Chapter 162 Chapter 162

Chapter 162 Chapter 162
Amber

My heart had no business feeling so disappointed at his words.
Damian kept observing me keenly and I kept the smile plastered on my face as if to say ‘Yes, of course’ even when something tight and foolish twisted low in my chest. 
I hadn’t asked him for anything out loud but he had almost sensed it and then politely shut me out like he was closing the door just when I was about to knock on it.
“I wasn’t even asking you for anything,” I muttered, eyes fixed somewhere past his shoulder so he wouldn’t see whatever I was trying to hide from my face.
Damian’s steps never faltered. One dark brow arched, and the corner of his mouth tipped up in that maddening almost-smile that always made my stomach drop.
“No?” His voice stayed low, and warm against the shell of my ear. 
“You could’ve fooled me. You went quiet the second I mentioned waiting. I’d dare say you even went all soft and disappointed in my arms.”
“I did not.” I vehemently denied his claims.
“You did.” He turned us in a smooth arc, the hand at my waist firm enough that I felt every finger. 
“It’s cute when you pretend otherwise. Makes me want to see how long you can keep the act going.”
I shot him a look that was pure warning. But he only looked more amused and his silver eyes darkened like he could call me out for my lie but was choosing not to.
Before I could fire back, the principal’s voice boomed across the stage again, all bright and slightly shaky.
“And now the remaining heirs! Please come forward and choose one from your hunters to join the first heir on stage. Let the dance expand!”
Ryker moved first. He extended a hand toward a tall girl with a long dark braid and sharp cheekbones. She stepped up without hesitation. 
Soren followed with a lazy flourish, selecting a girl whose red-streaked hair caught the floating lights who grinned like the whole thing was a game. Maybe it was a game to her.
Kade simply jerked his chin at a broad-shouldered girl with a thin scar along her chin who joined him with a short nod.  And Caspian’s choice was a slender girl with silver earrings and watchful eyes who moved like she already knew every exit.
Four new pairs took the floor and the music swelled to accommodate them. Suddenly the stage felt crowded with every heir and chosen hunter dancing under the same cold night sky.
I tried to catalog faces and commit as much detail as possible to memory. There definitely was a reason the heirs chose those girls, something must be special about them and I spent the next few minutes trying to gauge how exactly they would become a problem for me in the hunt.
Damian’s hand tightened on me imperceptibly and he spun me hard without any warning.
My back slammed against the solid wall of his chest, breath leaving me in a short, helpless gasp. One of his arms looped across my waist, locking me there while we continued to move. 
The hard length of him pressed along my spine which was impossible to ignore. 
His mouth dropped close to my ear as he started delivering a rapid stream of information between controlled steps.
“Found anything useful about them?”
I turned sharply to him. “What makes you think I was doing that?”
He snorted. “Your eyes still cant lie, Red. Tell me what you’ve figured out so far.”
I let my gaze slide over all the girls. “Uhh, they all look loyal and reckless to their respective faction heir”
He spun me around.
“Not enough”
I tried again. “Give me a few minutes…” but he grabbed my hand and twisted us inside out like a wave.
“Ryker’s is Lira. She is left-handed and prefers short blades. She is loyal to a fault and won’t break formation even if it kills her.”
“Okay”
 Soren’s girl is Talia who uses dual daggers. She is feral, likes to bait opponents into overextending so she can cut them down.”
I tried to absorb it all but somewhere around the second line, his free hand had started to move, and concentration became a losing battle.
“Kade’s is Mira. She fights dirty when cornered and loves to make others bleed.”
“Mhm” I made a sound as his fingers trailed along the high slit of my dress, brushing the bare skin of my thigh in a path that made my pulse stutter hard. 
He didn’t stop and part of me rejoiced when his fingers kept climbing higher with the next turn, skimming the sensitive inner curve where the fabric parted.
“But you have to be especially careful of Caspian’s Elara who is quiet but deadly. She specializes in traps and terrain advantage.”
His touch was lingering and just long enough to make my breath catch before sliding away again. 
“Did you pay attention?” He asked and I had opened my mouth to reply but then his hand rose to my waist, palm spanning the curve, thumb stroking in lazy circles that sent heat pooling low in my body. 
“I…did” I managed.
When he turned us the same hand continued upward, knuckles grazing the side of my ribs, the edge of my breast, before settling against the sensitive skin above my collarbone. 
I stifled a gasp barely hearing his next words as he traced the line of it with the pad of one finger, slow enough that I felt every millimeter.
My breath hitched audibly.
“Lira is left-handed,” I whispered, fighting to keep the names straight while his body stayed pressed fully against my back. “Talia l-loves blood…”
“That’s Mira,” he supplied, voice dark with quiet amusement. 
He pulled me even flush against him, chest to back, and the hand at my waist began a leisurely stroke up and down the curve of my hip, fingers dipping occasionally beneath the edge of the dress’s high slit. “Focus, Red. You’re slipping.”
“I am focusing.”
“You’re confusing Talia and Mira again.” His mouth brushed the shell of my ear on the next turn, the barest graze of lips. “That's two different girls. Keep up.”
I glared at him and he tipped his head to the side, looking at me innocently. "What?"
He was baiting me to tell him to stop touching me. And Goddess help me, I should say that to him. But I was too selfish to ask him to step away when he was willingly touching me. I needed this before the Hunt, I needed this warmth and heat of his to keep myself sane for the next twenty-four hours.