Only After Dark The Boxed Set Books 1 - 4: Shifters Forever Worlds (5 page)

I
tchy
. Irritating.

Lézare fiddled with the mask he’d donned for the masquerade ball. He wasn’t fond of wearing them, never had been. They were his least favorite part of the ball. He did enjoy the ladies wearing masks, though, and dresses that hugged their curves.

He wove his way among the guests.

His tiger growled.

Lézare froze. A sensation flowed through his body, coursing over his flesh like a feathery caress, then making his nerve endings feel like they were on fire, dipped into hot candle wax during the most intimate of moments. He fought the shiver that threatened his body.

Someone here was getting his tiger’s attention, and by default, seizing control of Lézare’s own body, making him react in a way that pushed him toward the cliff, near the tempting fires of the abyss of lust.

He allowed his tiger’s senses to take over, more accurate as a radar than his own human senses. The tiger focused, scanning the room, finding the source in a dark corner. Lézare turned, ready to find the cause of the energy that was searing his center.

A hand on his shoulder stopped him.

Lézare turned to face the one obstructing him from his mission.

“Alexa.” He glanced away from his sister, toward the French doors in the corner.

A figure, curvy and voluptuous in black with a touch of gold, slipped toward the depths of the ballroom with her back to him. His eyes took note of the sway of her hips and the curve of her ass with every step she took until he could see no more, completely barred from that glorious view by other guests.

Alexa tapped him on the shoulder. “I thought we were going to talk?”

“Yes.” He chanced a look for the creature in black and gold.

No sign of the woman.

He wiped the scowl from his face before he turned toward his sister once more. “Yes. Sorry.” He looked over her shoulder, scanning the crowd for the woman. “Are you having fun?”

Alexa didn’t answer him.

Lézare pinned her with his gaze. Now she was the distracted one. “Alexa.”

She looked his way. “Yes. Sorry.” Her words mimicked his, but she seemed suddenly distracted. “Who is that?” She nodded toward the center of the room with a slight tip of her head.

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

“No!” Her answer was sharp. “Sorry. No. The tall guy. The hot one.”

He scanned the group. Who the hell was she talking about?

She yanked on his sleeve impatiently. “The one with short hair.”

“That’s Reese.” Lézare took stock of the expression on her face. “Alexa. Seriously?”

“What?” Her voice was too high, too innocent.

Lézare shook his head, holding back a smile. “Nothing.”

“Reese Nielsen?”

“Yeah.” Was this what his sister had brought him away from the vixen in black and gold for? Would she know who the woman was? He didn’t want to give away that he was interested in someone. He typically played it much closer to the vest, even with his nearest and dearest sister. “So, I think I’m going to sink into some fun.”

“You never said why you had to leave.”

Of course I didn’t, because you can’t stand Natalya, and if you knew I’d left you here with all this responsibility so I could try to help find her, you’d be pissed.

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

“With what?”

“He lost something.”

She gave him a sideways glance.

He needed to get her off that topic. “How was today? Any drama?”

“No. Not really. Well, sort of. Callie thought she had a contraction.”

Lézare’s eyes flew toward Vax’s mate.

“She’s fine,” Alexa reassured him. “She thinks maybe it was something she ate.”

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

“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. Maylene threatened the same thing every year.

“Anything else?” He noticed her eyes hadn’t strayed far from Reese Nielsen for more than a few seconds.

“Not at the moment.”

“Why don’t you approach him?”

“What?” She turned her gaze his way, her eyes piercing his, as if she were trying to determine whether he was serious or picking on her. “No. I…”

“It’s okay, Alexandria.” Lézare knew the things she wouldn’t say. Alexa didn’t trust men. She might look and admire, but she kept them at arm’s length.

She nodded, a stiff smile on her lips. Would she ever be comfortable enough to address that matter? Or would she forever be without a mate?

Like me.

Lézare didn’t want to be without a mate. Hell, no. He was more than ready—and the one he wanted had never left his mind.

His tiger roared.

Fine. Okay. True. She never left my mind until I saw that woman tonight.

How could he be attracted to a woman he hadn’t even talked to? He hadn’t even seen her face. All he’d seen was a body that was
c’est magnifique.

“I think I’ll go check on things.” He planted a quick kiss on his sister’s cheek. “See you soon.” Then he darted away, slipping through the throngs of revelers, making a direct line toward the corner the black-and-gold-clad beauty had been in.

