Princess

Chapter 11: First Dance

Damon

Slowly making my way in front of her, I extended an arm out. Because she was so fucking annoying, she obviously didn't take it immediately. Cocking an eyebrow, she shifted her weight onto one hip and took another slow sip.

"You dance?" She asked, smirking into her glass.

It wasn't often that people took their time with me. In fact, most knew not to keep me waiting even more than they did with my father. Everything I asked for, or more often demanded, was met with immediate results. My ego was taking a huge beating with my outstretched arm and she fucking knew it.

Doing what I wanted was never really Ariadne's thing.

"I told you, Ryder. You should take the time to get to know me."

Eyeing me skeptically, she finally put the flute down and her hand fell into mine, soft and warm against my calloused one and I let my fingers curl around hers, walking backwards while Etta James played in the background. The floor parted, making a clear path for us and when we reached the middle, I stopped.

She made no move to come closer, of course, so I erased the distance between us in one step, snaking an arm around her waist and resting my hand on the small of her back. My arm could wrap around the entirety of her waist–it was that tiny–and yet nothing about this girl was fragile or delicate. Lacing my free hand into hers, I paused as she rested her other arm on my shoulder. We swayed in comfortable silence.

The newlyweds looked disgustingly happy. I'd never seen two people more right for one another. Even if they might have hated each other in the beginning, they were so perfectly right. Francis had a difficult life and never believed he deserved anything. He never lived for himself, never wanted for anything. But the second he'd let Bella in, she took over–her natural warmth and kindness emitting off her like a warm light.

She was, by far, one of the best people I'd ever known–under all that glamorous exterior was always a girl with a heart too big for her own good. I'd always have Bella's back and I knew, without a doubt, that if I needed it, she'd have mine. She was loyal to a fucking fault and without her, I'd be nothing. The number of times she'd saved me without even knowing it was ridiculous.

Giovanni was getting on my nerves? I called Bella to make me feel better. Had to kill someone to keep their mouth shut? I called Bella to ease my conscience. Had to do something so dirty I couldn't even think about it? I called Bella to get my mind off of it.

If being a married woman was going to hinder her from picking up the phone, Francis was going to find himself as a freshly divorced man pretty fucking quick.

"Everyone's watching you," Ariadne cooed and I looked around the room to see that a decent pair of eyes were in fact fixed on us. Dean still had his arms around my sister and I narrowed my eyes at him briefly before he broke out into a grin that seemed like he was the luckiest guy in the world.

My eyes swept the room for where the angrier one of my best friends–the one who wasn't getting married likely now or anytime soon–was, when I spotted him with a predictable drink in his hand, watching my sister with eyes filled with rage. The intensity in it almost made me fear for Dean's life.

Eh. One less fucking body for me to dump.

Christian's jaw ticked as he took six, seven, eight deep breaths while gripping his tumbler hard enough to shatter. I didn't need to keep checking to know he wasn't taking his eyes off my sister anytime soon.

"I think they're looking at you, princess," I responded coolly.

"Not likely... Damon Hale dancing? I suspect it'll be on the covers of every magazine in New York tomorrow," she chuckled softly.