I do. I’ve got this. Sunny stepped from the shadows...and got hit with a wave of nervousness as people looked her way. What if she didn’t have this? Perspiration wet her palms.
No, no. I can do anything.
“—like a computer,” a guy sitting at one of the tables was saying. He had a familiar voice. “I’m serious. She can break a code with only a glance. Any code. It’s shocking to witness. She’s—no way! She’s right there!” The speaker pointed at her and waved. “Sunny! Sunny Lane. Hi. I’m Harry. Harry Shorts. Can I buy you a drink?”
More people looked her way. Including William. Their gazes met. Suddenly, she felt as if she’d been smacked with a crowbar. She lost her breath and stutter-stepped.
He studied her face, his attention lingering on each individual feature. His features darkened with heat.
The heat of attraction? She licked her lips, the nervousness gaining new ground, beading sweat on her nape.
She scowled. Finding a target sexy? Fine. Whatever. Being fluttered and maybe even kinda sorta aroused by one? No! Unacceptable. Either he exuded some kind of lust dust—yes, yes, all his fault—or mating season had screwed with her hormones early. Or both!
Then he turned away, dismissing her, and Sunny skidded to a halt halfway to his table. Sage! He didn’t want her? She ran her tongue over her teeth. Irritation overshadowed the nervousness. Her heart calmed and her blood cooled, the synapses in her brain firing again.
The prick is going down. Determined, she glided forward once again. When she reached his table, she stopped, expecting him to notice her arrival. He didn’t.
She worked her jaw and—her eyes widened. Oh, wow. He wielded magic, too. A lot of magic. Ancient, dark and powerful. The air around him vibrated with it, making her skin tingle.
The women ignored her as well, too wrapped up in William to care about anyone else.
Eventually, William stiffened ever so slightly, and she had to fight a smile. Breaking news! His awareness of her hadn’t dulled in the slightest; he just didn’t want her to know it.
Too bad, so sad. Deep breath in, out. Mistake! His scent... She closed her eyes and savored, her mouth watering. He smelled like angel food cake laced with crack.
Calm. Steady. No need to act like an uncouth wolf-shifter.
“—my best thinking naked,” he was saying to Jaybird and Cash, pretending Sunny wasn’t there. “You?”
Enough! “Hi. Hello. Hey,” Sunny said, rapping her knuckles against the table. Blowing this already.
At first, only the women acknowledged her presence. But William continued talking and sipping his whiskey, and they forgot all about her.
She rapped the table again.
Finally, he canted his head in her direction, all languid grace self-assurance. He made a real event of it, too, as if premiering a blockbuster movie. Why bother going to so much trou—ohhh. That’s why. Up close and personal, his eyes were even more of a showstopper, sparkling with arousal, glinting with a sheen of icy rage and glittering with steely determination.
Electrical currents zapped her nerve endings, and she almost yelped. Ignore the hint of pleasure. Forge ahead.
She pasted on her best come-hither smile and waved. A wave? Seriously? Get it together, Sun. Remember what his family did to yours.
As she balled her hands into fists, he looked her over slowly, starting at the bottom and working his way up—singeing her. When he reached the apex of her thighs, shivers and heat consumed her.
No, no. I will not react. He—and mating season—will not affect me.
His gaze continued moving up, singeing hotter...
He reached her pasted-on smile and unveiled a smirking grin. But...but...why?
“How may I service you, pet?” he asked, slow and deliberate.
She felt the words like a caress. Wait. Pet? Pet! Such an insult to her kind! “In ways you never imagined, handsome,” she replied, careful to moderate her tone. She glanced at Jaybird, then Cash. They had to go. Letting her savage, violent side glaze her eyes, she snapped, “Get lost.”
William’s smirking grin made another appearance.
Jaybird stared at him, exasperated. “Are you going to send her away?”
“No,” he said simply.
“Fine. She’s all yours. We’ll go.” With a huff, she stood. Paused. Waiting for him to stop her? When he remained quiet, she flounced off. Cash and the other female followed.
Here’s hoping Willy-boy is just as easy to manipulate. “Hello.” Ugh. Not this again. “I’m Sunny. My turn-ons include kindness and responsibility. I look twenty-one, but I’m older. Promise!” Nearly ten thousand years old.
A flash of intrigue, there and gone. “I’m William. Lovers call me the Panty Melter. Everyone else calls me the Ever Randy. My turn-ons are living and breathing. I’m older than twenty-one, as well.”
Mmm. His voice...like audible sex. If women were “sex kittens,” this man was a “sex panther.” Meow.
What are you doing, admiring him? She reminded herself of his many crimes. Long ago, Lucifer and his horde of demons had ridden into her village. They’d raped, pillaged and utterly slaughtered her people. Men, women and children. Her family. Her friends.
Sometimes, when she closed her eyes, she still heard their screams.
The only home she’d ever known had been razed, and the entire scope of her life changed.
There’d been six survivors, Sunny included. No one remembered seeing William, only Lucifer, but Willy must have been involved. Why else would Lucifer have cried, “For William”?
Perhaps the Ever Randy had planned the raid. Perhaps he’d hidden behind a mask. Either way, Sunny had lost everything. Even the other survivors. To better the odds of hiding their origins, they decided to split up and reach out only when necessary.
She and Sable were together now only because Sunny had requested assistance.
Fingers snapped in front of her face, yanking her back to the present.
Realization: she’d gotten lost inside her head. Did she want to die? Sunny repasted the smile on her face. “Ever Randy, hmm? Does anyone call you ER for short?”
“Only if they wish to die,” he replied, his tone dry. Despite the dryness, he thrummed with tension. Did her nearness rattle him?
“So he’s cute and ferocious. Good job, Sunny.” She patted herself on the shoulder, playing her role. “I picked the best slab of beef in the deli.”
He win
ged up one brow. “So I’m a piece of meat to you?”
“Yes, pork chop. Yes. But in my defense, I only think it because I’m right.” She leaned over and patted his cheek, the urge to slap him almost impossible to ignore. “You should come with a warning label. Or eyeball condoms.”
“Why? Do you plan to stuff your eyes inside my sockets?”
“Maybe?”
“Sorry, but I think I’ll pass.” He crossed his arms, his shirt pulling taut over deliciously flexed muscles. “No, you know what? I’m feeling daring today. Let’s go for it. Gotta try everything once, right?”
A laugh slipped from her. What the hellebore! A prince of darkness would not amuse her. “Sorry not sorry I sent your companions away. When I want something, I go for it.” Truth!
He moved his gaze over her once again. “And you decided you want me?”
His tone...she thought she detected a hint of certainty and uncertainty. How odd. “I spent a whole five minutes planning your seduction. That’s six minutes longer than usual.”
“That means you’re only twenty-four hours behind me,” he replied, ignoring her screwed-up math.
Did he make a joke...or a statement of fact? Did he just admit to attending the conference to find her?
So. There’s a chance I was wrong. A chance he knew or suspected who she was, and he’d come to stop her—forever.
Rage flared anew. Soon, it would be appeased...
For now, she forced another smile. The jerk had yet to invite her to join him, or express a desire to leave with her. Playing hard to get? Time to take their banter to the next level to give him an excuse to act. “If you were a pizza topping, you’d be hamburger and jalapeno, because you’re grade-A beef and hot. I’d be ham and pineapple because I’m salty and sweet.” No. No way I just openly compared us to pizza toppings, as if we’re taking a Facebook quiz.
Okay, so she didn’t just suck at flirting. She sucked, period. But wait! He smiled a genuine smile, not one of those smirking grins, as if she’d truly amused him. The sight made her belly quiver.