*And you are sharing this hunt with me.*
She blinked. “I hadn’t thought about it like that.”
His dragon purred its approval, and that was all he needed for warning to slash like a blade against his ribs.
What was he doing?
He corralled his thoughts, loading them with ice.
*How convenient for you that we both escaped. You unharmed, and me badly enough injured that I still require your assistance to return home.*
*Very convenient.*While his own voice had been chilly, a sort of heat underlay her words, dangerous and compelling. He clenched his fists.
There was no future here. Not for the two of them. Not forhim.
She clearly did not want him, and he—he could not have her.
Not if what he feared was waiting for him in Antarctica was true.
He had to remember that.
*Why are we delaying? If one of the other—bidders—is here, they could see us.*
*If they’re here, we wouldn’t be able to escape being noticed anyway. And if they saw me trying to hide, they would think I was weak. Easy to pick off before the game begins.*
Her watch hummed again, and again she dismissed the notification with a barely perceptible grimace.
“I’m happy to give you some privacy if you’d like to speak with him,” he offered.
“That isn’t necessary.”
She was hiding something. “Truly, if you need to—”
“I’ll talk to him later,” she snapped.
Julian was about to press further when a woman’s voice rang out behind them.
“Frankie? Oh my god, it is you!”
The jolt that ran through Francine’s body was so intense that Julian felt its aftershocks across his skin. He turned at once, putting himself between Francine and the woman who had called out to her.
She was around Francine’s age, with perfect unblemished skin and clear blue eyes. Her hair tumbled in rich golden curls over one shoulder, and she looked through Julian effortlessly.
He inhaled, seeking past her human exterior.Lioness.He barely even had to look for it.
Behind him, Francine let out a sharp hiss of breath. *Don’t let her see what you are.*
*That would require her to look at me.*Besides, he was dressed for the cold weather, with a hat pulled low over his head and reflective sunglasses. A small defense against anyone who might recognize him. If they bothered to look.
The woman was getting closer, gliding through the crowd on stiletto heels and steel-clawed self-confidence. In a few seconds she would reach them.
*I’m not joking, Rouse. Keep your animal side hidden while we’re around these people, so even if someone senses you are a shifter, they won’t be able to tell what type.*Francine raised one hand to wave lazily to the woman. *If she finds out what you really are, things will go badly for us.*
As though revealing his true nature to anyone in this world had evernotgone badly. But it was too late to say that. The woman was on top of them.
“Frankie! You’re here! I had no idea! Oh, out of the way, you. Frankie doesn’t need you to protect her fromme.”
She batted Julian aside and advanced towards Francine, arms outstretched. