Page 24 of Donner

I didn't have to wait too long, though. After a song change and more catch-up conversation, Beau and Aiden said their goodbyes. Then, we tromped from the soundproof booth into the loud thump of bass.

"I didn't choose my clothes," I said once we were both buckled in Beau's truck. "My bag is magic. I packed the few short-sleeved shirts I owned, and a couple of pairs of workout shorts. When Santa magicked me here, they all changed."

"They changed?" Beau's grin looked wicked in the dashboard light. "How?"

"Well, I don't own a single thong, but that's the only underwear in my bag right now. I also don't own anything you've seen me wear."

Beau nodded. "What do you wear?"

"Jeans. Layers. Lots of layers. A puffy coat when I go outside in human form."

"I've never really cared for the humidity here," Beau said. "I know, I'm strange, but I thought about moving to Colorado after high school. The army paid better than the park service, so I chose them instead." He shrugged. "I probably didn't stay long enough for that to be true, though, but I did get to see the world on the government's dime. Afghanistan. Qatar. Yemen. Saudi. I was in Germany for Oktoberfest, the only vacation I took." Beau leaned back against his seat and reached for my hand. "You've never been lonely until you find yourself alone in a beautiful place with no one to share it with."

"Is that why you're spending so much time with me?" I asked. I couldn't imagine being in my beautiful hotel room all by myself. I'd be miserable. Maybe I would have gone to the zoo by myself, but I wouldn't have dared the trip to the Everglades alone.

"I'm spending time with you because I can't get enough of you." Beau accentuated his words by lacing our fingers together.

My eyes stung from his words. He sounded so sincere. How was I supposed to give up the only person who had ever wanted to be around me for more than three hours at a time?

Chapter 14

Beau

Thanks to the large number of new arrivals at Jax's hotel, I parked in a secondary lot instead of the attached parking garage. I heard something pop at the same time I locked my doors. When I looked around, I didn't see anything but the hotel before us.

Jax was wary, too, taking my hand but standing too stiffly to let me put my arm around him. He set a faster pace than usual as he crossed the lot.

"I smell something funny," he whispered.

I sniffed the air, but I scented nothing beyond hot asphalt and salty ocean. While I'd sensed a change in my eyesight and hearing as I'd grown into my eagle's abilities, my sense of smell was no better than any human's.

We grabbed an empty elevator in the lobby. Jax leaned against me for the ride up to the suite, our bodies pressed together from hip to where my arm rested over his taut shoulders.

When the doors opened, a giant array of sparks filled the night sky above the rooftop patio for a moment before fading. The noise rattled the windows.

Jax dropped to his haunches at the sound. "What is happening?"

"It's fireworks," I said. I dropped to my knees to be at his level and tried to reassure him with a smile. "You don't have fireworks at the North Pole?"

Jax shook his head. "It sounds like hunting season! Why would anyone want that?"

I took his hands in mine. "Let me show you."

Jax's eyes widened, and he shook his head.

"Please?" I didn't want him to miss this opportunity, since he'd never seen them before. "Come out to the patio with me. I won't let anything happen to you."

He nodded, but he stripped out of his boots and clothes and pulled on his fuzzy robe before joining me at the patio door. Meanwhile, single bursts of color continued to light up the sky every few seconds.

"I think they're just getting started," I said. Either that, or they were amateurs and would be hauled off to jail in a few minutes. Fireworks were illegal this time of year, though these originated somewhere in the bay, possibly from an island or passing ship.

I held Jax's hand and led him out to the lounge chairs, positioning one at the glass railing facing east. I tipped the chair back so we could sit at an angle and dropped my legs on either side to make room for Jax.

He sat between my legs, leaned back against me, and hummed. "This is nice, even if fireworks sound scary."

"Shh. I've got you."

A loud boom shook the night, and he tensed against me. "What was that?"

---