“Um… yeah.” Trevor pulled his iPhone out of his pocket and scanned the screen. “I’ve got to go. They need me in surgery. See you around.”
Without looking at me, he made a U-turn and sped down the hallway. The signs tacked on the walls said the surgery was in the opposite direction, but I was pretty sure it didn’t matter to someone running away from the girl who stood him up. Oh well. Trevor was a big boy. He’d find love someday.
“I guess he won’t be calling for a second date,” Gideon said in my ear.
I spun around and smacked him playfully on the shoulder. “No thanks to you. What am I going to do now?”
He gave me a cocky smile that tugged at my heart. “I think I have a good idea.”
His lips were on mine before I had a chance to come up with a smart-alecky response. They pressed hungrily against me as my body responded in kind. The taste of cinnamon candy filled my mouth with a spicy heat.
I melted into his arms and pressed my chest against his, relishing the feel of his quickening heartbeat. This was so much better than what I’d imagined. Every part of me lit up with electric energy, tingling where his skin touched mine. Sighing, he wound his hands in my messy hair and paused to catch his breath.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for days,” he whispered.
I stared at his mouth, mesmerized by the shape of his lips. Reaching up to my tiptoes, I brushed my lips softly across his, pausing in the corner to kiss him.
The sounds of whoops and hollers behind us broke up the kissing session. Angel, Steven, and Johnny had just landed on the hallway, standing in the middle with a dozen Get Well balloons and three vases full of multi-colored lilies. They pumped their fists and whistled, telling us to get a room.
“And here comes the embarrassing best friends,” I mumbled with a smile.
Gideon squeezed my hand, but didn’t let go. I was intensely aware of my hand in his, and the nervous energy burning like a red hot coal in my stomach. Whatever this was, it felt right. I’d been so intent on hiding in Arcana from my past, that I’d forgotten how to put myself out there. Life’s adventure didn’t come without a bit of risk.
We could worry about the HQ and my unhinged brother tomorrow. Tonight, we’d celebrate our victory.
~
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Turn the page to read an excerpt of Athena’s Jewel,
the second book in the Aya Harris Collection.
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Excerpt from Athena’s Jewel
The second book in the Aya Harris Collection
Prologue
The man yanked her through the backdoor of the club, ignoring her hisses and snapping fangs. Only a minute ago, he’d been flirting with her over a bloody margarita. She’d liked the easy way he smiled and the strong pulse of blood in the vein on his neck. This wasn’t how she imagined the night would end.
With a quick hand, the man snapped a metal collar around her neck and stepped back as her fangs disappeared and the strength in her arms faded away.
“I’ve got another one for you, Timur,” he called into the darkness of the alleyway. “A vampire.”
She jerked back as out of the gloom, a moving truck inched forward. The truck’s fog lights lit up the small patch of wet cement in front of her and a pile of discarded Bacardi boxes. She watched a giant man step out of the passenger seat and approach them. He bent down low to get a good look at her, his rank breath hot and heavy on her face.