by Sharon Kay
He’d trusted her enough to leave her alone at the Lash house when he wasn’t around. And when a mission had been compromised, sensitive information leaked, Arawn had been furious. Watchers had been injured as they were ambushed. Luckily, no one was killed.
But the leak was traced back to Rhys, who would give his life before betraying any of his team, or his leader. Then two and two had clicked, and Sinna’s involvement was confirmed.
Rhys had been disciplined, given low level assignments for letting her close to their tech. She had been turned over to her clan leader—a favor—since Arawn knew the guy. Otherwise she would’ve been killed.
Her façade still haunted him. The times she queried him for details of what he did, and he thought she was genuinely hoping the Watchers would succeed. Yet throughout, she’d been relaying it all to her cronies.
Fuck. Thanks to her, a woman with tons of questions usually made him run the other way. But Enza pulled him as if an invisible string connected them.
She’s different. Honesty shone through her words. But Rhys had thought Sinna was honest too. Maybe he wasn’t the best judge of character.
But hell, he was going to find out. He could put up walls too. No need to say more than he had to. He’d find out what he could about Enza…then decide if he could risk letting down those walls.
CHAPTER 9
ENZA COULDN’T KEEP THE BOUNCE out of her feet as festival passers-by gobbled up the last of a cinnamon crumb cake that she’d broken into bite-size chunks. Standing in front of Java Genie’s booth, she hadn’t had to twist many arms as she held out her platter of free samples. The best part was hearing the nearly universal comment of, “Mmm, this is amazing!”
She ducked back behind the makeshift counter and set her plate down, nearly toppling a sleeve of coffee cups in the process. She caught them just in time.
“You are like, vibrating with excitement,” Meena teased. “When is Mr. Sexy coming by?”
“I told him any time after eight.” Enza tightened her ponytail. The heat wave had broken, but the food area of the festival was still hot. Next to them, a Thai barbeque booth did a brisk business grilling chicken, pork, and veggie kabobs. On the other side, a burger place cooked their flame broiled specialties. Enza fanned her face. “I hope I don’t look like a sweaty mess when he gets here.”
“Well, you had flour on your clothes last time he saw you, so he may not care.” Meena smirked. “Coat yourself in sugar next time and he’ll want to lick it off you.”
“Meena!” Enza took a long gulp from her water bottle. The day had flown by, but she hadn’t been able to resist an occasional scan of the crowds to see if Rhys had shown up early.
She, Meena, and Ben, one of the baristas, worked seamlessly together in the small booth. When the crowed lulled, Enza sat on one of the tall stools they’d brought from her kitchen. “Whew.” She surveyed the case of pastries, fully restocked for the fourth time. “Think we’ve made enough to cover the festival fee?”
“If not, then it was close.” Meena’s brows furrowed in concentration as she tallied the numbers. The woman’s brain was like a calculator. “We’ll make it up by the en—oh! Hello…” Her brown eyes widened as she looked over Enza’s shoulder.
Enza turned as if pulled by a magnet, knowing exactly who was approaching. Rhys. He strode toward their booth on long legs encased in perfectly-fitting jeans, and the women that he passed turned to stare in appreciation. A navy blue T-shirt stretched across his chest and biceps. Aviator sunglasses shielded eyes that she already knew could be playful or dangerous. And that held an oddly mesmerizing glow. Or had she imagined it, back at The Arboretum? That night seemed so long ago.
She stood and smoothed her black T-shirt. Java Genie’s name was emblazoned on the pocket with their logo, a winking, ponytailed, female genie hovering above a bottle and holding a mug of coffee. Maybe one of her own shirts would’ve been cuter, but she was proud of her business with Meena and, anyway, there was nowhere to change. She felt her lips curve into a smile as he neared. “Hi.”
“Hey.” He took off his shades and grinned. “Had a good day so far?”
“Yeah, busy.” Enza untied the half apron at her waist.
“Yes, I can part with her now.” Meena sighed dramatically, but her eyes twinkled. “You came at a perfect time.”
