Page 84 of Walking in Darkness

But it really was a cool necklace. He wondered if that was genuine gold, because if it was? That was definitely out of his price range.

She was incredibly attractive, but there was no mistaking the “don’t fuck with me” vibe. This was the arachne Hudson had mentioned earlier—the one who shifted into a spider. Or had spiderlike features, at least.

Kit always thought he had a pretty good imagination, but that was just something he couldn’t visualize, and he was pretty sure he didn’t want to.

“It’s nice to meet you, ma’am, and thank you.”

“Such a nice young man.” Isadora glanced out over the gathering. “Welcome everyone. Let me just reiterate—as a favor to the king of the Fire Court of San DeLain, I have opened what I consider my territory to you. Act accordingly.”

Everyone nodded.

“Kit? I’ve known Hudson and Connie for a long time. I consider them to be above average males,” Isadora said, winking at Hudson.

Hudson snorted. “Such high praise from you.”

“You’re welcome. Now, Hudson? I turn the floor over to you.” Isadora glided to the bar at the back of the restaurant, where a wineglass waited for her.

The waiter, the one she had introduced as Jamail, was on the other side of the bar. He was dressed in what Kit considered a waiter’s uniform—black pants, black shoes, a white shirt, and a black tie.

But even at a glance, Kit could tell the clothes were of quality, and he’d know, considering a lot of his outfits were bought from stores that sold vintage stuff. The white of his crisp shirt really popped against his darker skin tone and hair.

He was a good-looking guy, but there was a dangerous edge to him. Kit couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was. Still, the guy was definitely uncomfortable.

Kit didn’t think it was because they were surrounded by dangerous paranormals. Maybe it was because Jamail was fiddling with his tie. And the collar of his shirt. And he just looked uncomfortable in dress clothes—like it was something he wasn’t used to wearing.

Kit zoned out while he listened to Hudson disclose the information they had on Lennox, and why they thought he was targeting Kit. There was also something about an uptick in kidnappings among humans and paranormals, and then adiscussion about another base being destroyed, whatever that meant.

He wasn’t stupid. He knew he was focusing on Jamail so he didn’t have to listen to what Hudson was talking about. But staring at the other man probably wasn’t a good idea either, so he dragged his attention away. His gaze then drifted over this odd assembly.

Kit could see the place card for some tables, so he had an idea of who was sitting there. He wasn’t surprised the blonde guy was a merman. He was tall with a swimmer’s build, which, now that he thought about it, made sense.

What would it be like to breathe underwater and have an incredibly long tail? It also kind of made him not want to go into the water, quite honestly. Because if there were mers out there in the ocean, what else was out there?

He turned his attention to a guy who looked like a biker. Now, Kit had no problem believing this guy was a werewolf. He was fit and muscular and just gave off this asshole vibe.

If the other pack was Cross River, this must be Crimson Fangs. Even the name sounded intimidating.

Even though the vampires freaked him out because of the blood deal, he had to admit they were pretty cool looking in their Victorian-goth outfits.

He had a few suits that fell into that category, and he looked damn good when he wore them, in his opinion.

That just left the two gargoyles. He couldn’t get a read on them. They had little to say, and as far as appearances went? Well, they were both sexy, but in a very understated way. Where the vampires stood out, the gargoyles blended exceptionally well.

The daemons were dressed as Hudson had said, in suits and dresses. Again, Kit wasn’t attracted to women, but the twowomen with Kage were exceptionally stunning. But then, so was Kage. Hell, for that matter, so was Austin.

Finally, Kit turned his attention to Hudson’s court. Maybe it was because he was Hudson’s and Connie’s mate, but he found the dragons the most interesting.

The members were all drop-dead beautiful, of course, with varying shades of red hair. Seriously, it really ran the gamut from dark auburn into almost a strawberry blonde. And their totally black clothing really set off the red hair.

Then there were Connie and Hudson themselves. Out of every person there, they were by far the sexiest. Of course he was biased.Of coursehe was. But he was also right.

He didn’t know what he’d done in a previous life to get this lucky, but whatever it was? It must’ve really been something.

He’d been so lost in thought, it surprised him when the meeting ended. “Are we done?” he asked Connie quietly.

“Yes. You really zoned out, didn’t you?” Connie asked, standing.

Kit shrugged as he also got to his feet. “Less stressful that way. I’m sure if there was anything of importance, one of you would tell me.”

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