the Cermesi clan is their last weapon exchange spot.” 

“There is a special spot for that?” I asked.

“But of course,” Hailey replied as if it was a dumb question on my end. She turned to Fang, “and you better not show your face to him.” 

“How is that supposed to work?” Bane expressed his thoughts and for a moment, I was shocked. That was the most progress I had seen someone make in just one day. I had seen Bane talk to Fang, but with others, he would usually have tight lips. He was more comfortable with Hailey around. His hand rested on Hailey’s waist when he shifted his gaze to Fang, “don’t you have some conditions to meet before you can read the other person’s mind?” 

Fang was not pleased with the way Bane had gone casual, but then he held himself back, “yeah, I need to at least see him first, but we already did that.” 

“We did that?” I looked at him with creased brows. 

“I did that when you had gone to the restroom,” he said. That made more sense. I took a long time to adjust to my dress and over it all, it was so tough to take care of my gown while doing a simple task in the restroom. Fang looked back at Hailey, “can you get us close to him though? I have heard he usually keeps heavy security.” 

Hailey waved her hand, “Don’t worry about that, I’m not the assassin princess for no reason.” 

“Fine, let’s go,” Fang said. He leaned in closer to whisper, “our dance isn’t over yet. You better wait for me.” Before he planted a soft kiss on the side of my forehead. Hailey and Bane did not bother about it, but it was definitely something that had me flustered. Fang left my side as he slid his hand from over my waist, leaving traces of his gentle yet protective touch through the fabric. He shot a glare at Bane that I did not understand before Hailey and Fang disappeared away into the crowd. 

I and Bane were the only two people awkwardly standing in the middle of the dance floor and that was when I properly noticed the eyes on me. 

It was quite obvious from the way the ladies looked at me. 

“Do you want to eat something?” Bane asked. 

I turned to him, trying to ignore the stares I was receiving. It wasn’t because of my dress, because I could easily smell the burning jealously in the air. “Actually, I’m not that full, but I would like to try some drink,” I replied. I hadn’t tried any drink apart from the wolf Bane liquor that Bane had offered to me when there was a party in Waterwoods. For the first time, I felt different courage surfacing inside me and a lot of other feelings that I needed to process well. 

Bane passed me a nod as we left the dance floor. There were many maids and waiters who roamed around the room. “What do you want?” Bane asked me. 

I let out a nervous laugh, “not really an expert here. What do you think would be mild for me as a starter?” As I had expected, Bane stared at me for 2 seconds and went off, leaving me all on my own. Wow, that man really should learn how to not leave a lady on her own. 

“You seem to be on your own there,” I heard a man’s voice and I quickly turned around to see a fair and polite gentleman. He was a little older than me but it did not look like much difference.

“No, my partner must be returning,” I drove my gaze around the room, but Bane was nowhere in sight. 

“May I have the honor to share a dance with a beautiful lady like you,” he asked with a gentle smile, “of course only till your partner comes back to steal you back from me, that is.” 

“Excuse me?” That was too much for a first meeting. 

The man chuckled, “I was just joking. Come on then, let’s share a small dance.” He did not think for a second before he grabbed my hand and brought it to his lips. Before he could kiss the back of my hand, I pulled and twisted it from over my head. He let out a groan as I strained his hand even further. All the nearby eyes turning our way.

“Know your place, mister,” I spoke without the care of others, “I would not care even if you were the king himself to dismantle each one of the bones in your body for that behavior.” 

A dark desire flooded in as it stroked my ego.. It was a feeling I had never felt before. Power and courage I did not know I had in me!