“Who knows?”Kylie shrugged.“It’s a big ship.Lots to do.”
I nodded.“I’ll have to beg her to repeat her spell for the Christmas Eve show.”
Kylie laughed.“Careful what you wish for.Remember what she did to Van?”
“How could I forget?”She’d pranked Van Tyrian, the singer for the ship’s rock band, one night, making him bray like a donkey or bleat like a sheep, among other embarrassing outbursts.I took a sip of my drink.“Mmm, this is delicious.”An echo of that strange heat from the stage crawled across my skin again.
Someone was watching me.
I looked up and there he was across the bar.
The man from the shadows with intense eyes.
Heat rippled through me.My panther rose inside, curious, urging me to move closer.
Settle down,I told her.Yes, he’s hot.So what?
Nothing new.I’d met my share of supernaturals since joining the Moonlight Siren, with more than enough hitting on me week after week.Some promised me the moon, the stars, but I knew better by now.I was past forty now and beyond falling for false promises.They’d chase me for me for a night, maybe two.But it was never real.Nothing more than a fling that ended when the vacation was over.Sure, a brief encounter here and there was fun.But a long-lasting relationship?No.To me, that was just make-believe.
He moved toward me, and I ceased breathing.Tall and broad-shouldered, his suit fit like sin over his smooth muscles.His amber-gold eyes fixed on me, flashing with a shifter’s glow as he approached.Slowly.Steadily.
My pulse tripped.My panther went still, silent and waiting.
Only feet away now.
Dragon shifter, I guessed.From the mesmerizing hue of his eyes to the way he moved so sinuously under that suit.
I inhaled to make sure.His scent tickled my nostrils—smoke, spice, and definitely dragon.The world tilted.My heart slammed against my ribs.
My panther purred, deep and resonant.
Mate.
The word split through me like a crack of lightning.
No.Absolutely not.
I gripped the bar to steady myself.The lounge seemed too bright, too loud.Kylie said something I didn’t catch.I tried to focus on anything to ground me.A few final snowflakes drifted down and vanished.
Maribelle.Her spell must have misfired.Maybe she’d mixed in a little love charm by mistake.
Or on purpose.Some sort of love potion?
When I searched around, nothing confirmed that.Sure, some couples were being affectionate, but nothing out of the ordinary.No one was attempting to climb a partner like a tree the way my cat was purring inside.
Because the alternative—the idea that fate just walked into my lounge in the form of a dragon shifter with golden eyes—was impossible.And dangerous.
“Bria, did you hear me?”Kylie’s voice cut through the noise.
“What?”I turned to her, confused.
“I just introduced you to Darius Morand.”She pointed to my glass.“You’re drinking his rum right now.”
I blinked as I tried to figure out what she was talking about.Was rum a euphemism for something dirty?My cheeks heated.
“In yourpiña colada,” she explained.“Darius owns a rum distillery.”
His intense eyes remained locked on mine, but now they flickered with amusement.As if he knew what I’d been wrestling with.
