Wild Cards

by Katalina Leon

  Stunned, her breath caught. “Is that the…?”

  “Yep.” He beamed. “It’s the same ring. After you returned it, I went back and bought it. I’ve been holding on to it.”

  “Oh, Kai!” She swallowed her emotion, her heart racing. “You bet I’ll marry you! Hurry up, put the ring on my finger.”

  Plucking the ring free, he slid it onto her left hand.

  Adara gazed at her finger. “I love it.” She brushed an errant strand of hair from her eyes and felt they were tearing. Emotion welled in Kai’s dark gaze. “I take it we’re not going back to Vegas?”

  “We could, if it’s important to you.” He stood and wrapped his arms around her. “Or we could live somewhere near San Buena, where the desert canyons meet the sea.”

  She gazed up at him grinning like a fool. “Fire and water, together forever.”

  “That’s what I’m thinking.”

  The surf roared in. The blowhole exploded into a tremendous plume. They were both drenched in salt spray and laughter.

  The End

  Author’s Note:

  Did you enjoy meeting Kai and Adara and taking a wild gamble on love? Want a little more Sorcery by the Sea? If you enjoyed Wild Cards, you’ll love meeting Fredi and Gus in Hoodoo Blue. A blonde BBW witch with attitude and a hunky Lycan get trapped together on a blind date. It’s very sexy and full of laughs.

  Once you’ve read Hoodoo Blue, you’ll never forget the wayward witch Estele. Kooky Estele’s story is next. She is trying to graduate from the Master Mage Magic Academy, and the seaside town of San Buena will never be the same. Yep, Estele has been a very bad girl, and she’s going to meet her match in a handsome Brujo who drives an enchanted food truck. I’m going to mix Estele’s brand of loopy spellcasting with a priceless gem of infinite power, malicious demons bent on world domination, and thousands of innocent people at a county fair—what could go wrong?

  Also, look for The Strix and the Emerald Isle Enchantment boxed set.

  And there are more series coming ….

  Look for other titles by Katalina Leon

  The Strix

  Emerald Isle Enchantment boxed set

  Star Crossed, contemporary romance boxed set

  Dark Sky, contemporary romantic suspense in California’s high desert.

  Hoodoo Blue, paranormal romantic comedy with a hot Lycan.

  Vampire Picnic, Ravenscroft, meet sexy Irish Vampire Rory Ravenscroft. Free Read!

  The Virgin and Her Wolf, wolf shifters in Vegas. 1NightStand Decadent Publishing.

  Portrait of a Lone Wolf, wolf shifters, book seven, Black Hills Wolves, Decadent Publishing.

  Uncaged, book twenty-five, Black Hills Wolves, Decadent Publishing.

  MacBrun, Bearly a Nip, sexy bear shifter.

  Wild Cards,

  Bonus Scene

  Katalina Leon

  Copyright Katalina Leon, May 2016

  Hot Tree Editing, Becky Johnson, Liv Ventura.

  Cover art, Andy Atkins

  Prologue

  Wild Cards

  “Her Smile”

  Katalina Leon

  To stay sane, everyone had some sort of quirky little ritual they did every day. Some people drank coffee every morning from a special mug they’d grown superstitiously attached to. Some watched a few minutes of a favorite rerun, even though they’d memorized each line long ago.

  Kai had to see a woman smile before he could start his day.

  There were a multitude of beautiful women hanging around Vegas, but only one mattered. The object of his obsession was a curvaceous redhead named Adara, who worked in Poseidon’s Palace as a croupier. He’d read her name on a badge in passing, and it had never left his mind.

  They were both employees of the same casino, and he was a house detective, yet he knew little about her. Part of him liked it that way. He’d never asked or dared investigate her further for fear he’d discover she had a horrible personality, a jealous husband, and a van full of screaming kids.

  Better to just leave it alone and allow his comforting little fantasy to simmer on the back burner. A smile now and then wasn’t much, but he had to have it. If nothing else, the idea of her, the shy but perfect lover, carried him through the current hard patch in his life and gave him something to look forward to each day.

  He padded in sandals along the colorful, marine-themed carpeting. The hotel seemed especially busy. Busloads of tourist had rolled in early for the long Memorial Day weekend. He worked the night shift, so his day usually began at 2:00 p.m. with a swim in the Palace’s Olympic-sized pool. In the desert climate, he craved being near water and swam laps until his lats cried for mercy.

  But first, he’d walk far out of his way to pass by the gambling pit and catch a glimpse of Adara before her shift ended at two thirty.

  Sometimes she looked directly at him, her gaze following him across the pit like a cat watching a fluttering bird. Other days a brief nod or smile as he passed was all she could spare. Of course, she was busy—a croupier couldn’t take their attention away from the table—but now and then she glanced up and offered a big radiant smile; her amber eyes would twinkle and his day was made.

