“You too. It mean something?” he asked while making the bottles flip and spin as he finished making her drink.
It was a good question, and one she didn’t have an answer for.
“Maybe,” she said honestly, eyes widening as he tossed a handful of marshmallows and cayenne into her glass before opening his mouth and letting out a jet of flame.
Now she knew she’d seen fire dancing in those emerald eyes.
He set the drink in front of her with a flourish and watched her expectantly as she took the glass, still warm from his fire, and lifted it to her lips. She took a sip, her eyes falling closed as she let out a low groan.
“That’s delicious,” she said, licking a bit of melted marshmallow from her lips. “What do you call it?”
“Dragon’s Breath,” he said with a grin, lifting his eyes from her mouth. “Glad you like it.”
“Love it. I’m definitely going to need another.”
He chuckled. “You’ve got it.”
She drank deeply, not sure if the warmth flowing through her was because of the temperature of the drink or the potency of the alcohol. Lina decided it didn’t matter as she finished the glass and the bartender set another in front of her.
“Give me a holler if you need anything else. The name’s Dec.”
“Stay close, Dec. I plan to shamelessly abuse your kindness.”
He laughed and winked before moving to take the next guest’s order.
Alone for the moment, Lina eyed the people around her. Sexy men and women in various states of dress and undress were scattered around the warehouse. Her eyes collided with a woman wearing a tiara and a turquoise dress that showed more leg than it concealed. Lina grinned; it was the kind of outfit she would have selected for herself, given the chance.
“You’ll want to pace yourself with those,” the woman said, nodding at the drink Lina was still clutching.
“You’ve been here before I take it?”
“Every year.” It was impossible to miss the note of cynicism that slipped into her voice.
She says that like it’s a bad thing. Who in their right mind wouldn’t love to come to a party like this?
“Cool. Any more advice from a seasoned vet?” Lina asked with a friendly smile.
“Don’t trust a warlock,” she answered immediately with a grimace. “And if you get into trouble, find Imperia.”
Lina had been expecting something more along the lines of which other drinks to try, so the woman’s tips caught her a little off guard. “Thanks,” she said, wondering what constituted trouble and what this Imperia would do about it.
Before Lina could ask, a female bartender set a tall glass down in front of her new friend. Lina couldn’t help but notice that the whipped cream and cherry topping in the drink matched the bartender’s white hair and bright red lips.
“Brought you a double,” the bartender said with a wink aimed at Lina.
Blushing, Lina wondered if she’d picked up on the trail of her thoughts. It wasn’t like she was an expert when it came to supernatural creatures or their powers. As far as she knew, it was totally possible the bartender just read her mind. Possible, and mildly terrifying.
She hadn’t been sure what to expect with a name like The Monster Ball, but there wasn’t anything she’d classify as a monster in sight. Given Dec’s little trick with the flame, she assumed many of the other guests had similarly hidden talents and perhaps even forms.
Which begged the question, if all of the other guests were ‘monsters’ of some fashion . . . what was she?
Lina might have a body now, but she was no closer to remembering who she really was. If she’d ever been anybody before tonight at all.
Her temples started to throb, and a frown tugged at her lips. This was not the time or place to have an existential crisis. It was a party, and it was time to make the most of it. Who knew how long she had before it was over and she was returned to her ghostly state?
Taking another sip of her drink, Lina turned to face the man who’d just sat down next to her. He had inky black hair and skin that suggested he spent long hours in the sun. Feeling her gaze on him, he turned black eyes framed with thick lashes her way.
“A woman as lovely as you shouldn’t be sitting at a bar by herself,” he said in a rich, slightly accented voice.
Lina smiled and leaned closer, lowering her voice as if sharing a secret. “But I’m not alone, am I?”
His eyes had dipped to the cleavage exposed by her barely-there dress. “I suppose not.” Grasping the edge of her stool, he pulled her closer until her knees brushed the side of his silk-clad leg.
Lina took another sip of her drink, loving the way the warmth moved through her body. “You have a name, handsome?”
Chapter Four
Nord
He saw her the moment she’d stepped into the warehouse. The beauty’s blue eyes were wide with delight and a determination he didn’t fully understand until she beelined for the bar, her hips luring him like a siren as they swayed provocatively beneath her clingy dress.
If you could call that scrap of fabric anything more than temptation.
She could have been wearing swirls of paint for all the snaking black lines of her dress actually concealed. From the way other men and women’s heads turned as she passed them, he wasn’t the only one who noticed.
Nord was moving before he’d realized it, trailing her as she sat down at the bar. Eyes never leaving her, he crossed the dance floor, weaving through the crowd easily. A hand tinged light blue reached out and grasped his arm. Nord turned his head and offered a polite but dismissive smile to the fairy who was trying to coax him into dancing. She pouted playfully as he eased out of her grip, her lips painted with silver glitter that changed color with the pulsing lights.
Free again, Nord sidled up to the bar, squeezing himself into the empty space between two metal stools. There was barely an inch of space between the left side of his body and hers, her back turned to him as she chatted up a man sitting on the other side.
