Even still, the simple act of staring at each of these truly spectacular specimens of the male species was probably more than enough entertainment for the night.
“She’s here,” Shadow said, and almost immediately, the others shut up and turned our way. “This is Mera, the shifter I was telling you about.”
Five sets of eyes landed on me, and in a less confident body, one would have melted to the floor at the intense level of power and sex appeal in a small area. Demure wasn’t my style, so I decided to just proceed as normal. “Where has Shadow been hiding you five?” I said, blatantly admiring each and every one of them…
Wait... five?Shadow had told me he trustedfivebeings. Looked like I was about to meet Shadow’s friends. Lucky me.
All of them got to their feet, and as they moved closer, Shadow crowded into my back. I had no idea why he was so close to me, but I was too distracted to worry about his weird behavior.
The first one to approach was a good head over six feet tall, dressed in long, silver robes, adorned with what looked like real jewels of varying color and size. He had shoulder-length hair, and it was so icy white, that if snow drifted onto the strands, it would blend in.
In actuality, he was, in his entirety, built in shades of silver and light, with silvery eyes—more elongated and cat-like than a human’s—unnaturally glittering as they stared without blinking. He also had slightly pointed ears, the tapered peaks sticking out from the sides of his partly braided hair.
“I’m Len of the Silver Lands,” he said in perfect English, reaching out to me in the human gesture of shaking hands. The moment we touched, tingles of ice ran across my skin, his power surging into me. It didn’t hurt and wasn’t invasive enough for me to jerk away, but it felt like more than just a mere exchange of energy.
“Silver Lands,” I repeated, my hand still firmly in his grip.
He smiled, and it was how I imagined an archangel looked right before they cut someone’s head off in a vengeance quest. “Yes, I’m a prince of the silver providence in Faerie.”
Ah, right.
I decided to keep a tally.
Friend One: Len, the silver fae prince.
Len’s gaze was full of mischief and amusement as he released me, and I didn’t miss the way his gaze went straight to Shadow. Len shook his head minutely, and I was guessing that was his signal to the beast that he couldn’t read me, either.
Good.
Next up was Len’s complete opposite. Even taller, he was broad and powerful in every way, dressed in black leather pants and a long-sleeved bone-colored shirt. His dark hair was almost shaved to his head in an easy-to-manage style.
As he approached me, the very deep, dark blue of his eyes remained locked on my face, like he was trying to read me from afar, and I spent just as much time examining him becausehe was just so damn pretty to look at.
I mean, gods, he had eyelashes that one could see from outer-fucking-space.
“I’m Reece, from the Desert Lands.”
He didn’t touch me as Len had done, but he did stand close enough that we were all but touching. Far too close for strangers, but for some reason, it didn’t bother me. Tilting my head back, I tried not to sound breathless. “Desert Lands, hey? Let me guess… you’re a prince as well?”
Reece didn’t smile. Something told me this guy smiled even less than Shadow, andwhy was I so into these dark and damaged assholes?
“He’s a deity,” Len piped up from where he’d seated himself again. “Competes with our Shadow in power. And broodiness.”
My lips twitched at that, and I already had Len slotted into the smartass friend category. Every group had one—the clown. And while that didn’t mesh at all with his regal looks, it fit his personality perfectly.
Friend two: Reece, the desert deity, was harder to categorize, but I had a sneaking suspicion he was the muscle.
The next one to approach was around six feet tall, with the most defined physique I’d ever seen on a man. Easy to tell since he was wearing the equivalent of male boxer briefs—and nothing else.
“I’m Alstair,” he said, his voice a whisper across my senses, like a casual breeze on a summer’s day.
I placed my hand in his, and it was cool in a different way to Len’s. Soothing, making my head spin as I was reminded of days by the creek.
“You’re from Karn,” I breathed.
Alstair nodded. “Yes.”
I shook my head. “You look nothing like the inhabitants I’ve seen from your world.”
