Only After Dark The Boxed Set Books 1 - 4: Shifters Forever Worlds (14 page)

L
ézare
! There he was!

Alexa watched her brother. She tapped him on the shoulder. Lézare was staring at something—or someone—in the crowd. The mask he wore hid the circles she knew had to be there. His eyes had a bloodshot tinge. She knew that he was wearing the dark circles he got whenever he was tired. She knew she had the same, though she’d tried to get the concealer and powder to hid them.

Why does he have sleepless circles?
Did he not sleep the last day since he left Arceneaux Point? He’d been gone for twenty-four hours, leaving her in a lurch.

W
here the devil had he been?

He was supposed to catch her up. “I thought we were going to talk?”

“Yes, sorry.” He wiped the scowl from his face, but not before she saw it. “Are you having fun?” He looked over her shoulder.

What was he scanning for?

She looked over the crowd, found her own attention sucked into one focus, and one only.

A man. Tall, handsome, a chiseled look to a face that convinced her he could be cruel if he needed to be. He stood across the room, this man, his energy pulling her in, sucking her closer as if her spirit had left her body and was drifting toward him.

Who the hell is that?

Her tigress made a sound that was half roar, half chuff.

Why was her tigress so pulled toward him?

The man stood next to another man who resembled him, but not to her eye. To her they were as different as two could be.

“Who is that guy?” She tipped her head toward the tall man in the dark suit with a mask that didn’t hide the strength of his jaw, the fullness of a lower lip set off by a thinner upper lip that she was sure could twist into a cruel smile.

The man’s head snapped in her direction. Light eyes gazed at her from behind his mask, pinning her in a place where only the two of them existed.

Then the man next to him said something, and the one who’d captured her attention turned to respond and broke the bond that kept her captivated.

“Who?” Lézare surveyed the crowd. “Is someone being a problem? Do I need to get them out of here?”

“No the tall guy.” Then she couldn’t help herself when she added, “The hot one.” She pushed away Leandra’s mention of her finding someone soon.

This is ridiculous. It’s a coincidence. It’s got to be.

Lézare was still scanning the group, as if he couldn’t see the hunk that pulled at her attention with the force of a powerful magnet. She yanked on his sleeve.

Brothers, such a pain.

She blew out an exasperated breath. “The one with the short hair.” She pointed.

Lézare quirked a brow, an amused gleam in his eye. “They both have short hair. They’re identical twins, you know.”

And yet, she could tell them apart immediately. There was something electric between her and the one on the right.

“The one on the right,” she elaborated.

“That’s…” He squinted. “That’s Reese.” He studied her face. “I think.”

“How do you know the difference then?”

“Maybe it’s the way Rory holds his head.” Lézare shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

She studied the one he’d called Reese while she fought to keep her expression placid, not to show the storm that raged within as her tigress reacted to the tall, rugged shifter in the crowd.

The image of a wolf crossed her mind. A wounded, bleeding wolf. She blinked the thought away.

What the heck? Is this because of Leandra?
Had Leandra put a spell on her already?

No, couldn’t be. Leandra said she wouldn’t. Plus, her tigress was reacting.

The tigress agreed with a chuff.

Lézare released a snort. “Alexa. Seriously?”

“What?” Oh jeez, did her voice just croak like a prepubescent teen? Surely Lézare would see right through her.

And what the hell is up with this anyway? I’m not interested in entanglements. Men are nothing but trouble, always bossing women around, trying to control them.

She’d had enough of that in her younger days. She was quite happy in her current role, helping Lézare run the operations for the Arceneaux business interests while being next to him at social events.

Or so she thought, though the way that Lézare was looking into the crowd earlier made her wonder if he had designs on a particular lady.

Lézare shook his head. She wanted to slap the smirk off his face.

Big brothers! An even bigger pain!

“Nothing.” Lézare said but the smiling smirk didn’t vanish, reminding her of the days he used to pull on her pigtails.

“Reese Nielsen?” She remembered seeing his name in Lézare’s guest list. Reese Nielsen was a wolf shifter, twin brother to Rory Nielsen, both from Houston.

Now why did her mind immediately travel to the distance between Arceneaux Point and Houston?

Six hours roughly, by car.

“Yeah,” he affirmed that it was Reese Nielsen. “So I think I’m going to sink into some fun.”

Then Alexa remembered…

“You never said why you had to leave.”

“Nothing worth talking about during the party,” he countered, adding, “Just a business associate who needed help with something.”

Her curiosity was piqued. “With what?”