He caught the bartender’s eye and held up one finger, pointing at a frosty glass filled with amber liquid another patron was sipping. Nodding, the bartender moved to the tap and began pouring his drink.
Laughter met his ears as the blonde tilted her head back and wiped at her eyes. “You’re a scoundrel,” she teased.
Nord grit his teeth, something about the calculating gleam in the eyes of the man she was talking to setting off all kinds of warning bells inside him.
The click of glass pulled his attention just long enough to offer the bartender a hurried, “thanks,” as he set Nord’s drink down.
Leaning against the bar, Nord angled his body towards the couple again, taking a sip to disguise his blatant perusal. He could easily see over the top of her blonde waves. The man was leaning in close to her, his hand brushing the bare skin of her knee as he waved a small bag of glittering dust in her face.
Nord had only been in this world a short time, but he’d lived long enough to come across the drug in his other travels. Faerie dust. A potent mind-altering substance that even the strongest supernaturals avoided. Consuming even the barest amount created powerful hallucinations that could trap someone in the prison of their mind and leave their bodies completely vulnerable.
A low growl rattled in Nord’s chest as the primitive need to protect consumed him. The girl had no clue how much danger she was putting herself in. Nord may not know who, or what, the man was, but he recognized a predator in any form.
He would not allow her to be prey.
Feigning clumsiness, Nord spilt some of his beer straight down her back.
Gasping, the woman spun around.
Nord felt like he’d been struck. She was even more stunning up close. Her skin smooth and unblemished; her cheeks flushed, sending all sorts of thoughts tumbling through his mind. Golden hair fell over her forehead, half-concealing wide ice blue eyes ringed with the darkest sapphire. They reminded him of the glaciers of h
is homeland.
It took him half a second to remember himself.
“I’m so sorry,” Nord apologized, napkin already in his hand, moving to dab the amber drops off her golden skin. He purposefully allowed his fingers to brush against her spine, needing to touch her.
Goosebumps erupted along her back and arms and he heard her startled intake of breath. The leech behind her was all but forgotten.
Mission accomplished.
“It’s alright,” she finally said, giving him an easy grin that he felt straight in his groin. “It was getting a little hot in here.”
Damned if it wasn’t.
Nord took a deep drink, all but draining his glass. Beside him, she did the same.
Now that he had her attention, he found himself at a loss of how to proceed. “I’m Nord,” he finally said, holding out a hand.
Her smile stretched as she set her now empty glass down and placed her much smaller hand in his. “Lina.”
Brushing his thumb along the back of her hand, Nord surprised himself by lifting it up to his mouth and pressing his lips against it in the barest hint of a kiss. The move was filled with formality and tradition that was out of place here, but the urge to honor her in the way that came most naturally to him was irresistible.
It had been a long time since he’d had a woman. Longer still since he’d met one he wanted to keep.
Where the fuck did that come from?
Nord dropped her hand as if he’d been scalded.
Her eyes were hooded and slightly dazed as she stared up at him. The blush in her cheeks bloomed darker. It would appear he wasn’t the only one affected here.
Interesting.
“So, what do you think of all this?” he asked, gesturing vaguely to the rest of the warehouse.
“I love it,” she answered with the eager energy of a puppy.
There was an innocent joy about her that didn’t quite fit with her edgier sex-kitten looks. Nord was more than a little intrigued. She was a riddle he had every intention of solving.
They both turned and looked towards the sounds of a band taking stage above them. Excited cheers rang out from the crowd as the black-haired guitarist strummed the first note on his blood-red guitar.
“Do you want to dance?” she asked, excitement lending her voice a breathless quality.
Nord laughed and shook his head. “I don’t dance.”
She didn’t quite hide her disappointment. “Oh, well . . . I didn’t come here just to sit at the bar all night.”
Realizing he would lose her if he didn’t give in, Nord picked up a half-empty glass on the bar and drained it, not caring whose it was. “In that case,” he said, stepping away from the bar and holding out a hand to her, “let’s go.”
Chapter Five
Lina
She couldn’t quite believe she’d heard him correctly when he held out his hand to her. Lina didn’t know where the Viking of a man had come from, but she was beyond pleased he’d found her.
When she’d arrived tonight, her only plan had been to experience everything, flirt shamelessly, and hopefully find a decent enough man to pass the night with. That plan had solidified in the last ten minutes, Nord replacing the faceless stranger in her mind.
She must have felt the moment he’d stepped up to the bar, although she’d miscalculated the cause of the frisson of electricity that raced down her spine. She’d thought it had been because the dark-haired man at the bar was touching her knee. Her first, real touch from another since acquiring a body.
But she’d been wrong. So wrong.
As soon as she’d spun around in her chair, the icy drink dripping down her back, the sheer force of Nord’s presence had overwhelmed her.
The room was filled with attractive men, but none of them had affected her with a single look like he had. His piercing eyes were a blue so light they were practically white, shards of azure surrounding his pupils. The pulsing light in the room shone off his light blond hair; the sides shaved close and long on top, parted over his right eye. His face was comprised of sharp angles, a broad forehead, and chiseled cheekbones which were further emphasized by the perfect line of his beard. A beard that obscured his upper lip, but only made his lower lip appear even fuller.
