As soon as he is unconscious, slumped against the counter, I grin with satisfaction.

The crowd is staring at me, gaping━shock, disbelief, flitting across their faces. But no one steps forward to help Reid, and I know that without a doubt, they will not interfere.

He deserved this one. Now, if only I knew where Derek was━but that's a different story. If I'm going to leave this place, I better go out in style.

"A drink," I tell the bartender, and I smudge the blood off my upper lip. Casual. As though I beat up people every day.

He slides a glass of tequila my way, and I swallow it whole.

I wish I could say getting black-out drunk was on my bucket list, but my twelve-year-old self never thought of it.

Hey, I'm making up for it now.

The music is loud, drumming against my temples, and I sway back into the rhythm of the loud lights and the twisting of hips and chests and sweat-slick silk.

Two shots down. I can feel a buzz, and my fingertips beat against the countertop. I want to dance.

Five more glasses. I stumble off the stool, making my way through the writhing, twisting crowd. I breathe in the scent of heat and sweat and sex, a tangible breath in the air, and I let myself get carried away in the flow of movement.

I don't let any thought of my mom, or Hunter, or Emilie touch me.

I just dance.

And if you hadn't put it together, karate makes for excellent coordination. So forgive me if I'm a little biased, but I'm an excellent dancer. Or, rather━an attractive one.

I feel strong, large hands planted on my hips, and instead of leaning out of the touch, I move into it. I want to feel alive. I want to feel something that isn't anger. And what's better than desire?

I don't need Hunter. I don't need her mouth or her fingers or━

I stop thinking before I can ruin what I'm doing now.

A male chest is behind me, and I curve myself into it, letting my arms sling back over his neck. Hooking him closer to me.

His deep, rough laugh ignites me. I don't know who he is━can't see his face. And so what if I'm not attracted to men? I can pretend.

I grind my ass back against him. The crowd is one tense, tangled swarm of heat and fire and tongues. Lips touch. Hands roam.

How long do I dance for? I don't know. I let myself get lost in the beat and the hum of the world. Lights explode into colour. Sensation swirls into agony. The heat between my legs pulses, but it's not the man behind me I want, it's her. Goddamn.

For a moment, the feel of his warm, strong chest behind me disappears.

The absence is like an ache, but in a matter of seconds, it is replaced.

"Hey, where'd you go?" I whisper, as his hands snake around my hips, cupping me to him.

Around us, I see men and women locked together, heat and need and craving, tensed into a palpable cloud of smoke and colour. I see a flash of familiar black hair━Mikayla━and a tall man, his hands beneath her shirt, his thumb circling her nipple.

Damn. She knows how to get it on.

The thought of her head back, moaning, experiencing pleasure, is what drives me back against the man. His warm breath trails over my ear, and I shiver. I need more. He seems to realize, and as I rock back against him, his palm slides over my stomach. Down to the apex of my thighs.

There is almost something different about the man's touch, something familiar. But I ignore it━lost in a frenzy of want. "Yes, like that," I say breathlessly, as the fingers reach my clit. Digging into that sensitive spot. Relentless.

The spotlights and the club music become a dull drone in the background. All I can focus on is that touch━narrowed down to my thighs. Teasing me through my clothing.

"Touch me," I whisper, and the hands obey. Through the belt of my pants, they snake beneath the fabric and meet the warm skin there. Flesh against flesh. The fingers swirl in a persistent, fierce circle, and my hips squirm back. More. More.

It's almost too much for me to take. The pleasure builds, a continual burn, and my hips resist━because I can't come here. I can't. The place is crowded, shoulder to shoulder with dancing people and yet━no one is watching us. No one is paying attention.

It's a public place, Jude, I scold myself. I can't let myself━

But then one finger slips inside of me. Curling against that sweet inner spot. I gasp, and my head falls back against the collarbone of the man behind me. A familiar touch, but I ignore it━ignore everything in me that screams suspicion.

A second finger follows. Plunging so deep inside of me that my back curves impossibly, my eyes closed and half-lidded. The music is a thrum in my chest, and my breath swells inside of me, too fast.

More, I think, even as I know I can't━

Desire. Touch and desire. The pleasure becomes persistent, and even as I try to push away, to resist, the heat builds inside of me. Becoming something fierce.

Even as I try to get away, I meet each stroke of the fingers with a desperate thrust of my own. No, no, not here, thinks the rational part of me, even as my body betrays me.

Whoever is behind me seems to sense the peak of my climax, because a hand trails up to my mouth, and I dig my fingers into the arm. The thumb traces my swollen lip, and it's too much━the fingers inside of me, the pressure on my clit━that I let go.

I bite down. Hard. My teeth sink into the palm of the hand on my mouth, hard enough to draw blood, but instead of anger, I hear an appreciative growl.

Carnal. A purely carnal wave of pleasure trembles through me.

I can't believe I did that. The crowd continues dancing, oblivious━until my eyes catch on a familiar red mouth, brown skin. Gianina. She is grinding against her own dancer, and she winks at me.

As though she knows something I don't.

I turn around.

The sudden absence somewhere during the dance━the strong male body that was replaced by something more skilled, more graceful━something that I ignored because━

Because what, Jude?

Hunter is behind me, and as she draws her hands from between my legs, she tastes the trail of my slickness.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I bark.

Drunk. I'm drunk. And I can't believe I just came in a public place, surrounded by people. Heat flushes my cheeks.

Hunter takes in the dark of my skin, examining the blush, and she says, "What did you think, Jude?"

And I don't know how I know, but I see a man sulking at the bar. A man in a dark trenchcoat. And I recognize him as Anise's partner, the Alpha's boyfriend or husband or fiancé or whatever.

Shit. That's who was grinding against me?

I don't admit I'm grateful to Hunter. I only say, "How did you find me?"

She smirks. "I just followed the trail of bloodshed. You beat up Reid, drank a gallon of tequila, and you started dancing."

"There's an entire crowd here. How did you find me?"

"Easy," she says, and she is wearing a dangerous grin. "About half of the men in this room are looking at you. I was ready to kill a few people and bury their bodies far beneath the ground just for looking at you, but I settled."

"You━" I sputter. "You . . ."

The predatory tone of her voice, the dark gleam in her eyes that tells maybe she isn't even joking, that if I asked her to kill, she would━it sets me off. Desire burns inside of me again, and my legs clench in an effort to hide what she's doing to me.

"Tell me, Jude," she whispers, stepping closer to me. I meet her challenge with my own, and I look up at her as she cups my chin in her hand. "Are you done?"

Are you done?

If I say yes, then she'll get the message. I have a feeling she'll leave me alone. She'll respect me━she'll respect what I want.

But if I say no . . . and I do want to say no. Because as much as I pretended to be angry at her for replacing the man, as much as it was a violation, I am craving her. I want more.

I lick my lips, and I give her a daring smile.

"I'm not done," I tell her. "Are you?"

I silence her dark growl with a kiss, and she takes me back to the bedroom.

>>>

Next couple of chapters are going to be quite steamy. I'd say sorry, but I'm unfortunately not.

From the moon and back,
Sarai