Once he was in the corner, Lézare took a deep breath, hoping he’d find some scent, some trace of her.

He found nothing.

He followed the same direction she’d taken, hoping he would have more luck.

Why am I in such a hurry? It’s not like I don’t have twelve hours until brunch.

Nothing would end until brunch. That was when the attendees would all disband and go home. Surely he’d find her before then.

Unless another shifter sets his mind to having her.

His pulse sped up, his strides lengthened.

He wasn’t having that.

N
atalya knew
Lézare was there before she saw him, before her shifter hearing picked up the timbre of his voice. She knew because that sensation that struck her body whenever he was around happened again, just like it always did.

Voltage surged throughout her body, lighting her nerve endings on fire, leaving her breathless and with a racing pulse.

She glanced around the mostly filled-to-capacity ballroom. So many men, all of them in suits and masks. So many women in long dresses, also masked. Could she find him in here? Would she be able to?

It was as if there were a divining rod in play, for her eyes were pulled toward him like magic.

There he was, off to the right, talking to a masked redhead.

She felt his scrutiny; like a predator’s, it traveled through the room, then settled on Natalya, passed over her, hesitated, and returned to her. Even in the dark room, even with dozens of people milling about and the music playing loudly, she could still feel the warmth of his scrutiny.

His eyes strayed back to her repeatedly while he conversed with the redheaded woman.

Natalya knew that red hair—his sister Alexa. Just one of the Arceneaux who hated her.

Why am I here? It’s not like he’ll want me. It’s not like his family will ever like me.

A sob at the futility of being here seized in her throat. She needed to get out before she became emotional and a room full of shifters picked up on it and began to search for the source.

Natalya bolted away from the crowd, following the wall, going as far from the front door as she could, far away from the doorman who would recognize and remember her.

And kick me out.

Which wasn’t something she was ready to have happen, even though she didn’t feel like she belonged and was certain that if she was recognized she’d be sent packing.

I’ll be lucky if that’s all Alexa does to me.

She expected Alexa to tar and feather her, especially since she was well aware how much trouble she’d caused for Lézare.

Natalya stuck to the walls, going around the perimeter of the room, avoiding the dance floor and the throngs of people there, until finally she found a set of double doors and slipped out.

She was on a balcony, overlooking a large maze in front of her, a gazebo off to one side, and a magnificent lighted fountain on the other side of the maze. The maze was occupied with shifters seeking their way through the tall passages.

The gazebo was empty. That was her destination. A bit of privacy where she could reclaim her composure and maybe even talk some sense into herself.

Natalya wove a path among a collection of couples, all shifters, all very involved with each other, holding hands and kissing, laughing gently. Their sounds were sensuous and low, gentle lullabies that merged with the sounds of crickets and distant bullfrogs. Those should be comforting sounds; they should make her happy to be amongst such merriment, amongst shifters finding their enjoyment and even their mates at the event.

She couldn’t find enjoyment. She was tormented by her thoughts. All she could think of was that Lézare would find a woman who would make him laugh a husky laugh, touch him with lust, kiss him with passion, and who knew what else. And that whoever he found would not be her.

I’m such a fool.

So leave then, fool,
she rebuked herself.

But like a moth drawn to a flame, she couldn’t. She wanted to see him again, later, when she’d regained self-control and her emotions wouldn’t get the best of her. She wanted to memorize the way he looked when he laughed, the tilt of his head, the curve of his smile, his broad shoulders and wide chest. That short hair and beautifully-hued skin of his.

She sighed.

“Tell me his name and I’ll make him pay,” said a voice close to her ear.

She half-jumped and half-flinched. Then she put her hand on her chest.

The words were low, sensual, husky, exactly what she’d wanted, and they were delivered by the very man she wanted.

Lézare.

Would he recognize her voice if she spoke? Everything he’d heard her say had been screamed and yelled several months ago. She’d never stopped to talk to him, not really talk; there’d only been yelling, snapping, and even whining.

L
ézare had found her
: the mystery woman in black trimmed with gold. She was in the gazebo, facing away from him. He could tell from her body language that she was unhappy.

Then she sighed.

He heard that sigh from more than a dozen paces away and was grateful for his shifter hearing. With tiger-quick speed he was upon her, unnoticed.

He leaned in, inhaling her womanly essence, but not picking up any sign of her shifter scent. Of course she was a shifter; who or what else would dare come to a shifter ball?

“Tell me his name and I’ll make him pay.” He spoke the words close to her ear.

