“You know she’s my stepsister, right?” Stone says, confidence seeping through his very being as he gives me a look that says way more than stepbrother-stepsister. In an instant, the look vanishes though. “We had things to discuss.”
“She’s not your stepsister now though.” She tiptoes her fingers up his chest, and I want to throw up. “Her dad’s dead.”
“You bitch,” I snarl. Lucas comes around me, grabbing me by the hips to steer me away.
Meghan is all smiles until Stone grabs her wrist, tearing her fingers away from him. “That was rude.”
“Well, it’s true,” she says, still using her teasing voice like this is all a part of her mating ritual. Flirting and insults. It’s disgusting.
“Come on,” Lucas says in my ear until I stop fighting him. If Stone is attracted to that kind of trash, he can have at it. Meghan turns, glaring at Lucas’s hands on me, but all I can feel is the heat from his flesh on mine, his fingers gripping my hips where my shirt doesn’t cover. “You can deal with that,” Lucas says to Stone, giving him and Meghan a mocking salute.
I let Lucas steer me away to where the radio is. Couples dance, swaying to the music like the stars above have put them in a trance. He lets me go in the thick of things and twists me around. “What are you doing?” I ask, placing my hands on his, which are still curving around my hips. The only thing is, I don’t shove them away. My fingers just stay there, like I’m holding him to me. His brown eyes capture mine. The bored look I’ve seen since he started school at Saint Clary’s is gone. In its place is a tumultuous hold on the present. He always has this way of simultaneously looking like a stray cat, but also with a sly gaze that says he knows too much. I heat under his inspection. “Stop touching me,” I say, my voice coming out too breathy.
“You like it when I touch you, Dakota. You might as well admit it.” He yanks me closer, and we start an easy rhythm of sashaying to the Imagine Dragons song that just started. My neck pricks as people watch us. I try to break free, but his hold only tightens, his hips firmly against mine as he pins me against him. Not to the point of pain, but to the point of captivity, caught between two steel arms. It’s not just his arms either. It’s his stare. His brown eyes shimmer with the reflection of the bonfire flames.
“What are you doing?” I ask. I’m used to flying under the radar, but this definitely isn’t that. It’s my book heroines who get dragged onto a dance floor with the sexy guy who says something to them that they’re not used to hearing. Do I like it when Lucas touches me? In two words, fuck yes. But that’s my body talking, not my mind.
“What am I doing?” he asks playfully. “Holding you. I thought that part was obvious.”
Despite trying not to dance, I get carried away. His hips move against mine, and if I didn’t move with him, it would just look awkward as fuck. “Why? You came here because of Lance. That’s it. You’ve done nothing but treat me like shit.”
A small smile parts his lips. “That was when you were working against us. You just said that we can have you, and I mean to take you up on that.”
“I meant as partners. Partners in treasure hunting, Lucas.” I manage to make enough of a gap between us, so he can read my face clearly. “Nothing more.”
He lets go, his face pulling taut. “I guess you can head back over there and let Meghan pick you apart then. Would you rather that?”
“Meghan?” I scoff. “Please. She’s tried her best since Kindergarten, but I’m still standing. Her idea of winning is pointing out how she’s the best while tearing everyone else down. She’s a coward, and if I felt the inclination, I’d kick her ass. Instead, I find her sad and petty. I don’t give a fuck what she thinks, nor anyone in Clary for that matter.”
A slow grin tracks over his face. “There you are.”
I narrow my gaze.
He takes a curl that came loose from my topknot and holds it between two fingers. “I was surprised to see you here, like this.” His stare eats me alive. It’s simultaneously sexy and dangerous. “For years, I thought you were shy, a little meek. But you’re also funny, adventurous…” He drags his gaze down me again. “…sexy.”
I bite down on my lip, wishing his words away. “That’s where you’re wrong. In Clary, I’m an outcast. You’ve been here a few days, so I’m sure you’ve heard the stories. The rumors. The whole town thinks the Wilders are a bunch of freaks.”
“You know what I think?” Lucas asks. He cups my face. “I think—”
A booming voice interrupts us. “What the hell are you doing?” Wyatt asks.
I jump, immediately moving away from Lucas after getting caught in his stare again. Somewhere in our conversation, I’d completely forgotten the stay away from the archenemies rule. His hand was on my cheek, and the way he stared at me... It almost looked like he was going to kiss me.
“Fuck off, Longhorn,” Lucas spits, his voice thick with alcohol.
Wyatt grabs a hold of Lucas’s upper arm and drags him off to the side. They stand and argue. I can’t hear what they’re saying, but their shoulders are tense. I hug myself, close my eyes, and try to talk some sense into my brain. I can’t get caught up in them. This is a business transaction, nothing more. In fact, I’m using them to find my father.
“Hey, are you okay?”
I peek up to find Stone. He’s looking over my head at Wyatt and Lucas arguing, but then he moves his gaze to meet mine. I cock my
