“Well then, keep your secrets!” Dusk lifted a dark eyebrow as he mimicked Frodo Baggins from the Lords of the Rings movies, then gave a smooth chuckle. “But I’ll wrangle the name of this bourbon out of you eventually, Layla Price. You know I will.”
He saluted with a laugh and they both drank again, settling into an easy familiarity. Layla smiled as she watched Dusk, realizing that somewhere in the past months he’d gone from being a pain in the ass to being a friend. He’d defended her today and had helped her deal with countless troublesome magical guests in Concierge Services. Not to mention stopping her from nearly killing Luke. That had been Layla’s first lesson in her otherness; that she wasn’t human and couldn’t pretend anymore, not when lives were at stake. Fortunately, friends like Dusk had eased her transition into this new world of magic, and she was grateful.
Seeing her watch him as he sipped, Dusk cocked his head, smiling with a winsome delight in his summer-blue eyes. “Layla Price. I do believe you’re ogling your boss.”
“I was just thinking I’m glad we’ve become friends.” Layla smiled, sipping her bourbon. “You really helped me out with that asshat cousin of yours. I appreciate it. I’ve been able to weather a lot of magical testing in the past months, but that wasreallysomething else.”
“Ah.” Dusk blinked, then set his glass down with a precise movement to the polished table. A frown knit his dark brows and a wave of midnight color flowed through his sculpted hair before he smiled back, genuine. “I’m glad, too. And Adam really isn’t that much of an asshat, Layla. He’s a rogue, but he’s usually far more level-headed than today. Your magic has an affinity for Royal Dragons – which makes it hard to control around them. And I also believe, makes their magic hard to control around you. Anyone whom our magics seriously resonate with will cause a reaction like that. It’s like two tuning forks entraining –harmonic resonance. If it’s very strong, it produces a ridiculous natural attraction. We call that amate-taste, especially if it’s allowed to be fully unleashed.”
“So that’s what Adam did when he pushed his magic on me today?” Layla frowned.
“Adam didn’t push his magic on you, Layla,” Dusk eyeballed her, “he just didn’t hold back when he felt his magic resonate with yours. It was rude, tremendously so, and in my opinion, he still owes you a far better apology than he gave you. Unleashing your magic on someone else when you feel a resonance like that is like the magical equivalent of rubbing your genitals all over them. Bad Dragon.”
Layla laughed so suddenly that she snorted bourbon up her nose. She spent the next few moments laughing and coughing while Dusk grinned wickedly. As Layla recovered, her thoughts returned to Adam. Her wrist gave a searing throb and she glanced down to the six-inch silver cuff on her left forearm. An antique Moroccan Berber design with a hamsa-hand inlaid in bone, inset with a blood-red coral teardrop and surrounded by ornate canary, cerulean, and scarlet enamel, her talisman controlled her magics – but for whatever reason, had failed to control her magical desires today around another Royal Dragon.
Layla relied on the cuff to keep herself sane and others safe around her. The cuff controlled ninety percent of her sudden magical flushes. But she’d been so busy these past weeks that she’d not had time to study control with Dusk or Rikyava yet. And the Royal Dragon who had clapped this thing on her wrist to begin with, Adrian Rhakvir, had been traveling these past months – unavailable even by phone to answer her questions or train her.
It seemed an oversight now. Layla’s untrained magic had been more than palpable today, and she could still feel her rage like a throb in her inner wrist, the place where the cuff collected her intense emotions. It was still burning from the resonance she’d had with Adam, and that didn’t seem like a good thing.
“What just happened at the desk with Adam – that harmonic resonance thing.” Layla glanced up at Dusk. “Is that going to happen with all the Royal Dragons I’ll meet tonight?”
“That’s a deep question, Layla,” Dusk lifted an eyebrow, his smooth blue-grey lips smiling at the corners. “One that requires dinner. Good thing I ordered some. Oh, and I got you a new gown for tonight. You had a distinct problem of having nothing stunning enough in your wardrobe for your first Dragon party.”
Dusk clapped his hands, and as if they had been on-call in the hallway, a stream of Catering staff in impeccable black and white uniforms came rushing in, whisking to the table. Wilting five-day-old peonies were replaced by a new bouquet of lilacs in a gilded vase. Crystal decanters were moved to the side-bar, linens whipped away to a new setting of white china with gilded rims and sleek cream napkins. A bottle of chardonnay was poured as silver platters of shrimp in a butter sauce, asparagus fettuccine, and a crisp green salad arrived. Layla’s plate was served before the staff whisked out, rolling their trolleys with them. Glancing over to her enormous walk-in closet, Layla saw two new crystal clothing-cases hanging from the open doors – one containing a men’s suit and one holding a fabulous silk evening gown in bloody crimson.
