He raised his eyebrows suggestively. “Catholic school girl, huh?”

“Ha, don’t believe the hype,” I quipped, earning a laugh from him. I laughed with him, aware that I hadn’t been this relaxed in a long time and never with a boy who wasn’t Roland, Peter or Greg. I always figured that if you talked to boys too long, they’d make something out of it. I wasn’t the best at reading male signals but Samson seemed to be genuinely interested in only talking. Maybe he was tired of girls clamoring for his attention all the time and just wanted some normal conversation.

Our laughter drew the curious stares of the people nearby. I caught Dylan’s eye and he winked at me. I couldn’t tell if he was playing along with his earlier comment about me crushing on him or if he was insinuating there was something going on between me and his drummer.

I turned my attention back to Samson and I found him watching me with a soft, almost wistful expression. As soon as our eyes met, he turned on his good-natured grin again, but it was too late. Oh-oh, there it was. I groaned inwardly. Men need to come with a user manual. One that said, ‘Don’t push this button.’

My first impulse was to start looking for a way to politely slip away from him. But then I thought, Why? I liked Samson and he seemed like a great guy, we laughed a lot and he hadn’t tried anything inappropriate. He hadn’t even pushed me to drink more like a lot of guys would. And it wasn’t like I had anything to be afraid of. I was here with Roland and Peter and a Mohiri bodyguard.

Samson must have seen the conflict in my eyes because he stood and said, “Come on, we can’t sit over here by ourselves all night. People will call us wallflowers.”

“Ha. Can’t have that. It would totally ruin your image.”

“Damn straight.” He took my hand and pulled me to my feet. The world spun for a second and I suddenly remembered why I didn’t drink. Only two beers and I was tipsy.

Samson reached out to steady me. “Whoa. Lightweight.”

My scowl only got a laugh from him. “You know what the best cure is for that?” he asked and I shook my head. He tugged me toward a group of people dancing on the other side of the van. I tried to pull back because I wasn’t much of a dancer, but he wasn’t having any of it. I soon discovered that he wasn’t much better than me but that didn’t stop him. Soon I was dancing with everyone else and really enjoying it. We danced two fast ones before it switched to a slower song. Samson stood back and gave me a questioning look. I shrugged. What the heck?

He was a lot taller than me so my head came only to his shoulder. It felt awkward at first, dancing so close to him but he suddenly began dipping me and acting all goofy. I was flushed and laughing by the time the song ended. Could I really be enjoying myself at a party… with a boy? What had come over me?

A sudden annoying niggling sensation in my head told me a Mohiri was near and my lips thinned as I scanned the area looking for Chris. What was his problem now? Was dancing with a boy some kind of security risk? When I found him I was going to let him know how creepy it was to have someone watching me all the time.

My watcher stood in front of the lighthouse, arms folded and a shuttered expression on his face. When I faced him, he moved slightly and I saw the set of his jaw and the stormy stare that I was starting to think he reserved just for me.

Lucky girl.

Chapter 9

I pulled away from Samson and started walking in the opposite direction.

“Are you alright?” Samson asked behind me and I slowed to let him catch up. It wasn’t his fault I was being stalked by two overbearing demon warriors. The absurdity of that thought almost made me burst out laughing. I just smiled instead.

“I’m fine, just a little thirsty.”

“You want another beer?” he asked, stopping by a large cooler.

“Water if you have one. Or a soft drink is fine.”

He looked in the cooler. “None here. I think we have some in the van. Be right back.”

I knew Nikolas was behind me and I turned to confront him before he spoke. “What are you doing here?”

Nikolas’s brooding eyes studied my flushed face for a moment before they moved to the van and back. “Obviously protecting you from yourself. Are you drunk?”

My spine stiffened. “No, I’m not drunk. And even if I was it would be none of your business.”

His expression did not flicker. “You are my business. Whether you like it or not, you are one of us and we protect our own.”

Indignation flared in me. “First of all, I am nobody’s business and I don’t belong to you or your people or anyone else. This bossy act might work on little kids but it won’t work on me, and if I want to party with my friends or drink or do anything else, I will.”

I had no idea what made me go off on a tirade like that. I swear something about Nikolas pushed all my buttons. Maybe I resented him for being the one to turn my life upside down. Or maybe he reminded me how weak I really was out there in the world. Maybe it was me and not him at all.

I began to whirl away from him and stumbled, and his hand shot out to steady me. “You are drunk.”

I was wrong. It was all him.

“Everything okay here?” Samson asked.

I tried to make my expression neutral when I faced him. “Peachy. My… cousin was worried that I might be drinking too much. He’s a lot older than me and way too uptight.”

Nikolas’s eyebrows shot up and Samson did not look convinced. “Cousin, huh?”