Page 9 of Tempting the Dhampir

Imake to push past the insufferably attractive man, only for the world around me to blur as he whips his arm out and shoves me behind him. The action so fast that my hand slips from Cece’s.

Emerging from the clearing behind the curtain of foliage is a new face—strikingly beautiful in an otherworldly sense—attached to a tall frame and a mop of platinum-blond hair, which I would like to use as inspiration the next time I go for highlights. He exudes power. Or is it actual magic? I wouldn’t be surprised at this point.

I shrink back, letting the green-eyed man’s broad back partially hide me from the view of the newcomer. Why I feel safe with him is a mystery I’ll unravel later.

It’s only then that I realize Cece is standing, unprotected and alone, in front of the new guy. She doesn’t look intimidated by him though, more… fascinated as they take each other in.

“Everett, who are these women?” newcomer guy with the light gray eyes asks attractive guy with the striking green eyes.

Everett, mmm, I like that.

“I was just coming to get you to figure out how they were able to penetrate the wards. I’ve been trying to get some answers out of them, but they’re not being particularly cooperative.” Everett aims a loaded look toward me over his shoulder.

“We were merely following the flowers.”

Cece decides to enter the chat with that? Now they’re going to think we’re crazy.

At her pronouncement, the men look around and see the trail of flowers leading back the way we came. The newcomer guy goes preternaturally still and cocks his head to the side, causing his hair to slip behind his ear. His very pointy ear.

I suck in an audible breath, and everyone stares at me.

Peeking out from behind Everett’s back, I aim a harsh whisper at the newcomer. “Are you like a faerie or something?” My eyes go wide as the words start spilling from me. “There were other men too. Creatures? Supernatural beings? Was that a minotaur that I saw? I could’ve sworn I saw a mermaid—merman? And this guy here, he’s super fast. Did you know how fast he can move?”

The look on the newcomer’s face brings my babbling to a screeching halt. I put both my hands up, realizing I’ve gone on too long. The shock of what I saw must have momentarily shorted my brain and any self-preservation instincts I have.

Partially moving back behind Everett again, my shoulders draw up high as I say, “But I promise you, we won’t say anything. Seriously. We’ll just be on our way and—”

“Enough!” maybe-faerie guy cuts me off. “I can sense that there are other humans on this island. I have no idea how that is possible, but we cannot allow you to leave until we have the answers as to how you were able to sneak this far onto the island. Especially without me detecting it.” He attempts to soften his expression. “We mean you no harm. But since we are unsure of what forces are at play here, it is for your own safety that I request you and your companions come with us up to the manor, and then I’ll answer some of your questions.”

“How can you ‘sense’ the others?” I throw at him, fingers in obnoxious quotation marks as I step out from behind Everett. “If only my sister and I saw you, don’t you have to be concerned about only us? The others don’t even know anything.”

“The ‘others’ are actually headed this way as we speak.” Everett points in the general direction from which we came.

I turn and crane my neck but don’t see anything through the trees. “I can’t see anything.”

“I can hear them approaching. They’re quite… rowdy. Sounds like a fun party,” Everett tacks on, nodding as if in approval.

“More like an assault to the senses,” newcomer guy adds.

Ugh, this guy screams buzzkill.

Ignoring him, Everett cocks his head. Biting his lip with an elongated canine, he gives me a quick once-over and says in a low voice, “But you, you’re the MVP of the party, aren’t you?” He winks.

Holy shit. Why is that so hot?

“There you are! We were wondering where you ran off to,” Iris shouts in relief, leading the group of girls.

They all move within hearing distance—human hearing anyway—but keep a safe distance from us and the men.

“Who are these guys?” Helena asks, clearly wary of any men after her recent experiences.

Newcomer steps forward and places a hand on his chest. “Ladies, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Adelbert Alberad. My family owns this island and, by proxy, I am therefore responsible for your safety. It has come to our attention that you have inadvertently breached our security measures, and I would like to ascertain how that may have come about. If you would be so kind as to follow me up to the manor, then we can discuss this matter further, and possibly alleviate any concerns you might have.”

Dead silence follows his eloquent spiel. Then, raucous laughter.

“The balls on this guy!”

“Did he just…?”

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