New space, new start. I struggle to let Soren’s words take root in my mind. New space, new start. Sandals off, I walk a few steps to the small patch of grass in the brick-paved courtyard. Connection with the earth grounds me. Solar-powered garden lamps illuminate my bare feet under the swishing hem of my dress.
Eyes closed, I focus on the trickle of the water fountain, attempting to let the sound wash away the tightness in my chest. One second my skin flushes, the next it chills.
I thought I could do this, that I was ready to move past my spectacular failure. Yet the urge to sneak around the building to my car and drive far, far away fissures through my courage. My toes curl into the damp grass. I’d be letting more than myself down if I run away.
This is my job, my calling, my purpose.
Doubt bristles in the back of my mind. My first matchmaking business ended because a woman ended up dead. Brutally murdered by the man I had told the woman was her perfect match. And he was. The cold chills return.
Before my last client was murdered, I’d never imagined that using my hedge magic to unite soulmates could be anything but good. And nothing in my process told me her soulmate was also a psychopath. It took a long time to trust my abilities again. I’m still not sure if I do.
Warm hands belonging to one of my mates slide over my shoulders while strong thumbs work to relieve the building tension. The scent of autumn rain settles over me like a cloak. I lean my head against Soren’s shoulder and draw strength from my gargoylmancer’s calming presence. If only I believed in myself as much as he believes in me. He found this new office space and hired the crew that made it into a tranquil place for me to welcome new clients. The new space for my new start.
I nuzzle against Soren’s neck. The ash-blonde stubble along his jaw grazes my skin in a delightfully distracting way. Less than twelve hours ago, that stubble rubbed against my inner thighs. Apprehension settles as darker ideas surface.
“That’s better.” His voice rumbles through his chest. “You’re ready for this.”
I pivot inside his embrace to face him. At 5’10”, I’m just an inch shy of his height. I peer directly into his eyes, which shift erratically through a spectrum of colors, depending on which winged creature his multivision is connected toe. Right now, sapphire swirls through onyx and green.
“Actually, I was thinking about last night.” I rake my thumb over his stubble.
“I knew there was a reason I didn’t shave this evening.” He captures my hand and nips my wrist. The pinch of it shoots through my arm and to my breasts. It almost disarms my worry.
I toy with the collar of his black shirt. “I can’t stop thinking about my last client. She’d still be alive if it weren’t for me.”
“You have no way of knowing that. According to the news reports, he hunted women who looked like her, down to the nail color. He was already searching for her, and there’s a good chance he would have found her eventually.”
The impatient moon, out before it’s fully dark, gilds Soren with silver-blue light.
“But he didn’t. I sent her right to him. I should have known there was something off about her mate.”
“Not without a different kind of foresight than yours. Besides, I’m your eyes now.”
Soren officially works for me—background checks, security, whatever I need to make sure that particular tragedy never repeats.
“I might not be able to divine any more. It’s been over a year. Finding the right memory and coaxing it away takes finesse. If I take too much, it has the potential to alter personality. If I don’t take enough, I get this nagging sense of incompletion. No, that’s not the right word. It’s more like missing limb syndrome. Plus it can wreck the process.”
“Then just make another appointment to get the rest of the memory.”
“Memories are delicate, fickle things. Once fractured, they begin to fade fast. There’d be nothing left for me to glean. And without a full and complete memory, there’s no way I can pinpoint a mate. What if…”
“No what ifs, Nya.” Soren runs his fingers through my loosely curled, auburn hair as he speaks. “Your affinity for connecting mates with each other is strong. Look at us. I searched for you for decades. You found me the same day you sought to find your mate.”
“That’s not exactly how it happened.”
“Close enough. This is a new place. A new start. We are all cheering you on. Your success is our success.”
Tingles race along my scalp, down my neck and, and across my shoulders. “Your confidence is almost contagious. You know, there’s the Romance Readers Rendezvous coming up next Thursday. I bought a table last year, before everything…”
“I don’t see how that’d benefit you. Unless you have a book I don’t know about.”
“It’ll be full of people open, maybe even hoping, to find love. I was planning to do tarot reading. Maybe I should just set out some flyers instead.”
“No, tarot is perfect. People connect to a person, not pieces of paper sitting on a table. You should go. My Heart, I’ve never known you to fail at any task you set your mind to.” He presses a kiss to my forehead. “Your client will be here soon.”
“Twenty long minutes. I thought arriving early would give my nerves time to settle.”
He runs his hands along my shoulders and down my arms. “It appears our efforts last night to help you relax didn’t take?”
“It took, but—”
He silences me with a soft kiss on my top lip, followed by another on my bottom lip. With the next one, the tip of his tongue traces the seam of my mouth.
My mind flashes back to what Soren and his wicked mouth did to me last night. My lips part in a gasp. He closes his mouth over mine, a welcome invasion as he explores all the soft, sensuous places. Each stroke lights a fire inside me until I melt in his arms.
At the center of the courtyard, the trickle of water in the fountain swells to a stream as if in response to my own lust. Both are Soren’s doing. Water responds to his command; I respond to his touch.
“Better.” He loosens his embrace and steps back. His eyes are the palest shade of gray. His natural color. The one that means his entire focus has settled on me. He is mine alone.
“Soren. No. You can’t go now.”
His gaze rakes over me like I wish his hands would. His eyes practically glow with want, and there is no hiding the desire bulging at the front of his blue jeans. Soren is short, but not small by any means. The thought of his arousal makes my mouth water. He pleasured me so well last night that I fell asleep before I had the chance to return the favor. He won’t deny me again. He tugs the hem of his shirt and takes another step back toward the door.
“I should go.” His voice takes on a gravelly edge that makes my nipples perk.
Soren has ironclad willpower in many ways. Many, but not all. I shift my weight to one hip and let my head tilt back ever so slightly.
“I want what’s mine.”
“Your client could arrive at any time.”
Ten minutes, minimum. “Is Zyr here?”
Soren nods.
“If the client shows up early, I’m sure he’ll have her wait in the lobby. Now, get over here.”
# # #
Releases December 12, 2019
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