it’s so you can watch me hula later,” Dana teased her mate as she strolled to the table beside theirs, a provocative wiggle to her hips. Rekkus growled at her—he actually growled—as he joined her.
“I think you should hula too,” Josh said with a rakish grin, those sexy dimples making her warm all over as he flashed them at her. He adjusted the flower in her hair with a gentle touch, and a feeling ran through her—something not sexual, something else entirely. At first she was afraid because this feeling was strange and new, something she’d never felt.
When she finally named it, a deep contentment settled into her bones.
Recognition. She finally knew who he was.
He was that other part of her that had been missing all this time. He was the piece of herself that she’d always had to live without.
She hadn’t even known he was lost from her before she found him.
The earth moved under her feet as every priority in her life subtly readjusted itself. From that moment on, every facet of her life would circle around the central core of her relationship with Josh.
A sudden burst of anxiety flashed through her as she considered just how thoroughly her entire existence would change. Then he ran his hand softly over her hair once more in a gesture so tender her breath caught.
“I’ll hula for you,” she promised, “tonight and every night for the rest of our lives.” She pulled his head down to hers for a soft, sweet kiss, keeping the tightest rein possible on her power to drain him so that only a bare trickle of his life energy flowed into her.
Yet even after she’d broken the contact, she could still feel him resonating next to her, their energies vibrating together, strumming her body like the sweet overtones of a pair of violins perfectly in tune.
The meal tasted delicious, though unconventional for New England, and between courses the twenty or so guests participated in a variety of cheesy games and dance contests. Josh and Adriana won a bizarre-looking tiki statuette for passing a round breath mint back and forth the most times using only toothpicks held in their teeth.
“We’ve got lots of practice at not using our hands,” Josh said to the losers as they took their seat back at the table.
The tiki’s wide mouth gaped open in a friendly grin, its black eyes shining in the torchlight almost as if it really looked at her, as if it knew a secret it wasn’t quite willing to share.
The party wrapped up at last, and Josh and Adriana waited for the elevator along with Preston and his date, Josh playing with the hem of her blouse.
“So, Josh”—Preston turned to them—“I hear your company is publicly traded.”
“I’m sorry? What?” Josh dropped her clothing. “Yes, for the past three years. Why do you ask?”
Adriana narrowed her eyes as suspicion ran through her. “Mr. Mitchell here is an investment banker. My family has worked with him a great deal over the past years. I’m sure he’s always on the lookout for a new opportunity.”
“Absolutely,” the older man agreed. “What’s the stock symbol for your group, Josh? I’d like to look into it as a potential addition to my clients’ portfolios.”
Josh rattled off the letters, but the elevator doors opened before anything more could be said. As the two couples rode together to the third floor, Adriana studied Preston’s profile. She knew what he was thinking. Preston Mitchell was one of the paranormal world’s most illustrious investment bankers. He was completely human, but a financial wizard in his own right and had been sought out by the Syndicate as a liaison between Wall Street and their wealth. He would be certainly familiar with her family and the Lamia Council.
They stepped out into the hallway and the couples parted ways. As they entered Josh’s room, Adriana told Josh she’d be right back. Then she headed down the hall where Preston was opening the door of his own room.
“Mr. Mitchell.”
“Please, it’s
“I think you should hula too,” Josh said with a rakish grin, those sexy dimples making her warm all over as he flashed them at her. He adjusted the flower in her hair with a gentle touch, and a feeling ran through her—something not sexual, something else entirely. At first she was afraid because this feeling was strange and new, something she’d never felt.
When she finally named it, a deep contentment settled into her bones.
Recognition. She finally knew who he was.
He was that other part of her that had been missing all this time. He was the piece of herself that she’d always had to live without.
She hadn’t even known he was lost from her before she found him.
The earth moved under her feet as every priority in her life subtly readjusted itself. From that moment on, every facet of her life would circle around the central core of her relationship with Josh.
A sudden burst of anxiety flashed through her as she considered just how thoroughly her entire existence would change. Then he ran his hand softly over her hair once more in a gesture so tender her breath caught.
“I’ll hula for you,” she promised, “tonight and every night for the rest of our lives.” She pulled his head down to hers for a soft, sweet kiss, keeping the tightest rein possible on her power to drain him so that only a bare trickle of his life energy flowed into her.
Yet even after she’d broken the contact, she could still feel him resonating next to her, their energies vibrating together, strumming her body like the sweet overtones of a pair of violins perfectly in tune.
The meal tasted delicious, though unconventional for New England, and between courses the twenty or so guests participated in a variety of cheesy games and dance contests. Josh and Adriana won a bizarre-looking tiki statuette for passing a round breath mint back and forth the most times using only toothpicks held in their teeth.
“We’ve got lots of practice at not using our hands,” Josh said to the losers as they took their seat back at the table.
The tiki’s wide mouth gaped open in a friendly grin, its black eyes shining in the torchlight almost as if it really looked at her, as if it knew a secret it wasn’t quite willing to share.
The party wrapped up at last, and Josh and Adriana waited for the elevator along with Preston and his date, Josh playing with the hem of her blouse.
“So, Josh”—Preston turned to them—“I hear your company is publicly traded.”
“I’m sorry? What?” Josh dropped her clothing. “Yes, for the past three years. Why do you ask?”
Adriana narrowed her eyes as suspicion ran through her. “Mr. Mitchell here is an investment banker. My family has worked with him a great deal over the past years. I’m sure he’s always on the lookout for a new opportunity.”
“Absolutely,” the older man agreed. “What’s the stock symbol for your group, Josh? I’d like to look into it as a potential addition to my clients’ portfolios.”
Josh rattled off the letters, but the elevator doors opened before anything more could be said. As the two couples rode together to the third floor, Adriana studied Preston’s profile. She knew what he was thinking. Preston Mitchell was one of the paranormal world’s most illustrious investment bankers. He was completely human, but a financial wizard in his own right and had been sought out by the Syndicate as a liaison between Wall Street and their wealth. He would be certainly familiar with her family and the Lamia Council.
They stepped out into the hallway and the couples parted ways. As they entered Josh’s room, Adriana told Josh she’d be right back. Then she headed down the hall where Preston was opening the door of his own room.
“Mr. Mitchell.”
“Please, it’s
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