Kat frowned after him, tense. It wasn’t the first time she’d met a man who made her instincts howl. But here, among people who were, by definition, the good guys? She snorted in disgust at herself.
She was getting as paranoid as her mother.
THREE
Adelicate crystal cup appeared before Kat’s eyes, held in a strong brown hand. “You making friends with the werewolves too?”
“Werewolves?” Startled, she looked up at Ridge. “I thought you were all either vampires or witches.”
“Majae,” he corrected, and took a sip of his own cup. The contents were a delicate pink. Apparently he wasn’t restricted to blood. “They don’t like the ‘w’ word, remember?”
“Majae. And vamps are called Magi.” Kat sipped, and smiled at the spicy-sweet bite of alcohol blended with fruit. “Grace gave me the lecture. She didn’t say anything about werewolves, though.”
“We didn’t know about them until recently.” He rested a warm hand on the small of her back, and she walked along with him. “Seems Merlin didn’t entirely trust us, so he created a race of Direwolves to make sure we didn’t step over the line. They’re immune to magic, so in a fight they’d probably kick our collective asses.”
“So why’d Arthur invite them?”
Ridge shrugged. “Why not? They’re our allies now, and it’s Christmas. Arthur invited all kinds of people to the party.” He nodded at a small glowing figure that darted past through the air, looking rather like a giant firefly. “Fairies, dragons, a shape-shifting unicorn or two.”
“Y’all have interesting friends.” Absently, Kat put her drained cup on a passing tray. As the tray retreated, she did a double take. No waiter carried it. It just glided along through the air, apparently surfing on a wave of sparks. “I am definitely not in Kansas anymore.”
“Want to dance, Dorothy?” Ridge gave her a rakish smile and held out a hand.
“Why not?” She rested her palm on his and let the vampire lead her into the ballroom.
he Latent waltzed very well, following his lead with an athletic ease and grace. Her train had some kind of wristband she’d hooked one hand through, and she held her arm out to the side so the skirt swirled around them like water. The slit flashed glimpses of long leg that heated his libido to a smoky simmer.
He found his gaze lingering on her sultry mouth under its coat of bronze gloss. Her scent was intoxicating—female flesh, some exotic floral perfume, Latent potential singing a siren song in her blood. The combination made his fangs ache.
It was far too easy to imagine how she’d taste.
He’d never Turned a Latent—doing that kind of thing without permission could get you an order of execution. Mageverse Fever was nothing to screw around with.
But he’d heard there was no experience quite like having a woman Change as you spilled yourself into her. Merlin’s Gift igniting in her cells, activated by contact with a vampire’s magic. . . .
Yeah. They said it was something.
Assuming you could ignore the cost she could end up paying for all that power.
Janice, screaming as she burned in the demon’s fire . . .
Ridge smelled her blazing hair as her shrieks of agony deafened him. The magical flames seared him as he tried to beat them out with his bare hands. . . .
Too late. Too goddamn late.
His feet faltered, and he lost the rhythm of the dance.
“Hey, you okay?”
Janice was gone. The eyes that looked up at him were Kat’s, blue and smoky and concerned.
“Fine,” Ridge said curtly. “I need some air.” He released her and strode toward the French doors that led out into the moonlit garden.
It was warmer out there than it had any business being this time of year. Apparently one of the Majae had cast a spell to ensure it was just cool enough to be pleasant on a dancer’s heated skin. Ridge drew in a calming breath and walked across the stone-paved patio.
Kat trailed him, frowning in concern. “You sure you’re all right?”
He turned to look down into her lovely moonlit face. “Why do you want to do this? Become a Maja?”