Page 13 of Tempting the Dhampir

Belatedly, I find my hand is still in the crook of Everett’s elbow. I go to pull it free, but Everett traps it with a squeeze of his arm. I glare at him as the corner of his mouth curls up in a wicked grin. He winks and loosens his grip before swaggering over to join the men.

I swear, the winks are going to drive me mad. I refuse to acknowledge their effect on the gusset of my panties, though.

The women huddle together on the tufted velvet couches on the left of the room.

“Saved you a seat,” Natalie calls, patting the spot on the other side of her and Diana, scooching over so Cece and I can join them.

Absently, I run my fingers over the soft velvet as my gaze keeps flicking to Everett. One of the men hands him something and then gives one to Adelbert too.

I narrow my eyes in concentration, and my lips quirk when I see they’re putting on rings. All the men are now wearing matching rings. Studying them, I realize they resemble the monsters from the forest, but they look like normal human men... Okay, normal, very attractive human men.

I recall what Everett said earlier and take a guess that magic is involved because that one guy who totally had wings earlier no longer does. And the guy with the horns, who had Natalie curious, is leaning casually on a jutted hip, looking completely normal, if not still a bit imposing.

When Adelbert moves to the center of the room, I snap my mouth closed, scared I was caught staring. I take a deep breath in through my nose and relax my shoulders on the exhale, in a bid to look calmer than I feel.

Taking on a formal stance with hands clasped in front of his body, Adelbert addresses the room. “Welcome to the Alberad Caribbean Estate. I shall get straight to the point. Your presence on this island is highly disturbing to me. It defies all the laws of our magic. This residence has been in my family for many generations, and our wards have never been breached. The supernatural beings of the world prefer to keep our existence concealed.” His gaze drops to the floor, and his voice deepens. “Humans are… unpredictable at best.”

Lifting his head, Adelbert looks back at us, his brows drawn tight and lips in a hard, flat line. With a sudden dry mouth, I swallow the bundle of nervous energy that’s telling me I’m in the presence of a powerful being… a room full of monsters parading as humans. Cece reaches for my hand, a comforting presence easing my nerves some.

Wiping the intensity from his eyes, Adelbert lets a tight smile curve his lips as he says, “Our secrecy is both for your benefit as well as ours. It is, therefore, imperative that we determine how you were able to make landfall upon this island. Until this is concluded, I must insist you all remain here… as my guests, of course.”

Everett stands abruptly and joins Adelbert. His posture is a clear juxtaposition with his palms open and raised. “What he’s trying to say is monsters are real, such as yours truly.” He holds his index finger up, the green gem on his ring glinting in the soft light. “We use these enchanted rings to glamour our physical natures. They help us appear human and blend into society… if we so choose. Everyone following so far?” Everett speeds through the explanation.

This is all so surreal, yet I can’t help the flutter of excitement in my stomach. Magic. Monsters. The women on my couch nod easily to Everett’s question, but my glance around the room catches some of my other companions looking a little green.

Everett smiles and lets his eyes rest on me for a second before he goes on, “Good. Bertie over here, is an elf. You may have seen his pointy ears? Well, pointy before he put his glamour ring on. His family is in charge of the school for the supernatural that we attended together from the age of ten. That’s how we all met. It’s a boarding school in the Black Forest. This weekend is our ten-year reunion. All of us lived in the same wing for eight years.” He pauses, taking time to look at each of us. “You still with me?”

More nods, slightly more lively this time around.

Everett holds my gaze a little longer this time, a ghost of a smile twitching his lips. I bite my answering smile back as he shifts his gaze to the rest of the room and continues, “Bertie’s family also owns this island. It has a bunch of magic and spells deterring humans from accessing it.” A slight frown mars his brow. “Somehow, you were able to bypass all security measures and evade detection from supernatural beings with highly attuned senses. We want to know how or why that happened.”

Everett’s eyes return to me, and my cheeks heat as his tongue runs over a long canine.

After a tense moment, he grins, turning to Adelbert. “Does that about sum up what you want to say, Bertie?”

Adelbert tugs on the back of his neck, his lips pressing into a tight line before he calmly says, “Thank you, Everett. That shall suffice.”

Pressing her palms to the velvet cushion, Iris scoots forward, drawing the attention of everyone in the room as she says, “One: we had no idea this was a private island. I chartered that boat, its captain brought us here. Maybe interrogate him. And two: speaking of the captain, it’s late and he’s probably waiting, so we should get going now.”

I take in her confident posture and clear voice. Iris is the badass boss I can only aspire to be.

Adelbert shakes his head. “I am afraid that is out of the question. I shall send someone to communicate your change of plans to the captain of your boat.”

I don’t think he was hugged much as a child. He needs some TLC or someone to smooth his very pointy edges. Maybe give him some head scratches.

From the corner of my eye, I catch my sister staring at him as if transfixed, and not for the first time tonight. Hmm.

Helena crosses her arms, asking, “Remain with you as guests or as prisoners?”

Oh no, no man is safe around a woman scorned.

Hide your balls, boys.

Adelbert scrubs a hand through his pretty platinum hair, possibly not aware that he’s making himself look more disheveled with each pass. It’s oddly humanizing.

When he opens his mouth, his voice has a pleading note to it. “We mean you no harm. I vow by the fates that you are safe in this house with us.” He takes turns to look each of us in the eyes.

Cece lifts a hand to draw Adelbert’s attention. Ever intuitive and adept at minimizing confrontation, she says in a gentle tone, “Maybe you can tell us a little about yourselves? I think that will help everyone feel more comfortable.”

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