“I’m Ben. Nice to meet you.” Ben stuck out his hand. “Thanks for being there for Enza, the other day.”
Rhys shook Ben’s hand. “Of course. I’m glad I was there too.” His eyes slid to Enza. “You ready to go?”
“Yeah.” She waved to Meena and Ben and ducked out the side of the booth. She met him at the front and they moved through the crowd, away from her co-worker’s curious eyes. At one end of the block, a band made its best attempt at covering Eric Clapton songs.
“It’s good to see you.” The corners of Rhys’s sexy mouth tilted upward.
“You too.” Her words came out too breathy, but there was no way to calm down the heady anticipation of this moment.
They stopped to let two moms pass, each one pushing a double stroller containing a set of babies in matching outfits. Enza peeked at Rhys and found his twinkling eys locked on her. So intense, as if they were the only ones there. She took a greedy moment to savor the attention, feeling one part giddy, one part lucky, and to be honest, a little powerful. He wanted to be with her.
“Any place here you want to check out?” He made a quick scan of the restaurant booths.
“I’m kinda hungry.” On cue, her stomach rumbled.
He glanced at her as if he’d heard, though the surrounding crowd noise should have covered it. “You get a chance to eat?”
“No, I didn’t. And the Thai barbeque next to us smelled soooo amazing all day.”
“Then Thai barbeque is what you’re about to get.” He steered her to the booth, where she picked out a pork and veggie skewer and fried rice. She pulled out a wad of cash but Rhys stopped her with a warm hand on her arm.
“My treat,” he murmured. “You’ve been working your ass off all day.”
His voice rumbled through her, around her, and his touch sent tiny tingles racing along her skin. She couldn’t stop a smile as she looked up at his perfect mouth. “Thank you,” she said. Seating was limited and most people munched while they walked. Rhys held her rice box as she nibbled at the skewer. “Mmm, this is delicious. Want a bite?”
His lips twitched. “No thanks, I already ate. But if there’s anything you can’t finish, give it to me.”
“Ha. My grandpa says that all the time.”
“Well, if you baked it, I can see why.” He rolled his broad shoulders. “That pound cake rocked.”
“And you didn’t even get icing on it.” She bit a green pepper off her skewer.
“Rain check?”
“Sure.” Like she would say no. He could ask her to put her own icing on store-bought cookies and she’d be okay with it. “But I don’t make it every day. I like to give the customers variety. Then again, we have some regulars who always want the same thing every single day.”
“Takes all kinds, right?”
“Yeah, I guess. There was this one little girl, her mom would bring her in over the holidays, and she was the cutest thing. She loved the cranberry muffins. Wanted one every day, but she was like, the only one who did, so I alternated with blueberry. She was so sad when they weren’t in the case that I started keeping one in the back just for her. For the blueberry days.”
He tilted his head. “That’s really sweet. Some people’d be like, ‘Tough luck, kid.’”
She giggled. “Yeah I guess I’m a softie when it comes to kids.”
“You got nieces and nephews?”
“No, I’m an only child. Very boring. But I had my mom’s undivided attention.” She munched on a red pepper. “What about you?”
“Also an only.” He held out her rice. “Want a bite?”
She shook her head and he went on. “Did you grow up here?’
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“Yeah, lived here my whole life. I even stuck around for culinary school at Kendall. I love this city.” They slowed to make their way through a crowd gathered around a guy making balloon animals. “Where did you grow up?”
A pensive look crossed his face. “I’ve lived all over.”
Her pocket chimed with a familiar custom ring tone. Enza pulled out her phone to accept the call. “Hi, mom. Hang on.” She ate the last square of pork off her kabob and tossed it into a garbage can. “Sorry, I’m finishing dinner. No, I’m at the festival on Lincoln. We have a booth here, remember. Mm-hmm.” She covered her cell and whispered, “One second,” to Rhys.
He held up a hand. “Take your time,” he said, quietly, but her mom’s super-nosey hearing picked up on it.
“Are you on a date, Enza?” Excitement colored her mom’s voice.
