Chapter 26: The night bar

She tried to make herself smaller in the hopes no one would recognize her. A chorus of giggles followed them.
Color crept up Kyra’s neck into her cheeks. She didn’t look away from Conri, even when she knew she looked guilty. She could feel her sisters eyes on her and their silly giggles, they must have been after then to have come that early. “ Oh damn!! I think the spell is working! “ she could hear Dani exclaimed “ even though she was feeling really guilty now, she didn't deny it “ It certainly is sis, now please go inside ," she replied
"What spell are you talking about??" Conri asked truly interested.
"You don’t want to know," Kyra said. "Do we absolutely need to go in there? You have no idea how bad those ladies can get."
He smoothed back her hair. "I think I’ll have to hear all about this ceremony that has you so worried. Come on, let’s go in before things really get out of hand."
"Were things getting out of hand?" Kyra asked challenging him, was acutely aware of Conri’s palm burning through the thin material of her tank top as they walked up the ramp to the wraparound deck leading to the bar entrance. Her lips were swollen from his kisses, her skin tender from his five o’clock shadow. Her body burned, every nerve ending alive. The lace panty spell was a killer and she was planning on blaming her response to him entirely on that. "I thought things were moving along nicely." With no responsibility she could be as bad as she wanted to be. And she wanted to be very bad.
She went through the door as if in a dream, greeting so many familiar faces, waving at old friends, hugging a couple of the older women who came to greet their luna, many of whom she knows, others were new faces. A smile on her face, and all the time fear was creeping into her mind, drowning out lust. She could live with lust. She could live with his kisses and his body and be perfectly happy if she could walk away unscathed, but as she weaved her way through the crowd with Conri, the alpha and the most powerful man there, so close, she realized she was standing on the edge of a great precipice. One wrong step and she would be lost forever.
She had never stopped loving Conri, never. Not ever, even when she hated him and was so angry she lay awake night after night in her bed with her fists clenched, thinking up endless tortures for him. She had known all along if she were alone with him she’d be kissing him, wanting to see his gaze grow hot, feel the heat of his skin. She had thought she was so angry she could wrap it around her like armor and be protected, but her love welled up unwanted and scared her to death.
"Is something wrong?" He worked his way through the crowd, protecting her from the crush with his larger body as they made their way toward the smaller, more intimate tables at the back of the room.
It was impossible not to remember how he did that, the small things, making her feel so safe. So loved. Kyra turned her face away from him, wanting to weep with the memories of what she’d lost.
"Kyra." He curved his arm around her waist. "Tell me."
"I’m too afraid to love you again, Conri, I am afraid it will be too deep this time, I won't be able to survive it if you ever leave me." She made the confession in a low voice. The lump in her throat nearly choked her. "I can’t lose you a second time. I can’t lose myself a second time. I’m just not that strong." It hurt so much she couldn’t explain, couldn’t find words to describe the razor sharp cuts still so raw in her heart.
Conri drew her closer, moved onto the dance floor where he could safely hold her. He kept to the shadows. The tears shimmering in her eyes broke his heart. She fit so perfectly, her body moving with the rhythm of his, her face buried in his shirt.
"Let the past go, Kyra, you have to let it go or we’ll both lose. My life is better with you in it. Your life is better with me in it. We are mated now, officially, it will break me into pieces to loose my bond with you, damn! I could die! " His chin nuzzled the top of her head as his arms enfolded her close. And he wasn't joking, the tone of his voice convinced her so "If you reach out to me, just a little, my heart, we can make it."
She shook her head, denying something she knew was inevitable. If she didn’t step off the cliff and reach for him, he was already lost to her.