Lézare looked away for a brief second. She knew her brother well enough to decipher that he was thinking carefully what to say.

“He lost something.”

She cast him a sideways glance. Something in his tone made her wonder, but before she could pry he, was peppering her with questions.

“How was today? Any drama?”

As if I’m going to tell him about the visit to the bayou.
“No, not really.” Then she thought of something she should mention. “Well, sort of. Callie thought she had a contraction.”

Lézare’s gaze flew toward the crowd, immediately spotting the heavily pregnant Callie.

Alexa studied her cousin’s very pregnant mate. “She’s fine,” she reassured her brother. “She thinks maybe it was something she ate.”

“Merde.”
Shit
.
“It’s good that Doc and Mae are here.”

Especially since you weren’t.

She didn’t give voice to her thoughts. “Tell me about it. You weren’t here, and I was juggling the temporary help, trying to keep them out of Maylene’s way. She’s flustered. She said next year she’s taking her vacation during this week.”

Lézare laughed.

Alexa fought back the urge to smack him.

Movement in the crowd caught her eye, she glanced at Reese Nielsen again. Women were crowding around him. How she wanted to pull him away from all the colorful ball gowns, flirty masks, and swaying hips.

“Anything else?” Lézare interrupted her thoughts.

“Not at the moment.”

“Why don’t you approach him?”

She pulled her eyes from Reese. “What?” Was Lézare picking on her? “No. I…”

“It’s okay, Alexandria.” Lézare’s propensity not to use nicknames occasionally got on her nerves, but tonight, in this environment, with their ball gowns and mask, it seemed apropos.

His words were meant to soothe her, to tell her it was okay to love, to tell her it was okay to trust.

Who was he to say? He hadn’t been involved with a woman in years, as far as she knew.

She swallowed the lump of emotion aside. Her brother was her best friend. She couldn’t have asked for better. She forced a smile to her face, fairly certain he’d know it wasn’t sincere, but hopefully he’d realize it was better than getting emotional at the ball.

Lézare nodded. “I think I’ll go check on things.” He brushed a kiss on her cheek. “See you soon.”

With that he was gone, darting between the revelers as though he was on a mission. Was he?

She glanced back at the man who’d caught her attention.

Reese Nielsen.

Her tigress snarled her appreciation at the man’s physique, then chuffed with pleasure.

The man looked at her, his gaze pinning her, his stare seeing straight through to the core of her.

It was as if they’d met before. It was as if they’d…

This is not happening.

Her tigress chuffed that, indeed, it was.

T
he drive was short
, the little paths were dotted with golf courts and those who opted against them, deciding instead, to trek to the main house.

As they pulled up to the grand staircase that led to the front door, Reese understood why they’d been offered the cart. Ladies and gentlemen—shifters all—were dusting off from the dirt and pine needles that had attached themselves to hemlines.

Satin ball gowns and dress pants were disheveled as the housekeeper stood at the top of the staircase shaking her head in disbelief. Reese’s shifter hearing picked up her orders to the staff to assist the guests with eliminating any sign of the walk through the pine needles and soft dirt.

Rory gave him a haughty look, as if to ask if Reese was glad to have acquiesced and taken the cart. Reese didn’t acknowledge his brother’s reaction, watching the guests’ almost comical reaction to having a little dirt on their attire.

The sounds of music came from the open doors and windows.

A minuet?
he wondered.

Yeah, and that limits the extent of my knowledge of music,
he admitted,
to our mother’s chagrin.

It wasn’t for lack of trying. Mrs. Nielsen had tried to get him to appreciate “the finer things.”

Not Reese. Not Rory.

Poor Mom. All those years trying to turn us into gentlemen.

That wasn’t the kind of man Reese was. He liked working with his hands. Two weekends per month, he traveled to his little cabin in the hill country, not far from Fredericksburg. He maintained his own property and put up his own fencing. He’d earned his callouses. And in the early morning and late evening hours, he fished. He escaped the hustle of Houston, not eager to be the eligible bachelor. He played that role the other two weekends—but it was getting old, he admitted to that easily.

The scent of appetizers wafted his way, teasing Reese. The delectable aromas beckoned to him. He heard a growl and wasn’t sure if it was his wolf or his stomach.

He hopped off the golf cart and took the steps two at a time, turning back toward Rory. “Let’s get inside. I’m starving.”

The room was semi-dark, with an occasional candle in a sconce on the wall and a chandelier that captured and winked the reflecting flames. Not that the amount of light mattered to the shifters, what with their preternatural vision.

