He was an Adan, and his choice of wording made me wonder what kept him from acknowledging that. Though it did perhaps explain his involvement with Good Neighbor House.
“No one feels like more of an outsider at work events than me.” He took us deep into the tunnel that was surprisingly well lit. “I mean, everyone knows Kish’s story, from JacksonStreet to runway model, but then they also know about the guy who knocked my mom up. It doesn’t matter to them who my grandfather is.”
From the little he’d told me, I sensed his animosity toward his father and his deep love for his mother. It made me want to hug him and run away at the same time. Needing to do something to ease the tension in the vehicle, I rested my hand over his as he gripped the shifter.
“Sorry.” He quickly glanced over at me before he merged onto a main road where we met other traffic. “I didn’t mean to dump all that on you. I only meant that you shouldn’t feel like you don’t belong. My grandparents and those who work with me in admin are looking forward to meeting you.”
Meeting the CEO of Adan Records? His attempt to ease my anxiety only made it worse. At least he hadn’t mentioned meeting any of the artists. I didn’t think I could survive an interaction with any of them, even if my coworkers wanted me to take selfies with as many as possible.
Desmond shifted into a higher gear. “Don’t worry though. They already hold you in high regard since you work for Good Neighbor House. My grandparents believe in the importance of all charities even though they wish we lived in a world where we didn’t need them at all.”
I really didn’t know what to expect the closer we got to the party. Desmond didn’t reveal anything else as he made his way through the roadways until we reached the underground lot of the hotel.
When he helped me out of his car, he pulled me in close to him before smelling me and kissing my neck. “You really do look gorgeous.”
Tingles zinged through my body, making me forget all my worries. I tried to respond, but my tongue felt numb from his intimate contact.
He chuckled, running his thumb along my cheek. “Precious, too. I want to make sure you have a lot of fun tonight.”
As fire raced through my nerves, I expected to spontaneously combust on the spot. After our first date, I’d checked my suppressants to ensure they hadn’t expired. There was something about Desmond that heightened all my senses. I wanted him to kiss me again, yearned to feel his hands across my body. How could his simple touch elicit such a reaction? I wasn’t in heat, yet felt helpless to stop the sensual power he had over me. I wasn’t sure I wanted to.
“C’mon, let’s go to the party.” He held out his hand, and I took it, letting him guide me toward the elevator.
On the ride up, my nerves tried to make a comeback, so I imagined Desmond doing all kinds of dirty things to me on the elevator. When my cock hardened, I realized my mistake. I didn’t want to meet his family and co-workers with a hard-on. When the elevator door opened and I saw all the people in the hallway wearing beautiful evening gowns, patchwork tuxes that had to have been designed by the infamous Tati Nan, or outfits covered in shiny sequins, my problem vanished. These weren’t people I had any business being around.
I stepped back, hoping to blend into the wall of the elevator until the doors closed again, but Desmond wrapped his arm around my waist and guided me toward them.
“You are sweet and absolutely stunning. Everyone is going to love you.”
His words gave me a bit of confidence as we made our way through the crowd, many of the people giving us a brief smile and nod as we passed. No scoffs or looks of condescension like at my party. That’s when a new fear took hold. I could scent that most of the people at the party were predator shifters. So many wolves. Tigers. Lions. Even bears. My reindeer wanted to flee as I was led farther into the pack.
“Desmond,” someone called from the crowd. “I didn’t think you were coming.”
At first, I thought it was his grandfather who had called him over. Then I glanced up and realized we stood in front of Envi, a jaguar shifter, and one of the first artists signed to Adan Records. He was in attendance with his husband, based on how close they stood and the size of the bite on the other man’s neck. I wasn’t familiar with the pop star’s spouse, as some famous people seemed to be of no interest to the paparazzi. But I did note he wasn’t a predator either, which helped me to relax a bit.
“Envi, it’s good to see you.” Desmond hugged the man, indicating a closeness I hadn’t expected from the way my date talked about the celebrities he worked with. “I trust your anniversary tour went well.”
“It did, thank you.” He squeezed Desmond’s shoulder. “But I’m glad it’s over. I’m not as young as I used to be, and I don’t like to be away from home for too long. Now, who’s this handsome young omega?”
Desmond ran his hand down my back. “This is Kane Northrop. He works at Good Neighbor House, the charity that I was collecting for this year.”
Envi shook my hand before introducing his spouse. “It’s nice to meet you. This is my husband, Hayden.”
“Good to meet you.” Hayden shook my hand as well. “Your charity does good work. I looked them up after we saw Desi here on television.” He nudged Envi. “We’ll have to make a donation tomorrow. Are you close to your goal?”
“Not quite.” Talking about my work felt more comfortable than I expected the conversation with any of the celebrities in attendance to go. “Thanks to Desmond, we’ve been able to meet the demand for toys, but we’re still short on funds to buy food for those in need to have a Christmas dinner.”
“That’s not right.” Envi grimaced. “Especially when everything is so extravagant here tonight. Yes, we will definitely donate tomorrow.”
“Thank you.” I nodded, appreciating that they seemed to understand the work we did and didn’t try to blame those in need for making bad choices. Sure, we had some people come to the Good Neighbor House dealing with addiction, but the majority who needed help were born into poverty or had a string of bad luck. My workplace provided food while referring our clients to others to help them find a new job, an affordable place to live, and/or rehab centers.
We parted without another word, as if everyone but me knew how long these interactions were supposed to last before moving on. I met several other celebrities as we made our way into the room. All the encounters happened pretty much the same way, though Desmond did not hug anyone else. It left me wondering about their relationship.
“Desmond, you finally made your way over here.” An older woman with white, short wavy hair came over and hugged my date. She wore a sparkling pink, calf-length dress and a white pearl necklace with matching earrings. “Envi said he’d seen you, but I didn’t think it would take you this long to get to me.”
Desmond chuckled as he reached for my hand. “It seems everyone is much friendlier right before Christmas and when they’ve been drinking.”
She raised her glass. “That they are. Now, who’s this good-looking fellow? He certainly has superb taste in fashion.”