“No.” Hell, yes. “I mean, kind of. Can I talk to you tomorrow?”
“Of course, sweetie. See you then.”
“Yep, I’ll be there. I love you. Bye!” She shoved her phone back into her pocket and peeked apologetically at Rhys. “We’ve done Sunday dinners as long as I can remember, but she still calls to remind me.”
“That’s cool. Family get togethers can be fun. As long as you all like each other.”
“Yeah, we do. It’s just my mom, me, and my grandparents. Her parents. They live close by.”
He nodded and they crossed the street to the activities on the next block. The dinner crowd was clearing out. Kids covered in various sauces played at a cluster of tables in a dining section. Strollers were parked around the perimeter of it like a colorful, haphazard barricade. “So, dinner with your mom, grandparents…is dad in the picture?”
“Oh.” Yeah, that would be a logical question. And his tone was curious, not invasive. “Um, he was never part of our lives.” She shrugged.
He slid his shades off and tucked them into his T-shirt pocket. “Sorry, I didn’t meant to pry.”
“No, it’s fine.” She wasn’t embarrassed that her mom had been a single mother. Then again, she didn’t usually launch into the details with people she didn’t know well. Time for a subject change. “Hey, that gelato place is awesome.” She pointed to a booth up ahead. “It’s the best in the city. And you should always have something sweet at the end of a meal.”
Again, Rhys insisted on paying and she let him. This was a date, after all, and she’d rather focus on him than discuss who paid for what. She stepped close to him as he guided her to a short stone half wall with a perfect view of the throng.
Families loaded up strollers and backpacks to leave. Dads carried toddlers limp with sated, gooey expressions on their little faces, as a younger singles crowd moved in. Music got louder, and colored lights over the booths added a party atmosphere to the night.
Rhys polished off his gelato in about five seconds flat.
“You should have gotten some real food!” Enza admonished. “Well, you still can. No shortage of that here.” Across the way, her favorite deep dish pizza place served up huge, steaming slices. “Like that. And that new celebrity restaurant is serving octopus.”
“Nah, I’m good.” He rested one foot on his opposite knee and chuckled. “Octopus. That’s kinda crazy. You ever had to make that?”
“Yeah. In school we made everything.” She scooped a bite of gelato. “I did it for class, but that’s one item I don’t need to make again.”
“What about baking? What’s your favorite thing you ever made?” He tilted his head, and she had the strangest desire to tell him anything he liked would be her favorite thing to make.
“Hmm.” She tapped a finger on her chin. “That would have to be the wedding cake I made for my friend Ava. Three layers, each with a different filling, decorated in white and red—it was a Valentine’s Day wedding. And since she was a close friend, it meant more. I was more invested. Not that I’m not always but, you know.”
“Exactly.” He turned toward her. “Certain things, you’re definitely in deeper with.” His gaze seared her as if he could see her darkest secrets.
She froze, caught in the magnetic pull of his eyes. Chocolate brown, they alternated between puppy dog, soft and cute, and a hot smolder that she felt down to her toes. She’d never seen eyes like his. On a crazy impulse, she dipped her spoon into her gelato and raised it toward him. He kept his eyes locked on her and leaned forward, eating the sweet treat in one big mouthful. Not greedy, not slowly, just enough to let her know he would take what she offered without hesitation.
Her eyes lingered on his lips as she dipped her spoon and took a bite for herself.
Why had she been afraid of him? The reasons now seemed so distant and harmless. Because he talked about elves and creatures that should only exist in books? Okay, so maybe he fought paranormal things, like on The X-Files. That just made him one of the good guys, right?
Suddenly she wasn’t hungry for gelato anymore.
“Wanna keep walking?” He reached for her hand.
Was she being that obvious? “Yeah,” she said, the word coming out more quietly than she meant. But he heard her, pulling her up.
She held out her nearly finished dessert. “Want the rest?”
A sexy grin tugged his lips up. “Always.” He devoured it in three scoops, then tossed the container. “Want anything else to eat? Drink?”