It was hard to pull her eyes away from his face and drink in the rest of him. He was an imposing figure, standing heads taller than many of the others in the room. Not even the formal wear he’d donned had tempered the air of violence that surrounded him. His tight gray shirt and fitted black jacket strained over the muscles in his arms and chest. His pants fared a little better, hugging the thick muscles of his legs.
The light shifted, changing between yellow to green, and for a second Nord flickered. A second image superimposing itself over his towering frame. Instead of the suit, he was shirtless, leather pants slung low on his hips, blond hair long and blowing in the wind, hiding most of his face as he hefted a massive hammer high over his head. It passed as quickly as it had appeared, but Lina knew that the man standing before her was rarely, if ever, dressed formally.
He was a creature of the wild, tamed only by circumstance. If given the chance, he’d run free, more at home surrounded by nature than he’d ever be in polite society.
And then he touched her, just the brush of a finger along her spine, and that same bolt of energy speared her, stealing her breath and sending her heart racing.
No one else would do. Not when he could make her feel all of that with the simplest graze of skin over hers.
Without hesitation, she placed her hand in his once more, allowing him to help her to her feet. He tucked her hand around his upper arm, and Lina couldn’t help but give his bicep a testing squeeze. The muscles beneath her fingers flexed, feeling as unyielding as iron. She allowed herself a small, satisfied smile, eager to feel those strong arms wrapped around her.
The band started playing a hauntingly beautiful song that was at odds with the thumping beat from moments ago, but perfectly fitting all the same. Couples moved around them, their swaying bodies wasting no time to take advantage of the slower, more seductive beat.
Nord’s eyes were glued to her as he lifted his arm and spun her around slowly, pulling her body tightly against his. The smell of a storm about to break met her nose as she rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes. She wasn’t entirely sure if that was part of the magic of this place, or Nord himself.
His hands rested at the base of her spine and seared her with their heat. The couple moved together perfectly, as if they had been made for it, the rolling of their hips completely in sync as they moved in a slow circle.
The singer’s voice washed over her, ensnaring her even deeper in the seductive spell she was weaving. Feeling bold, Lina let her right hand wander, sliding down over the satiny lapel of Nord’s jacket to rest on his chest by her cheek. She could feel the steady beat of his heart beneath her palm.
“For someone who doesn’t dance, you’re certainly good at it,” she murmured.
Nord laughed, or maybe it was more of a grunt. “It’s not that hard to sway.”
“You might be surprised.”
“An expert, are you?”
It was Lina’s turn to laugh. Considering this was the first dance she could actually remember, she hardly thought she constituted an expert. However, she’d watched many couples dance and it was always easy to tell which ones had the spark of something real.
“You only need to watch to see what I mean.”
Opening her eyes, she pulled away slightly to find a couple that would prove her point. Not more than a few feet away, she found what she was looking for.
“There,” she said, jutting her chin in the direction of a woman with long lavender hair and an iridescent gown that hugged her body like thousands of shimmering scales. “See how she moves separate from him?”
She waited for Nord’s grunt of agreement before continuing.
“A true partner would be more in tune with what their partner’s body is do
ing and effortlessly match it, rather than focusing solely on their own movements.”
“Hmm,” Nord murmured, his chest rumbling beneath her hand.
“She’s more interested in putting on a show than enjoying the moment spent with her mate. Those two will not last past the night, I expect.”
Nord shifted to meet her gaze. “Harsh assessment from one who seems so optimistic.”
Lina’s lips lifted in a sad smile. “When you’ve been around as long as I have, you learn to spot things like that.”
“Oh?” he asked, lifting a brow. “And how long has that been?”
Lina shrugged. “I lost count,” she answered honestly, if not evasively. No need to complicate their evening with an explanation of her past. It was doubtful she and Nord were likely to last past the night either. That didn’t mean she had to muck things up by mentioning it.
“Me too,” Nord said, his eyes luminous under the pale blue lights. “It’s rare I come across other, true immortals.”
“I think there are plenty surrounding you right now,” she said.
One side of Nord’s mouth lifted in a smile. “Touché.”
Her eyes dropped to his lips as the music swelled, her heart pulsing in time to the throbbing beat. Nord was being a perfect gentleman, his hands never straying no matter how much she wished they would. Had she been any other girl, she might have appreciated it. But Lina wasn’t here to be good. This might be her only shot to experience what she’d seen so many others do.
Besides, as far as Lina was concerned, she’d known Nord for the better part of her life. Technically that was only about an hour at most, but she’d hardly been alive for longer than that. A fan of her math, Lina didn’t give herself time to second guess herself.
Moving her hands to his shoulders, Lina lifted herself up while simultaneously pulling him down a little so that she could press her lips against his.
Nord stilled beneath her, his breath washing over her lips in a startled whoosh.
The Monster Ball Year 2 Page 16