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Suddenly, the man behind her was ripped away.

A loud, powerful punch cut through the music, and before she could react, a stronger, taller figure came up behind her.

Goosebumps prickled her skin despite the heat of the room.

The newcomer’s left hand gently cupped her neck, his thumb resting behind her ear, while his right hand pulled her back against him.

She didn’t need to look to know who it was. Even blindfolded, she would recognize Takeshi by his touch alone. No one else was built like him or radiated this chaotic energy that pulled you in before he carved you apart.

Get another drink, the logical part of her brain said. Get some fresh air. Distance herself from the one person who could eviscerate what was left of her fragile heart. She knew Takeshi would let her go the second she asked him to stop.

But every place his fingers brushed felt as though her skin had never been touched there before. As if her body were a desert to explore.

The music echoed louder in her chest, and she swayed back and forth.

“And you know they can’t stop staring at me. But my eyes were made to look at you.”

His fingers spread across her lower stomach, guiding her movements with his hips.

“They never believed in us, baby. I dare you to make a believer out of me, too.”

Her hands stretched to the ceiling as Takeshi grasped her elbows and pulled them behind his neck, fastening her to him. His head bent, and she felt his lips trail gently across her skin.

They didn’t need to speak. Their bodies whispered for them.

As if dancing were another way of saying, ‘Hide from the world with me.’

She let her head fall back against him as he held her close, moving his hand down the front of her body. His strong fingers glided past her exposed collarbone, lingered around her breast, and traced a path down her stomach to the hem of her dress.

She breathed faster, the constant, resonant beat matching her racing heart. Everyone disappeared around them, like they were the only ones standing beneath the surface of the Earth.

Her eyes fluttered open as Takeshi’s fingers moved under her red dress. In front of everyone.

She initially glanced around, a terrifying exhilaration taking over her body, but no one was paying attention. The lights dimmed, and the crowd was lost in their own world of desire and bliss.

Takeshi’s deft fingers hypnotically slid back and forth on her upper thigh. Though the dress still covered her, she felt naked to him, nearly groaning as his finger moved slightly higher, teasing against her skin.

Every moment of pleasure she’d ever experienced couldn’t compare to the thrill and heat she felt in that moment. Takeshi’s mouth grazed her ear, his soft tongue sliding against her, and she bit her lip. When his strong hand gripped her thigh, her neck craned back.

Go higher,she nearly begged.

His touch was an electric current burning her alive. Erasing every previous lover from memory—completely ruining her for any other man.

His fingers caressed her neck, and he whispered in her ear, “Breathe for me, Kanes.”

Her breath hitched as his nails gently scraped against her upper thigh.

She pressed her hips back, arching against him, indifferent to who surrounded them. Raziel was probably watching them from the bar right now, but they were lost in a universe of their own making.

“If I touched you right now, what would I find?” Takeshi whispered. She licked her lips, her mind too scrambled to answer.

“Tell me, Kanes. How soaked are you for me?” His teeth tugged the end of her ear.

She gasped, her core on fire. Khalani was certain that at any moment she’d melt at his feet like a burning candle.

So, she pushed him further. “Not in the slightest.”

His chuckle was laced with darkness, his index finger gradually moving up her thigh, tracing higher and higher.