The target wasn’t a bad dancer. If he hadn’t been on the devil’s side she might have even enjoyed herself. She ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, scraping the skin with her nails. A shiver ran through him. His pupils dilated. His erection brushed against her as he pulled her closer.
She turned in his arms, allowing him to move against her ass, hoping her partner was done. His hands roamed over her bare legs, trying to slip beneath the hem of her miniskirt. If his fingers moved two inches higher he’d find a four inch stiletto pinning his foot to the floor. She wanted gone from here before she found herself thrown over Tristan’s shoulder and carted out of the bar. She’d hate to have to explain to Robin that she’d been forced to break the target into tiny little pieces for being too grabby. Again.
Akane looked up, trying to locate her partner, and damn near shrieked in surprise.
Right in front of her was one of the handsomest men she’d ever had the misfortune to meet. His sapphire eyes were blazing with anger. Dark blue silk stretched across massive shoulders. Tight, dark jeans were molded to his legs like a second skin. Those scarred hands took hold of the Tristan’s and twisted, sending the Sidhe reeling back in shock and pain.
“Mine.”
“Sorry.” She turned to find Tristan’s eyes narrowed. He studied Shane, way too closely for Akane’s comfort. “Don’t I know you?”
Shane grinned. “Nope.” He took hold of Akane’s arm and pulled her to the middle of the dance floor. “You are in deep shit, Miz Akane.”
It took everything in her to keep from twisting his fat head off his neck like a bottle cap. “I’m working.”
“That’s one word for it.”
She gasped in outrage. If he said that again he was going to be known as the Cockless Wonder. She allowed herself to be pulled into his arms just so she could hiss in his ear. “Do you know what you have done?”
“Nope. Don’t care either.”
The anger still appeared to be riding him hard. She was surprised his magic hadn’t escaped his control, filling the air around them with sparks or painting the whorls of a leprechaun on his skin. Only Shane’s eyes glittered with an almost inhuman rage. His attention wasn’t focused on her, though. His eyes were tracking Tristan Malmayne as the man made his way back to his seat.
“Robin will be here shortly.”
That got his attention. “Shit. You meant you were working, didn’t you?”
She gritted her teeth. “How attached are you to your balls?”
He had the audacity to laugh down at her. “Pretty damn attached.”
She pulled his head closer. “That was Tristan Malmayne. He might have given me an in with the Malmaynes if you hadn’t fucked it up.”
“They know who you are and who you work for, remember? Didn’t you damn near hand out business cards the day Duncan explained to his ex-clanmates why Charles Malmayne had been executed, and by whom?”
She grimaced. True, she’d told the Malmaynes in the room who she was and backed up Duncan’s declaration that Charles’s execution had been legal and fully justified. That didn’t mean she still couldn’t work the case the way Robin had asked her to. Besides, Tristan hadn’t been in that room, may not have gotten a good enough look at her through the satellite feed Duncan had set up. She could have pulled it off, especially the way Tristan’s hands had been inching up her skirt.
Shane lifted his head and pulled her so close she could practically feel his heartbeat. “Your mom called. She said hi.”
Akane bit him through his shirt. The son of a bitch had been talking to her mother?
He pulled her head closer with a happy sigh. “She also said happy birthday.”
Akane attempted to lift her head. It was like trying to lift a Chevy Tahoe with her pinky. Damn, the man was strong. She usually snapped people like twigs when they annoyed her, but Shane was made of sterner stuff. He was the only person she’d ever met, other than Robin Goodfellow, who could physically haul her places she didn’t want to go. She’d kicked him once, and instead of the satisfying sound of bones breaking, he’d barely grunted. “You’re dead. You know that, right?”
She felt the rumble of his chuckle under her cheek. “Dance with me, sweetheart.”
She rolled her eyes. He was not going to wiggle out of his imminent demise that easily. “Sweetheart? Since when?”
“Since the moment I saw you.” He allowed her to lift her head, and she was under no illusions about that. He allowed it. “No matter your form, no matter what Robin asks of you, remember one thing: you belong to me.”
The song changed, slowed, and Shane began to dance. He moved against her with a sinuous grace that shocked her. For a brief, shining moment she pictured them moving together like this in bed, and she damn near came on the spot.
She had to get away from him before she did something she’d really regret, like rip those clothes off him and screw him right in the middle of the dance floor. Hell, with the way her luck was going recently Tristan Malmayne would offer to join in.
“Dance with me. Let’s give Mr. Malmayne a real show.”
Akane glared up at Shane but couldn’t hold it. He was right. If she couldn’t seduce Tristan the way she’d originally planned, she’d seduce him by being in someone else’s arms. She followed Shane’s lead, dancing with him the way she’d meant to dance with Tristan. She kept the majority of her attention on Tristan, watching him, gauging his reactions to see if it was working.
It wasn’t. He’d already found himself someone new to play with, a pretty little blonde with deep brown eyes with just a hint of… “Oh shit.”
“What?”
“The blonde with Tristan?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m pretty sure that’s Robin.”
Shane paled. Good. The man had some sense of self preservation. “Wow. He moves fast.”
She exchanged glances with her partner, relieved when the man nodded and headed for the door. “Time to go.”
“You have what you need?”
She looked back, only to find Tristan watching her leave with Shane. His expression was chagrined as he realized he wouldn’t get another shot at her. Little did he know. Akane planned on giving him as many shots as he wanted to take. “Yup.”
She headed for the door of the bar, Shane one step behind her. When they exited the building she braced herself for an unwanted meeting with the Hob. “Etienne, did we get what we needed?”
“In a way, oui.” The French Sidhe shrugged. “His thoughts were filled with you, but his mind is sharp. He almost detected my meddling. I was barely able to touch on the information we needed. We’ll need to set something up again where he’s distracted by you.” Etienne gestured to the side of the building, away from a group of people heading into the bar. “Personally, I was surprised to find a Malmayne in a place like this. It’s not up to their usual standards.”
Akane nodded. “The lord of the manor slumming it.” The place wasn’t bad at all. Akane had spent many a pleasurable hour in bars much like this one, where the drinks flowed freely and the music was loud and driving. It soothed some of the wildness in her to get out on a dance floor and give in to her dragon, if only a little.
“Maybe he feels free to do so knowing Henri and the girls are in New York.”
Akane and Etienne stared at Shane. “How do you know that?”
“I ran into them there briefly. I didn’t stick around to chat, though. They were kind of irritated with me.” Shane shrugged. “It might have been the face full of slush that did it.”
Akane opened her mouth to ask, then closed it again. She did not want to know. She turned back to Etienne, ignoring Shane’s amusement. She’d have to find out from Robin if any Blades in New York were keeping an eye on the trio. “What did you learn?”