“Well done, Maestro!” Layla laughed as she clapped her hands at Dusk’s orchestrations. As Head Concierge, Dusk was always arranging ostentatious displays, and his planning of this moment showed. Even from here, Layla could tell the sleek silk dress inside the case was stunning – far more ornate than anything Head Clothier Amalia DuFane had provided her with yet. The entire evening was a problem Layla hadn’t known she’d had, and everything about what Dusk had done communicated the opulence of the Red Letter Hotel Paris.
And Dusk Arlohaim’s personal impeccability.
A sudden gratefulness filled Layla and she leaned over, pressing a kiss to Dusk’s cheek as he settled his napkin in his lap. The ridges of midnight dragon-scales on his outer cheekbone flashed, and she felt him startle as he turned toward her. A very pleased, very male smile lifted his grey-blue lips, making his handsome face utterly delightful. A lower-than-sound vibration thrummed through the floor – sending a deep, erotic tingle up through Layla’s seat.
“What was that for?” Dusk rumbled sexily.
“You solved my problem. One I didn’t even know I had.” Though Layla’s words were glib, she felt a hot cord simmer between them now as Dusk’s magics continued to vibrate – making her flush as a spiced orange-peel bourbon scent rose from her skin. She had meant her statement to be teasing but it came out sexy, as she couldn’t quite catch her breath from the pleasure of Dusk’s magic.
Dusk chuckled, watching her with eyes darkened to a clear sapphire as his lips parted to inhale Layla’s scent. A dark carnality took him as he set down his wine, his skin scenting of his magics now like river-water pouring through a dark cavern – flowing around Layla.
“I will always solve your problems, Layla. Even if you don’t know what they are just yet.”
“What problem do I have now?” Layla sassed, settling back in her chair and reaching for her wine. She sipped to distract herself, though there was no distracting her body from Dusk’s teasing, rolling pleasures.
“The problem that your Dragon is hunting Royal mates,” Dusk chuckled with his devilish smile. “Because Adrian was an idiot to leave you alone for two months after he bound you.”
Layla blinked, setting down her wineglass. Though Dusk’s words were teasing, the look he gave her was not. Brimming with dark heat, that look was very male and not at all the man who ordered Layla around all day. This was not the daytime Head Concierge she faced now, this was the debonair rogue who came out nightly in Dusk’s off-hours. This was the Dusk who had so many secret trysts and sexual partners it was a hotly debated mystery among the staff as to just how many people he slept with – weekly.
This was the Dusk that Layla had felt the moment their eyes locked during her Hotel entrance interview two months ago. But in all their weeks working together, Dusk had not used his magics on her since their strangely hot and contentious attraction that first day. But now as their gazes connected, another roll of pleasure rumbled through Layla from his simmering presence – and it was all she could do to not shiver as ecstasy thrilled her. A hot pleasure blossomed in her and Layla felt her Dragon rise in a flood of need and heat – just like it had done with Adam. It flushed her, her body rocking from the enormity of that power.
Gritting her teeth, Layla gripped the table even as her head fell back and her eyelids fluttered. “What the hell is going on?”
With a deep inhalation, Dusk ceased his rumblings, though he had to close his eyes like it had taken effort. When he opened his eyes again, they were still sapphire-deep.
“Layla. Adrian may have tricked you into being bound to him by your talisman two months ago,” Dusk nodded to the Moroccan cuff, “but in true Royal Dragon Bind style, yourunsatisfiedbeast is hunting more lovers than just him these past months. Believe me, I’ve felt it at the Concierge desk – and not just with Adam. Rake André has mentioned it also; that your energy is ranging out to him during yoga class. Your magic is on the hunt. And the interesting thing is that it’s hunting not just Royal Dragons, but also Royals of other Twilight Lineages, like Rake.”
“Shit. Are you saying my Dragon wants me to take a lover? And that if Adrian’s not available, anyone will do?” Layla breathed hard as the realization hit home. Now that Dusk’s rumblings had subsided, she was able to release her death-grip on the table and reach shakily for her wine – though the dark sensations inside her weren’t gone.
“Anyonepowerfulwill do.” Dusk’s gaze was level, a deep carefulness in his eyes. “Rikyava and I talked about it and she says you’ve not taken any lovers at the Hotel yet. Why not?”
“I’m perfectly happy being single right now.” Layla sipped her wine, covering a hot whip of ire that raised a citrus scorch around her as her cheeks flared from embarrassment. She and Dusk talked about sexual appetites of Hotel guests daily, but it was different discussing her own private life with him. She was used to talking about everything from BDSM Assignations to arranging orgies out in the gardens, but now they were getting personal – and that was too personal for Layla.