  Later, while he swam monotonous laps back and forth across the pool with his lungs aching for breath, he’d think about her and feel alive.

  She might have been interested in him, but nothing came of their daily interactions. Speculation was all he could safely manage. After the mess he’d created of his personal life, he had no business dating anyone and was reluctant to even flirt.

  Getting comfortable, growing attached, putting down roots—these were out of the question. Not here. Not now. The flame-haired croupier would just have to remain a symbol, an attractive placeholder for a future that couldn’t happen until he earned his way out of the personal gulag he’d been banished to named Vegas.

  For most people, Sin City was a treat, but for him, it was a calculated punishment. The worst thing anyone could do to him would be to separate him from the sea. He’d fucked up badly and got himself exiled from his beloved Pacific. An enraged Oceanic Council of Elders had banished him here to do penance, and he was determined to learn his lesson and go home.

  Kai strode through the hotel corridors with a towel thrown casually over his shoulder. A sunburned family smelling of coconut-banana sunblock slogged toward him with their flip-flops slapping. They looked happy. The father carried the younger of the two boys on his shoulders. The sight made him feel extremely sentimental and resentful at the same moment.

  He pushed his sleeve back and brushed his fingertips against the neat rows of tiny black triangles his uncle had laboriously, painfully, tapped into his flesh with a sharpened shark’s tooth. He’d never met his father. His poor mother barely knew him. According to her, she’d been surfing in a deserted cove in American Samoa when a handsome man with compelling dark eyes and strong features literally appeared next to her in the ocean. She’d never seen him paddle out; he’d simply materialized beside her, riding a surfboard. He’d introduced himself as a son of Tangaroa, the god of the sea. Because he was so good-looking and rode powerful waves fearlessly, she’d assumed his comment was meant to be sarcastic or cocky. It wasn’t. They’d spent a lovely day together, surfing, walking the beach, and later spearing and grilling fish. One thing led to another, and they spent the night as lovers under the stars. The next day he vanished, leaving a pregnant nineteen-year-old as the only proof he’d ever been ashore.

  A fellow hotel security officer named Burt, who always had a kind word for him, approached. “Good afternoon, Mr. Moana.”

  Kai stopped. “How’s it going? Did your guys ever find out who tried to pass the counterfeit cranberry chip in the pit last Saturday?”

  “No.” Burt shook his head, which fluffed his feathered blond ’80s hairdo into a mane. “If they’re smart, they won’t try that stunt again. Every casino in town pulled their cranberries from circulation and are on the lookout.” A tense moment of silence filled the a
ir. He licked his lips and appeared nervous. “Mr. Moana, there’s something I’d like to ask.”

  “Kai,” he gently corrected.

  “Kai.” Burt gulped. “Is there any chance I could be trained and transferred to your division?”

  With a heavy exhale and his empty palms raised, he made the universal gesture for dude, I got nothing. “Burt, I don’t have a division. The paranormal house detective unit—or PHDs, as Roy jokingly refers to it—is just me. Humans weren’t even supposed to know about any of this.”

  “Yeah, but once I noticed you and Roy were… err, a little different from everyone else, I couldn’t un-see it. It made so much sense. You’re perfect for undercover work. I grew up thinking people like you didn’t exist. But don’t worry, I won’t mention it to anybody.”

  “You’d be a fool to mention it. Try telling people I’m a half-human, demi-divine water elemental who acts as a house detective-slash-bouncer kicking supernatural riff-raff out of the hotel-casino when they misbehave. I’d like to see their faces. As far as joining me goes, it’s not my decision. I’m just a temp. What does Roy say? He outranks all of us.”

  Burt thrust his hands into his pockets and lifted his chin. “Roy said I should stay where I am. That it would be safer for me.”

  “He’s right. It would be.” The eager look on Burt’s face made him want to spare the poor bastard disappointment. “You really don’t want to get tangled up in paranormal crime when you don’t have the skills to cope with it. I don’t mean that in a condescending way, I’m just being practical. You saw what happened to me last week when I kicked that cheating demon out of the poker room. That was nasty.” He pointed to a gash across his brow. “A slight miscalculation and I could have lost an eye.”

  Burt’s overall look was one of hollow defiance. He knew he didn’t have a chance but wouldn’t be deterred. “Roy promised to use me more often on the ‘special’ cases.”

  Kai patted Burt’s arm. “Pray to God he won’t call on you. The work’s not glamorous. Remember those gargoyles that were monopolizing the slot machines during spring break? They spit acid. Burns like a sonofabitch. Why would you want to get involved with something like that?”

  “I don’t know—excitement?”

  “Be smart. Steer clear of Roy’s paranormal house detective work and do some good where you can.”

  “Sure.” He shuffled his stance. “But we have some weirdo convention opening this Friday.”