She jumped and jerked away, still not facing him.

“I apologize. I didn’ mean to scare you.” He studied the voluptuous body sheathed in the black dress. It showcased her curves, emphasizing a full bust and full hips that tapered in to her waist.

Something about her figure reminded him…

No, it can’t be.

She cleared her throat and turned to face him. Dark green eyes were framed by blonde eyelashes.

Those eyes.

He glanced at her lips. Her teeth had captured the bottom one and were worrying it.

“Keep that up and you’ll make it bleed.” He raised a thumb to her mouth and freed her lip from its captivity.

He didn’t move his thumb, instead leaving it resting on the slightly swollen pink flesh while his fingers curled under her chin. He felt her pulse as surely as he felt his own throbbing in his body. Her pulse began a race that was matching his own.

The music coming from the house, the sounds of merriment from the balcony, the sounds of the Louisiana woods just beyond their manicured lawn… all of it faded away. It was as if he were being sucked into a whirlpool, except that she was there with him, and they were standing still.

This sensation—he knew he’d experienced it before.

His tiger roared in his head.

The scent wasn’t there. She was wearing block. But she’d received the invitation.

And she’d come.

His tiger chuffed with pleasure.

Natalya had come.

He’d hoped that what he felt when he’d had seen her last wasn’t one-sided. But why was she hiding her identity? Why the block? Why not come through the front door and announce herself?

It doesn’t matter. She’s here. That’s all that matters.

L
ézare’s thumb
was on her lip. How she wanted to take it in her mouth, to taste it, to feel its texture against her tongue. She closed her eyes, sure that when she opened them he’d be gone.

“A dance?” His words were a low whisper, so low that only her shifter hearing could pick them up.

She swallowed. This was the moment. She hoped her voice wouldn’t crack like a teenager’s, or worse, sound like a toad’s.

“Here?” She managed to let the word out with a breath.

“I can’ think of a more magical place,
chère
.”

His pronunciation, his accent, the husky note in his voice, all of these seduced her.

It
was
magical. The moon in the distance, bathing the greenery around them with a silvery glow. The music merging with the sounds of the night. The smell of jasmine merging with his earthy, musky scent.

I’ll remember this night forever, long after he’s only a distant memory.

Sadness pierced her heart at the thought that this would be all they’d share.

She nodded, unable to speak for fear the unhappiness was so pervasive that it would escape from between her lips.

He stepped closer, his broad shoulders and wide chest blocking her view of anything but him. Large hands on her hips pulled her close to his body, so close that they were almost touching, so close that she could feel the heat from his flesh through her clothing.

She looped her hands behind his neck.

“You’re not from around here,” he said, his voice hushed and intimate.

“No.”

How much could she tell him? She didn’t want to say anything. She knew how he’d react the moment she said she was Natalya Solis. He’d jerk back and… And what? He’d probably feel scorn and disgust. She was better off saying nothing more.

Luckily, he didn’t press the issue.

They danced, song after song, not even pausing between songs, not really even noticing that the music had stopped only to start again. Natalya’s tigress chuffed a low, soothing sound in her head while her pulse became one with Lézare’s.

Neither said a word; neither needed to say anything that would ruin the moment.

She couldn’t say when it happened, but she closed her eyes and laid her cheek on his chest, feeling the muscles swell at the contact, hearing his heart beat deep within.

She would have traded anything, any eternity, to have these moments continue.

Sensing a change, a ripple in their connection, she opened her eyes. Like a predator, he studied her face, even with the mask in place. His gaze bored into hers.

Lézare’s head lowered, and her lips parted as if they were controlled by some other force, as if she was watching from far above. His tongue slipped into her mouth, sending coils of sensations coursing throughout her body as it danced with hers, taking her captive, claiming her completely until she was breathless.

When he finally pulled back, just a shade, a gold flash appeared in the depths of his eyes.

His tiger.

In Natalya’s head, her tigress roared a response so loud she was certain Lézare’s tiger would hear it.

The energy between their tigers spun Natalya into a whirlwind of vibrations, leaving her trembling.

“You feel it.” His voice was husky, a low growl.

She never had a chance to respond, to acknowledge what he’d said.

“Lézare!” A voice she didn’t know interrupted them, breaking the spell, searing it closed.

“
Sacre bleu
,” Lézare hissed. “For the love of all that is holy, this had better be important.” He raised his head from hers and looked off into the distance.

“Callie. She’s in labor.”