Once alone, she chose her most conservative clothes. Dark, slim and as unrevealing as possible. She picked up her gloves and carefully put them on, fiddling with them when the shower turned off. She straightened, unaware she’d been waiting for the sound until she heard it. Now that she had, she was nervous as hell and desperate for a reprieve. “I’ll wait downstairs for you.”
The coward that she was, she escaped to the kitchen to eat. She was too jittery to remain still for long. She didn’t know if it was because her power refused to settle or if she sensed something would happen tonight.
She feared it would be the latter. Jeffrey Durant wanted something from her, had agreed to become her pack for a reason. Like it or not, she had a feeling she was about to find out.
Chapter Twenty-three
EVENING: 11 PM
Raven saw the strained smile on Durant’s face as soon as she entered the club, and her nerves fluttered to life. The tiny lines around his mouth eased when he spotted her, and she barely resisted the need to twitch under his regard. She didn’t know how to react to him after their last encounter.
He stood and sauntered toward her, exuding sexiness with a single-mindedness that drew attention to his body. It also drew the admiration of every female in the room and that of a few males as well.
It took more time than it should’ve to work her eyes up to his face. At his expression, she gulped, repressing a shiver of lust as she struggled to focus on the unease she sensed behind his smile. The large meal she consumed congealed in her stomach.
Something was wrong. “Whatever you do, don’t react.” Taggert nodded at her order, while Jackson, the barbaric caveman, just grunted.
She scanned the crowd again as unobtrusively as possible, noting that the place was packed with shifters and vampires. More so than usual.
Their presence prevented her from being able to use her gift. She couldn’t risk it being traced it back to her. She locked down, shutting everything out. What felt like more than half her senses died when the door clanked shut, leaving her much more vulnerable than she’d ever wanted to feel again.
Durant stepped in front of her, stopping only inches from her in a way that seemed to suck up all the air. “Is there something wrong with the club?” She couldn’t think what else would cause him such concern.
“Raven.” Durant enveloped her in a tight hug, and she resisted the urge to stiffen. She was his alpha. If she refused his touch, she’d only cause more trouble. Gritting her teeth, she inhaled his scent of leather, absorbed his warmth and clumsily wrapped her arms around him in return. And surprised herself by actually leaning into his touch.
Under the lighting, his golden hair appeared streaked. When she continued to stare, she identified what nagged at her...the barely there stripes were identical to his animal’s namesake. Instead of looking foolish, it boosted his charm and added a hell of a lot more wildness to his sex appeal.
He brushed at her shields, not demanding entrance, more like knocking.
Polite.
That was so not a good sign.
With severe misgivings, she lowered her shield a fraction. Be careful. The guy you’re going to meet is dangerous. He’s heard stories of you and was sent to investigate.
When he pulled away, Raven nodded. “What’s this about, Durant?”
“Follow me, but please...just be careful.”
When she would have pulled away, Durant captured her hand and slowly intertwined their fingers together. If he was in his animal form, his tail would be twitching. What could possibly make a seven hundred pound tiger nervous?
“Ah, you must be Raven.” A man of medium stature, with brown hair and nondescript features, rose then indicated she should take a seat across from him.
She hesitated. “And you are?”
“You may call me Randolph.” The tone was congenial, almost mockingly polite, but the cold, penetrating gleam in his eyes put Raven on alert. It wasn’t that he was hiding something, there was just nothing behind his gaze at all.
She carefully lowered herself, half-expecting to hear the slam of cage doors. Taggert and Jackson sat at the next table. Both appeared unable to remove their gaze from the mystery man. Curious, she glanced at Durant and saw the same lull in his expression, though he fought it.
She reached across the table and took Durant’s hand. A sharp pinch like that of a spider bite stung her fingertips when Durant blinked. His expression cleared and color replaced the pallor of his face. “You okay?” Whatever held Taggert and Jackson broke as well.
Randolph stopped scanning the club and slowly swung his head toward her. “I must say, I’m impressed.”
Raven tensed and reluctantly met his gaze. “About what?”