  “Which convention? There’s a lot of weird ones. Weasel Fanciers of North America comes to mind.”

  “This one is a full-on freak fest. Occult Arts Convention. Sounds tame, but it’s not. They’re taking over Ballroom C all weekend. Expect witches, bitches, and sniveling wizardly snitches. You weren’t working here last year when they rolled into Vegas, but I was. They all bring their ‘familiars,’ so watch where you step. Don’t assume someone dropped an Almond Roca, when it’s likely jinxed cat shit. I won’t be making that mistake again. The infighting, potion spilling, and carpet damage was off the charts. Trust me, you’re going to need some extra help with that group.”

  “I’ll keep it in mind.” He stepped back, anxious that his opportunity to glimpse Adara before she left the pit might slip away. “I gotta go.”

  “Okay, but call if you need me.” Burt turned and walked away to continue his rounds.

  Kai crossed the lobby. Burt had watched in slack-jawed awe as he’d single-handedly doused a flaming demon in the main restaurant’s lobster tank then wrestled the snarling creature into a cab and sent him packing. After that, Burt followed him around like a puppy waiting for the next spectacle.

  Burt looked up to him, which was an odd phenomenon by itself. He wished he had as much confidence in himself. All his life, he’d never been anything special. Half human and half divine, both parts of him were seemingly unwelcome everywhere. The fishing village where he was born had shunned his mother as a liar. She’d been forced to raise him on her own, working as a hotel maid and moving from island to island as needed. Throughout his childhood, if he wasn’t in the ocean, he was inside a large corporate-run hotel such as this one. It had been a consistent but lonely upbringing.

  The gambling pit lay ahead. He descended a shallow staircase. The roulette tables were near the far wall. Strolling past rows of slot machines, he noticed elderly women wearing red hats operating each one. What was that about? At least no one had a live weasel perched on their shoulder as they drank and gambled. That convention had been a challenge for the janitorial crew.

  Turning the corner, he came to the roulette wheels and there she was—Adara. No one was at her table. She stood at attention, discreetly scanning the crowd with a Mona Lisa expression on her face. When he came into view, her lips parted and a sun-bright smile dazzled him.

  Her hands were clasped primly behind her back. “Good afternoon, Mr. Moana.”

  He wore swim trunks and noticed her gaze sweep along his bare legs before she made eye contact and composed herself. His face heated and chest tightened. Why did this unassuming woman—who, by Vegas standards, others might call plain—put him into such a tailspin every time he came near her?

  With a tilt of her head, she looked deep into his eyes, as if she were searching for a long lost object. “Doing your rounds?”

  “Not until four.” She knew he worked hotel security, but he was fairly certain that was all she knew. Adara turned away for a second to pick a forgotten chip off the floor. He stole a quick peek. Man, she had a gorgeous ass, high and round. Wouldn’t it be fun to mess up her sheets? He gulped. “I’m going to take a swim first.”

  She pointed her thumb over her shoulder. “You’re a hell of a long way from the pool, my friend.”

  Wow. They’d crossed some sort of invisible boundary. He’d just shared more words in the past minute than he’d spoken to her in a month. And he was officially busted. How would he explain why he was there? “Recon. You can’t do enough of it.”

  A nod of agreement was her only response.

  Hoping to sound professional and not flustered, he brought up business. “How has traffic been today?”

  “Light.” She gestured toward the table. “Would you like to play with me?”

  He licked his lips. Was it wishful thinking, or had she just flirted with him? Now what? His shoulders tensed. “Roulette? I’d rather throw my money from the roof of this building and watch it float on the breeze. My chances of getting it back would be better too.”

  “Hush.” Adara held a finger to her rosebud lips. “Many people still love this game. It’s risky, moves fast, and provides an easy rush.”

  Speaking of a rush, his knees went weak. What was with this woman? It got hard to breathe, as if someone had sucked the oxygen from the room. “Are we still talking about roulette?”

  In this light, her eyes were flecked with gold and had a slightly primal look to them. “What else would I be referring to? Sex?” She tapped the edge of the table. “Kaiko, are you sure you don’t want to be my beautiful loser? Isn’t that your real name? It means strong current, doesn’t it? I looked it up.”

  Her comments were meant to be amusing, but his heart pounded so hard, he had to ask himself—What the fuck just happened?

  Author Bio:

  Katalina Leon is an artist and author who can't commit to a single romance subgenre. Her favorite playgrounds are historical, Sci-fi, contemporary, and most of all paranormal realms. Lately, she has wolf-shifters on the brain. Katalina brings a sense of adventure and a touch of the mystical to erotic romance. She believes there's a daring heroine inside every woman who wants to take a wild ride with a strong worthy hero.

  AuthorClassified's, 2015 Romantic Suspense Author of the Year.

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