Page 107

“Can I have another?” she asked Raziel, a little too eager.

Raziel raised a brow, but a glint of amusement danced in his eyes as he snapped his fingers. The bartender quickly appeared and handed Khalani another smoky glass. Raziel offered one to Takeshi, but he held up his hand, declining.

“You’re not going to keep drinking?” she asked Takeshi, who just shook his head, leaning against the bar while his lethal gaze swept the room, assessing every exit and potential threat.

“You’re no fun,” she grumbled, but Takeshi either didn’t hear her or chose to ignore her.

After her fourth round, Khalani’s limbs definitely felt looser.

A tingly sensation rose from her fingertips and everything around her seemed to glow a little brighter. She instinctivelyswayed to the rhythmic beat and turned her attention to the dance floor.

Bodies shifted against one another like splashes of water. The movement was enticing, and the music pounding against her skin was like nothing she’d heard before.

A woman’s sultry voice began to sing over the speakers. Something about her hypnotic words and thumping bass made Khalani want to join the others on the floor.

In fact, she was going to do just that.

“I’m going to dance,” she declared, not asking for permission.

Takeshi’s head whipped toward her, but Raziel merely chuckled and set down his drink. “Go on ahead. I need to have a quick word with your friend. We’ll watch you from over here.”

Takeshi’s jaw clenched, about to argue, but she wasn’t going to stand around and wait for his inevitable objection. She pivoted on her heels and headed straight for the crowd.

The alcohol warmed her stomach as she maneuvered through the guests, all of them lost in the melodic rhythm. Finding an opening in the center of the floor, Khalani finally stopped.

Elated men and women surrounded her, grinding with partners, pushing their bodies together as if they could become one being.

The air was hot and heavy. Her eardrums felt ready to burst from the beat, and her heart pumped faster. For a moment, she considered returning to the bar, but she steeled herself, letting her body be present.

Feeling the music. Letting the scents invade her nose and her vision absorb everything around her.

Khalani felt her body sway side to side. Her arms slowly uncrossed from her chest. Her fingers began to tap against her thigh in time with the rhythm.

“I know you don’t want me, baby. But I can hold myself better than you.”

The woman’s voice sang over the speaker, and the crowd started to sing, knowing every word, tilting their heads back as if the music was an extension of their souls.

“And I’m better off now, my love. Too bad I can’t say the same for you.”

Khalani’s grin widened as she embraced the freedom around her. Her hips swayed more. Her shoulders loosened.

A short girl in a tight blue dress smiled at her, her eyes bright with encouragement while a man kissed her neck from behind. Khalani lifted her arms, closing her eyes as she surrendered to the erotic beat.

For the first time in memory…she was having fun.

And the thought that made her smile even wider?

Winnie would be proud.

An unknown person approached from behind, placing their hands on her waist. She immediately tensed and turned.

A man with blond hair and a captivating smile stood behind her. He pulled her hips closer, encouraging her to dance with him.

Her first impulse was to push him away, but she forced herself to relax. This was her one night to be a different version of Khalani. She could lose herself in the music like the other girls dancing around her, unburdened by the weight of survival.

She pressed her backside into the stranger, letting herself be free.

Khalani didn’t necessarily enjoy the way his fingers gripped her waist or the hot breaths in her ear, but she closed her eyes, pretending it was someone else.