“No.” She shook her head. His fingers were warm as they laced with hers. She didn’t miss the stares of women who passed them, eyeing Rhys like he was water and they were trapped in the desert.
But he seemed not to notice, even pulling her close when a loud group of college kids careened into their path. Her body pressed up against his side and a jolt of heat zipped through her. It was familiar in a way, because she’d been laying on top of him at The Arboretum—but it was also a delicious, tantalizing sensory overload.
That night, after going through the portal, she’d been terrified. Now? She was curious, tempted, wanting.
He guided them farther through the booths and crowds, pointing at a starburst of color in the sky. “Always a reason to set off fireworks.”
“Hmm, yep.” Her hypersensitive nose was swamped with the light scents of his cologne, his soap, and a musky male smell she couldn’t describe. It was fresh and potent, like a forest on a rainy night. But that made no sense. There were no woods here, and no rain for weeks. She barely paid attention as they walked across a few streets, heading away from the festival. She didn’t care. Every slight brush of his body made her bite her lip.
Reaching a quiet park, they stopped. Enza looked around. Across the street, people milled about. The brightly lit buildings of a tiny college campus punctuated the darkness. But right around them, a little pocket of quiet enveloped them with sultry potential.
“Are we done with the festival?” This close, heat from his body surrounded her, even though he only touched her hand.
“We can be. That what you want?” He leaned in until barely an inch separated them.
Her breath caught. She knew exactly what she wanted and it had nothing to do with the damn festival. “Yeah. Done.” She dared to lay a hand on his bicep, feeling the hard muscle beneath smooth skin.
A rumble started low in his throat, piquing her curiosity, but also calling to her on a deep level. Somehow she sensed it wasn’t a warning, but rather, his heated response to her touch. Bolder, she slid her hand higher to the spot where his broad shoulders flowed into his neck.
He dropped her hand from his, only to possessively splay his fingers at her lower back. “Enza.” His voice was deliciously rough. Fierce determination darkened his face, but not in a way that scared her.
She had to tilt her head back to meet his intense gaze, and that flicker of light seemed to dance in his eyes, like it had at The Arboretum. Maybe a reflection from the lights around them? But it was dark…She wasn’t going to stop and process it. Her body was on a mission.
His hand threaded into her hair, sending tingles from her scalp to her co
re. He pulled her flush against him, hard muscles unforgiving, but everything about him beckoning her to wrap herself around him and let him do whatever he wanted. Her breath quickened and an ache started deep in her belly.
He lowered his head slowly, as if giving her the chance to wiggle free. But there was no way she would. Something innately feminine and primal screamed inside her that this was exactly where she was supposed to be.
She nearly whimpered at the sweet, soft brush of his lips on hers. Warm, with just the right pressure, he kissed her tenderly. She skimmed her other hand up behind his neck, pressing herself fully against him.
The first tease of his tongue sent a shiver of pleasure over her skin, tightening her nipples. She gasped and opened for him. He swept inside, his tongue tangling with hers. Hot, dominant, and controlling, he kissed her like he couldn’t get enough. He bent her backwards, supporting her and at the same time keeping her hips locked to his.
Oh god. She’d never been kissed like this. She wanted to melt and combust at the same time. A moan escaped her lips and he responded by delving deeper, rougher. All she could do was hang on to those perfect, thick muscles of his and hope she didn’t embarrass herself by orgasming just from a kiss.
Abruptly, he pulled back, only to sweep tendrils of hair from her neck and kiss a sensual line there. When he got to the spot just below her ear, she lost her ability to think. Everything in her world distilled down to his mouth, his arms locked around her. She needed this man like she needed to breathe. Hating the fact that they were in public, she shifted her hips as best she could, craving friction to ease the ache that had settled between her legs.
One of his hands palmed her ass, cupping her like she belonged to him. She gave up any semblance of trying to look like she was in control of herself and dropped her head back on a sigh. She wasn’t like this. She never had sex on a first date. But something about Rhys demolished her restraint.
She jerked her head back up, seeking his mouth, hungry for his sexy lips molding hers again. She started to tug at his shirt—
