Death of Me | Now Published to Kindle and Paperback!

Fancy Seeing You

"Juliette," I forced past my dry throat as I shook his hand. His grip was firm, but just as gentle as his onyx eyes when they met mine. "And this is Devyn."

"It's nice to meet you," he said, the timbre of his voice falling just a bit as he turned to her.

"Likewise," she answered, turning her head to me with a kind of what the fuck look on her face. I just shook my head in response. I had no idea what was happening.

"Bastian, you're making them swoon," Jack drawled, causing me to shift my attention back to him. He winked at me, which caused my ears to burn as the blush tried to work its way onto my face. Thank goodness it was so dark in the club.

"Well, this has been fun," I said, shaking myself in an attempt to return to reality. "But as you can see, I'm fine. And we're going." I snatched Devyn's hand and made to take off. Something about being around the two men was making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It was a reaction to the air of darkness that clung to the two of them as they settled into one of the most secluded booths in the club. The same one in which Vincent had sat with that weasel-faced man all those weeks ago. And while I had always felt safe and at ease with Jack, something about the current scenario had set my teeth on edge, and I wanted out.

Devyn apparently had other plans. She pulled against my retreat and tossed a flirtatious smile back to the two of them. "Would you two like to take some shots with us?"

Sebastian grinned and looked to Jack, who just shrugged. Something told me he had felt the snub when I tried to dash off but was taking it in stride. As if my thoughts had summoned his attention, he settled those tawny eyes on me. My breath caught as he let them slip over me from head to toe, and I could feel his gaze like a caress. My heart thundered, and a lazy smile stretched his mouth like he could hear it.

"Don't mind if we do," Jack said. He got to his feet with the fluid grace I was used to seeing him with in the studio, and I let out an exasperated huff. So much for girl's night. Jack stopped next to me and met my eyes again. My anxiety must have been written plainly on my face because he said to Devyn and Sebastian, "I just need a quick word with Jules. We'll catch up."

"You sure?" Devyn questioned, glancing at me. When I nodded, she grabbed Sebastian by the hand and dragged him towards the bar. My head was spinning from the mixture of the liquor, dancing, and this strange encounter, so I lifted my hands to massage my temples.

"Juliette," Jack said, taking a step towards me that brought him close enough that I could feel the heat of his body. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" I asked, my head popping up to look at him. His eyes had lost all their playfulness and it was replaced by the softness I was familiar with.

"I didn't mean to ambush you." He ran his hand through his hair. "This really was a complete coincidence. I know that you were trying to have a good time with your friend tonight, so I'm sorry if we interrupted."

I snorted. "If anything, we ambushed you. Devyn took one look at your pretty face and all but demanded to meet you."

"You think I'm pretty?"

"Shut up," I said, all the tension leaving my body as I shoved his shoulder. I couldn't believe I had been so keyed up over Jack. This was the man who was helping me learn to hold my own in a fight if it ever came down to it. What was I thinking? "So, you told Sebastian about me, huh?"

It was his turn to flush pink. "I may have mentioned there was a chance we could run into one of my clients while we were out."

"Uh huh."