"I’m truly tired of not being with you Kyra. I stopped sleeping the day they took you from me. I stopped living life, I drowned myself in work after work, it's not the same without you. Do you remember what it was like together? My body curled around yours, holding you as we drifted off to sleep. I thought at first I’d be unable to allow anyone to sleep in my bed. I have no trust, but, with you, it was natural. You belonged with me. The moment my arms were around you, I was at peace. Do you remember the feeling, Kyra? Please tell me you do"
His whispered words slipped inside her, hovered there, brushing against the fragile barrier she tried to erect between them. The music was slow and dreamy, a soft blues number that matched her melancholy mood. She could feel the touch of her sisters and knew that theSo we're watching her closely, worried as they felt the strength of her emotions. She slipped her arms around Conri’s neck, trying not to weep.
"I remember." She choked out the words against his throat. "Can you hear me screaming in pain? Can you? It’s so deep I can’t ever get it out and it’s locked inside me forever."
He crushed her to him. "Yes. I’m screaming too." He held her, staying to the shadows, his face buried in her silken hair. He was screaming, deep inside where no one else could hear. Where it hurt so much he couldn’t find words to let it out. He had never needed anyone before Kyra had brought love and laughter into his bleak world. His duty had been his life and the wellbeing of the pack, in that barren existence there had been violence and deceit and even treachery. Kyra had been an unexpected treasure, precious beyond even his understanding until he’d lost her. It hurt like hell to know he was responsible for their pain. "I’m sorry, Kyra, believe me, I'm truly sorry."
She didn’t respond and he’d spoken the words so softly he wasn’t sure she’d heard him. He leaned over her and put his lips against her ear. "Did you hear me?" He couldn’t remember a time in his life when he’d said those words to anyone. When he meant them. And now he knew he would say them again and again until he put right what he had made wrong between them. He brushed his lips against her ear. "I’m sorry, Kyra, I’m sorry."
"I heard." Her fingers curled around the nape of his neck, stroked bare skin until he felt her touch burning through his body like a brand. "I heard you."
Lights flickered as the last notes of the song faded away and Conri turned her toward the back of the room and the small tables. Fitting her body beneath his shoulder protectively to prevent others from seeing her poignant expression, his gaze shifted around the room, a slow, unhurried examination, noting the placement of furniture, exits, and most of all the faces in the room. Couples held hands, some standing, some sitting. Kyra’s sisters sat together right next to their table Deliberately, Conri chose the small table between Kyra’ sisters and he took the chair facing the entrance, pulling hers around so she would be sitting beside him rather than across from him.
"Do you see the men at the table behind the partition?" He brought her hand up to his mouth and nibbled on her knuckles, smiling at her as he did so. "Just glance over at them, Kyra, and see if anyone is familiar to you."
She had all but forgotten why they had come to the inn. Abigail rested her head on his shoulder and shifted her gaze. People came from the various surrounding pack, and she might not know them all by name, but she knew their facet. She nodded and smiled at those she made eye contact with. Most of the younger men were staring openly at her sisters, and she could almost hear Dani tease Lola about a mate, . A few strangers hung out at the bar, around the dance floor, and in small groups at a couple of the tables. Behind the low partition a larger group of men sat together and they didn’t look as if they were enjoying the music all that much.
He drew her finger into his mouth, distracting her. Her gaze jumped to his face. She looked wary. Excited. Interested. He smiled at her. "You taste good."
"You better pay attention to your job and why we are here"
"I am paying attention, it's just that are distracting so much. A big distraction compared to my job here, as you call it. I have seen Dante and Viktor is with him. See that corner? “ he asked, pointing her to the far end of the bar.
“Oh they look so invisible, I am guessing what that feels like.”
She looked over at her sisters and could see that Dani’s eyes followed hers, and she could feel the tension between them.. Conri looked at them “ Is something wrong with your sister “ He had trained all his life to read the smallest details in expression and posture.