Ladies, resplendent in their colorful dresses, spanning hues in the rainbow giggled, the sound like tinkling bells. Hair in fancy updos or in ringlets. Faces hidden by three-quarter and half-masks. Lips glossed to perfection. They brought fans to their faces coquettishly. He wasn’t sure what seemed more appetizing at the moment. The aroma of the food or the vision of the ladies.

The guests were gathered in tight circles in the large room’s perimeter, laughing and chatting. The center of the room was occupied with couples dancing—bringing his mother’s disappointment to his mind. Again.

They’d better do a dance I can manage.

And then—

Time stopped.

The sound of the music vanished.

The odor of the food disappeared.

Alexa.

Around her, the world faded away, dark—as if there were a spotlight, only on her.

Reese’s lungs burned with a need for air, but he couldn’t convince his body to take in any. His wolf howled, the sound filling Reese’s head. He yearned to silence the wolf, to comfort him, yet he wasn’t even able to level his own reaction to her.

He couldn’t tear his eyes off Alexa Arceneaux. How was this woman able to affect him and his wolf in this way? She stood there, cream-colored ball gown caressing her body, shimmering, clinging in all the right places, and moving with her every step. She was more delectable than all the women in the room put together.

All the women and all the food
, he thought, though his stomach rumbled and tightened with hunger.

Much more than any woman I’ve ever known.

Or will ever know,
his wolf’s howl proclaimed.

He rubbed his leg, and it was a second later he realized the scar was tingling.

Her gaze glittered, focused on him. She was talking to her brother. She said something to Lézare and seemed to point in Reese’s direction.

Reese tried to concentrate his hearing so he could pick up their conversation. He normally would have been able to, but with the loud music and the other guests talking, Lézare’s and Alexa’s conversation was lost in the din.

“Not a good idea.” Rory nudged him with his elbow, the blow striking Reese’s kidney, and definitely catching his attention.

“Why the hell not?”

“She’s Lézare Arceneaux’s sister.”

“And?”

“Their family has a reputation.” Rory cocked his head to the side, closer to Reese. “You know.” He’d lowered his voice. “Other beings. Do we really want to deal with that sort of thing?”

Reese thought of Leandra—she had to be one of those ‘other beings.’
If you only knew, little bro, if you only knew.

He didn’t even know himself, not for sure. Shifters avoided other types. Some shifter types even avoided other shifter types, going an entire lifetime without interacting. Reese had seen an ivy shifter once. Just once. When he was young; and that was just a glimpse. He’d never encountered a witch or a vampire before.

And I just as soon as keep it that way.

“I’m going to meet her.”

“You’re too damned hardheaded for your own good. So many fine shifter women out there, human women too. And you’re going to mix it up with an Arceneaux.”

Reese frowned at his brother.

Rory held up a hand. “I’m just saying.”

“You’ve said enough.” He wasn’t going to spend tonight merely watching her like he did last night. Tonight he’d get to know her.

When did getting to know her become my priority?

It occurred to him he hadn’t given the underground fighting ring much thought in the last twenty-four hours.

Oh well. I’ll take care of that right after this weekend ends.

His senses kicked out an alert, like he was being watched, and it wasn’t Alexa. She was looking at her brother.

He glanced around, but caught no one’s eyes.

“I’m going to the buffet,” Rory announced. “You?”

His appetite for food had dissipated. “Nah. Not hungry.” The sexy redhead was the only thing on his mind. “I’ll catch up with you later.” Reese left his brother and headed toward the corner of the room.

“What the hell,” he muttered under his breath. Lézare had vanished and Alexa was now talking to Theo, Lézare’s head of security.

They were leaning too close, talking too low. Reese couldn’t control the jealous pangs that struck him. Was there something between the big lion shifter and Alexa? Until now, he wouldn’t have thought so, but they seemed on close terms.

Reese’s wolf snarled.

I feel the same way.

Reese wasn’t about to let that lion shifter get between him and Alexa, not before he’d even been introduced to her.

Theo patted her shoulder, drawing her in for a quick hug, then headed toward the entrance where he pulled two of the security guys into a conversation.

Alexa stood at the base of the stairs, her hand on the carved wooded banister.

Reese had almost reached her when another shifter stepped in front of her. Reese overheard him asking her for a dance.

Before Alexa could respond Reese stepped in front of the shifter. “Ms. Arceneaux’s presence is needed.”

The shifter’s jaw worked beneath the mask. “I just asked her for a dance.”

“She’s needed.” Reese’s tone brooked no argument.

“It seems I’m needed,” she told the shifter. “Perhaps another time?”