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His eyes narrowed, but before he could respond, Bain and Shaw approached us. “Lach,” Bain began. “If you have a minute to discuss the matter of the—”
“Are you skipping your own orgy?” I blurted out.
“Why?” Bain purred. “Are you asking me to stick around? Perhaps business can wait.”
I choked. Before the shock wore off, Lachlan stepped between us. His jaw worked slightly. “She is not. I’ll be along shortly.”
“Don’t dawdle,” Bain said in a clipped tone. “And do let me know if you change your mind, Cate. I’m afraid this is a limited-time offer.”
“She doesn’t wish to participate,” Lachlan said through gritted teeth.
Bain shrugged as if this was no great loss to him but possibly one to me. “Then find a babysitter and hurry up.”
I was vividly imagining shoving a champagne glass down his disgusting throat when Lachlan turned to Shaw. “Keep an eye on her. I won’t be long.”
His brother nodded, but his face fell a little. I couldn’t blame him. If I was the orgy sort, I wouldn’t want to get stuck keeping an eye on someone who wasn’t.
Lachlan lifted his hand toward me, and for a moment I thought he was going to wrap it around my neck, drag me close, and kiss me, like he had that day on the street. Instead, he traced his index finger along my collarbone, trailing it to my pendant. “If you need me…”
I forced myself to nod, hoping that the noise of the crowd, which was becoming more salacious by the moment, swallowed the sound of my beating heart, the blood roaring in my veins, the slight gasp that escaped when that finger dipped slightly lower before it disappeared entirely.
As soon as they were out of sight, my legs buckled. Shaw’s hand shot out to steady me, his palm ghosting over my shoulder only momentarily. “You okay there?”
“I’m just a little dizzy.” I pressed a hand to my forehead and found it slightly feverish. “I haven’t eaten anything. Probably shouldn’t have had ambrosia on an empty stomach.”
“All the nudity probably doesn’t help, either,” he pointed out with a grin.
I smacked him on the shoulder, and he laughed.
We wound our way through the crowd in search of something to eat.
“Are all fae traditions so…pornographic?” I asked.
He chuckled, raking a hand through his hair as his eyes landed on someone in the crowd. “No. Some are even family friendly.”
Clearly, tonight was an adults-only event.
My gaze followed in the direction of his to find Titania tracking him from across the room. Apparently, she had eyes for both of the Nether Court princes.
“I think she likes you,” I said dryly.
“Titania? We’ve…hung out before.”
I refrained from asking him how long and hard they had hung out. It was obvious from the way he was looking at her that it was a memory he treasured. I shoved him slightly in her direction. “Go on. I can take care of myself.”
“Lach would kill me if I left you alone,” Shaw said, still looking at Titania longingly.
“I am just going to find something chocolate and hide in a corner to stress eat,” I said. “It’s an orgy. Live a little.”
He cast a doubtful look in my direction. “I shouldn’t—”
“You should. They don’t throw these every week, right?”
God, I hoped not. If I was going to be expected to attend regular orgies, I was going to have to get a lot more comfortable in my own skin or start bleaching my eyeballs.
“Just don’t go far. I’ll be right back,” he promised.
I shooed him away, glad that one of us was going to have a good night, then beelined for a dark alcove nearby, stopping only to swipe another glass of ambrosia from a passing tray. Lachlan had promised I was safe here. I might have relieved my conscripted chaperone from duty, but I suspected the order to protect me had been given to every Nether Court guard here, because no one approached me.