“ I think it is because of Viktor, he has not even come to their room since that night, I think she is just worried about him in a way”
Conri slipped his arm around Kyra. "I feel sorry for her. But there is nothing she can do about him now except bring him from his shell, it has always been like that with Viktor, we always bring him out of anything he is going through, no matter how strong he is. It takes so little for him to get locked up “
The band swung into a faster dance rhythm and at once the dance floor was crowed with swaying people. Conri watched as the sisters blended with the small circle where they danced together. "I don’t like the way Dante is watching your sister." he said as he worked his fingers through Kyra’s hair.
His chin rubbed across the back of her hand. Kyra found the small gesture sensual. Her awareness of him was so heightened she felt she could feel every breath he took. She tried to look over toward where Dante is casually, as if she were just sweeping the room. All the while she leaned into Conri, wishing she were in his arms again. Wishing she could turn back the clock. If she only had confidence in herself.
Dante was staring at the dance floor, even leaning forward in his chair. As she watched, he signaled to someone at his table without ever looking away from the dancers, put a wad of bills in the man’s hand, and sat back, still watching. Kyra followed his gaze to Dani.
Her sister was a wild, uninhibited dancer. A true musician, she lost herself in the beat, eyes bright with laughter, her body moving in a sexy interpretation of the rhythm. As Kyra watched, a stranger approached her sister, inserting himself behind her, moving with her in an attempt to "freak" dance. The moment his body touched her, Dani spun around, jarred out of her enthrallment. Beside Kyra, Conri tensed and half rose.
"Trust me Dani can take care of herself," Kyra assured him. "Lola And the others are there too She won’t want attention when she’s having fun. Look, that’s the manager." She indicated a man moving through the crowd with her chin. ”He’s not going to allow anyone to mess with her."
As she watched, came out of the shadows and caught the man accosting Dani and took him away from the floor. He did it without a sound, without fuss, so quickly no one seemed to notice. Dani stood for a moment, watching the two men disappear out the door, and then she shrugged, grinned at the manager, and went back to her dancing.
"What just happened?" Kyra asked. "I don’t know, I thought he would not speak to me”
He grinned at her. " I hope the eager young man is all right. Viktor, depending on his mood, can be a little enthusiastic about his protection." He nodded toward the wall behind Dani, and Kyra frowned when she saw the Viktor had returned unnoticed.
"That’s just creepy. He isn’t looking at Dani at all, so I didn't even know he would come out like that “
"He sees her. He sees everything."
"Great." Her fingers tightened around his. "How do you do this day in and day out? I’m a nervous wreck, worried about my family, you, what the heck they’re up to."
As the music ended, her sisters returned to their table. Dani paused and went up to Prakenskii. Abigail held her breath. The man wasn’t exceptionally tall, but he seemed to loom over her sister, powerful and looking enormously strong. More than anything he had an aura of danger surrounding him.
" I knowfor a fact that you have been avoiding me but I will like to thank you, let me buy you a drink," Dani said as he walked with her to the table. "It wasn’t necessary to rescue because I can take care of myself, but it was very gentlemanly. Thank you."
"You should be more aware of what is going on around you," Viktor reprimanded her. "And drawing attention to yourself by dancing so suggestively is utterly stupid for a woman in your position."
"Oh, God, I didn't think you cared, since you won't even speak to me, please don't tell me you are jealous." Kyra covered her face with her hands. It didn’t help that she could overhear their argument.
“ How can I be jealous? You are mine”
Dani tossed her head, sending her hair flying in all directions. Sparks fairly flew from her eyes. "Really? How lovely of you to tell me that."
"He had a silver knife on him and he carried a very powerful drug to put in women’s drinks." He ignored her outbursts as if he didn't matter to him.
Dani had turned her back on Viktor, but that stopped her cold. She turned back slowly. "Where is he? Did you get his name?"
"Did you know this man?"
"No, i don't. . . " She trailed off. "Where is he?"
" You don't need to worry about him, I have dealt with him in my own way”
She tilted her chin. "Men like that don’t need suggestive dancing to do what they do. They’re sick perverts."
"That is true, but it does not excuse your deliberately enticing men with your suggestive dancing."
"You are a jerk."