Page 4 of The King of Frost and Shadows

Sexy Man chuckled darkly. “The one I’ve been searching for almost half my life.”

My stomach somersaulted, and my cheeks hurt from how huge I was smiling. Great. If Sexy Man was interested in me, I was definitely not playing it cool. I finally felt something for someone! Though the sensation was startling. Being next to him feltright… and I never wanted to be apart from him again.

“Come on, man,” one of Tall Guy’s buddies said and clapped his back. “We all need a refill and a girl to kiss at midnight.”

Eiric gestured between the two guys and said, “If all else fails, you could kiss one another.” She shrugged andmoved to my other side. She gave Sexy Man a quick glance then focused back on Tall Guy.

“If you’re so worried about us finding someone, you can kiss me, Green Eyes.” Tall Guy grinned and winked at her.

“I’ll pass.” Her nose wrinkled, making her disdain clear. “I’m sure you can find someone as drunk as you. You’ll be fine.”

Sexy Man’s hand tightened on my waist as he glanced from Eiric back to me. He nodded to the left, which would take us farther from the crowd. “Are you ladies ready to go, or would you rather stay inthis?” His body stiffened, conveying he was as uncomfortable as Eiric and I were.

“Let’s go.” I didn’t give a damn if Eiric gloated. I wanted to get away from the crowd. I’d heard on campus that this was one of the best places to go for New Year’s, but it wasn’t for Eiric and me. We both preferred hiking, swimming, and gardening to being around drunk people. When I’d suggested we go, she’d asked me if I’d lost my damn mind, and our parents hadn’t been thrilled, but what could they do? I was twenty-two, and Eiric was twenty-one. We were both of legal drinking age, and we lived at home to save costs while I attended Savannah State College to study environmental science and Eiric went to Georgia Southern for her geology degree.

Sexy Man led me out of the crowd with Eiric on our heels. He moved fast, but surprisingly, I had no issues keeping up with his pace. We dodged people who’d been drinking and hanging out on the roads of the oldest section of Savannah until we made our way to Telfair Square.

When the crowd thinned, Sexy Man released his hold but stayed beside me. Eiric cut her eyes at me, and I could hear the unasked question—What’s the plan?

The thought of heading home and leaving thisman had my heart squeezing in discomfort. And it’d be rude to abandon someone who’d rescued me, right? Not that Eiric and I couldn’t have handled the situation on our own, but still … he’d been considerate and heroic. Speaking of which, I hadn’t said another word to him since we’d left. How rude of me.

My tongue felt thick and heavy, and I wondered if I was getting sick.

After much concentration, I cleared my throat and rubbed my hands together, already missing the way my body fit perfectly against his. “Thanks for that back there. I’m sorry if we ruined your night. I’m sure you were meeting a girl or something.” My voice damn near cracked on that last part as I realized how it could be taken.

Eiric smirked, and my blood ran cold. She must have figured out that I had a thing for the man. She’d had sex with dozens of guys and a few women, whereas I couldn’t fathom even kissing anyone. It had never appealed to me, so seeing me like this had her grinning widely. I’d kill her if she didn’t stop since he could see both of us.

“When I saw you, no one else mattered.” Sexy Man winked, turning his attention to me. “But don’t fret. No one will miss me. I didn’t have set plans.”

Warmth spread through my chest. He didn’t speak like most people our age, and I found that fascinating. “My name’s Lira.” I motioned to my sister. “This is Eiric.”

“Lovely names. They sound as if they’re from another world.” He bowed faintly. “I’m Tavish.”

Head tilting back, Eiric furrowed her brows. “That’s unique. How did your parents come up with that?”

“It’s a family name, and we aren’t from anywhere close to here.” His irises darkened, and I missed a step.

They reminded me of the eyes from my nightmares, butthey weren’t dark enough … and, most importantly, I was awake.

What the hell was wrong with me?

It must have been the stress from being close to completing my Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science in May and having to find a job.

We headed into the section of Telfair Square with a brick path and trees everywhere, toward where we’d parked our car, but I wasn’t ready to go yet. I glanced at my watch. It was only five minutes to midnight. If I was ever going to kiss someone, I’d love for it to be Tavish before he disappeared from my life.

A few people loitered around, and I could still hear the music from the City Market.

“E, is that you?” a woman called, and I looked toward where the path split and circled some bushes with three benches spaced around the grass. She waved my sister down from thirty feet away. “Come ring in the New Year with us!”

My sister smiled but shook her head, ready to turn the woman down to stay with me. She was protective of me like that, and I loved her for it usually, but not tonight.

I touched her hand and smiled. “Go hang out with them for a minute.”

She stiffened and looked from me to Tavish. “I thought we were going home.”

“We are, but in four minutes, it’ll be midnight. I’m sure we can wait that long.” I stared into her eyes, wanting her to get the message.Give me a few minutes alone with Tavish.

“I can stay with her.” Tavish smiled, becoming more breathtaking. “No one else will talk to her or touch her while you’re gone.”

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