The elevator dinged, signaling the arrival of another guest. She held her breath, hopeful. The doors slid open and she sighed with disappointment. And dread.
“Evie Black.” Dallas Gutierrez stepped forward and grinned a seducer’s grin. “You look stunning.”
“I know. But thanks.” He wore a perfectly tailored suit in the traditional black and white, his dark hair slicked back, his blue eyes bright. “A party crasher so soon. No wonder you didn’t know the dress code.”
“Like the ladies could really handle me in my swimmies.” Leaning forward, as if sharing a secret, he said, “Did you notice? No man boobs.”
She tried not to smile. Failed.
“By the way, you’re welcome.”
“For what?” she asked, arching a brow.
“My presence.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Don’t let him fool you. He’s not a crasher, he’s one of my plus twos.” An elegant woman stepped up beside him. She had honey-colored hair and a beautiful face usually only seen in magazines. She wore a short red dress that displayed a belly rounded by her pregnancy.
“Noelle Tremain,” Evie acknowledged.
“None other.”
Blue spent a year of his life with this exquisite, elegant woman. But he never shared his true self with her, and Evie suddenly wondered why. “Congratulations on your recent marriage.”
“Thank you. I felt really strongly that it was time I took a step up.”
Meaning her husband was better than Blue?
Evie masked a scowl. “Who’s the lucky guy?”
“Me,” a gruff voice replied. A man with dark hair, green eyes, and the rough features of someone who knew his way around a bloody battlefield wrapped a gloved arm around Noelle’s waist.
Why gloves?
“Hector Dean, meet Evangeline Black.” To Evie, she said, “Dallas tells me we have a mutual frenemy.”
Evie glared at Dallas. Yes, he’d had permission to spill the gory details about Blue, but he shouldn’t have acted on it.
“Whoa. Cool down now, Miss Black, and keep your hands out of your wizard bag. I don’t want to know if you’ve got another magic compact in there. Blue wanted her to know,” he said, palms up.
“If that’s so,” Noelle interjected, “why did you tell me Blue was going to kill you for being the messenger, and I needed to protect you?”
Dallas threw his arms up. “Because that’s also true. Hector, control your woman before she gets me killed.”
“Don’t think I will,” Hector said.
Noelle beamed at him. “Anyway.” She took Evie’s hand, squeezed. “If you ever want to compare notes, I’ll make myself available.”
The trio sailed past her without another word. Good thing, too. Another ding sounded, and out stepped Blue. As usual, Evie’s breath snagged in her throat. He looked edible—and it had been too long since she’d had a taste, feeding her addiction.
He sported a simple white tee that hugged his heavy biceps and rippled chest, and a pair of swim trunks that could have doubled as golf shorts. Casual and ready to play, but also ready for business.
His gaze swept over her and heated. Then his power followed the same trail, and it was as though his hands caressed her, causing her ni**les to harden and her belly to quiver.
Tonight, after he returned from Tiffany’s and she returned from Tyson’s—fingers crossed—she would sneak into his room. If he didn’t sneak into hers.
“Evangeline, wow . . .” Another full-body once-over, his eyes lingering on all the places he liked to touch. He clasped her hand and kissed her knuckles, and she could only gasp at the heady sense of pleasure that flooded her. “You look gorge.”
Can’t laugh. “Thank you,” she said with a regal nod. “If I didn’t know you were abbreviating the word ‘gorgeous,’ I would think you were telling me I look like a ravine.”
“Gorge and smart.” His voice lowered. “The things I want to do to you . . .”
Can’t fall into his arms. “Oh, yeah?”
He nodded—and then he snatched her purse and dug inside. “A wad of Chinese money. A handful of zip ties. Taco Bell sauce packets. An Immortals After Dark friendship bracelet. Six safety pins. A mini-Taze. And now a pen.” He held a plain-looking ink pen in the light and pressed the end.
It wasn’t a pen, she realized. A needle emerged rather than a ballpoint. In the belly was the isotope tracker.
“Perfect for my collection,” she said.
Lavender eyes narrowed with determination, surprising her. “I thought you’d like it.” He took her hand, much as he’d done the first time they’d met, and kissed her knuckles. “Forgive me, but . . .”
A sharp sting in her palm.
She frowned and jerked away from him. A tiny bead of blood welled just beneath her index finger—a needle puncture?
His expression was hard and intractable.
She lowered her gaze, saw last year’s NOFL Super Bowl ring glinting from his hand. He’d never worn it before.
“What did you do?” she demanded quietly.
“What I had to do to keep you safe. You’re welcome.”
“Blue—”
The elevator dinged, saving her from having to form a reply—it would have been a death threat, no question. Because if she had to guess, she’d say he’d just used the isotope tracker on her.
He handed her the bag, expression cleared of all emotion. Aaannnd, out stepped—
Tyson and Tiffany Star.
Game face on.
Evie cloaked her rising anger with a blank mask.
Blue gave a megawatt smile to Tiffany, and Evie marveled that he’d ever been able to fool anyone with his acting talents. He did not look besotted, but determined. “I was just asking Miss Black if you’d arrived,” he said to the girl. “And here you are, like a wish come true.”
Tyson stiffened, but Tiffany offered a shy smile in return.
Evie felt no stirring of jealousy. And, strangely enough, even her anger drained. Blue was doing his best to find his friend, and he knew how badly a distraction could screw him up. Worrying about his woman—a woman being stalked by the enemy—had to be the biggest distraction there was.
So you’re his woman now?
Well, yes. For the moment.
“You are all my sister has been talking about, Mr. Blue,” Tyson said, with zero emotion in his tone. However, his eyes gave him away. Flames crackled in their navy-blue depths.