Page 13 of Night's Fall
Tay seemed intoCat, whenBashneeded to be intoCat, andTayshould be intoGayle, not because they were both fae, but because, clearly,Icould barely handle a night out at a club.Ididn’t need to be flirting or fielding requests for dates or actuallymakingdates.
IfIcouldn’t walk into a bar without nearly fainting, what would happen ifIhad to go out to dinner with a male?
I’d been looking forward to theTerrintonexhibit.Hisart was wild, butIloved it.Assuch, my personal goal in coming out tonight had been an attempt at cutting my teeth so next weekIwouldn’t do something foolish, like bow out of the hottest ticket in town (outside theMidnightMasqueat thePalacethat was, whichIwould never get an invitation to, thoughCatwas going), vomit on a hot male’s shoes or pass out at the feet of the great and mysteriousTerrinton.
“Digi-post?”Bashcalled to the bartender.
The bartender slid a digital memo card on the bar betweenGayleand me.Apparently, without being allowed our ’tronics, that was how you shared deets when you met someone you wanted to meet again outside the club.Anice little bonus, since those cards didn’t come cheap.
Bash reached for it, and as he did, his fingers brushed my upper arm.
I jumped when he jerked his hand back, hissed sinisterly, and his black eyes glowed red.
“Are you okay?”Iwhispered.
His eyes remained red as he scowled at me and accused, “You’vegot a mate.”
Was he crazy?Whyon earth would he say that?
“I—”Ibegan to deny it.
“I don’t know what game you’re playing, but it isn’t fucking cool,” he growled.
“I—”Istarted again.
I got no further that time because we heard an officious, “Gentlemales.Ladies.”
Tay andBashstepped aside, and a human male with dark, thinning hair, a slim mustache across his upper lip, a slightly shorter than average stature, and a barrel chest, wearing a splendidly cut suit locked his attention on me.
“You areLauraMakepeace, shifter,” he declared, likeIdidn’t know that.
“Yes,”Iconfirmed.
“The prince requests your presence at his table.”
Ummmmmmmm…
Every molecule in my body stopped moving and my throat got tight, both of these things good as, because of the first, my gaze didn’t dart to the booth at the back, and the second,Ididn’t release a scream.
After a very long, very heavy moment of pure shock,Ihad to force the word “What?” out.
“PrinceAlekseirequests your presence at his table.”Hepaused, glanced through my company, and came back to me. “Now.”
“Go,”Gaylewheezed, clearly having the same difficultyIdid with this stunning turn of events.
She added shoving me off the stool.
Bash swiftly sidestepped me touching him in any way, butInoted this only distractedly as the barrel-chested man had begun sauntering through the seating area toward the booths, doing this like he owned the place.
Precisely—yep, you guessed it—he was heading for the center booth where now only one male sat, his wide shoulders seeming impossibly wider, his attention, even if his face was still hidden in shadow,Iknew was on me.
There was no feathery flutter in my chest asImoved behind the human.
No.
Instead, it felt like my beast was there, alive, real, tugging me forward like a happy puppy on a leash, yearning to tear out of my chest and gallop across the space to the prince.
Okay.
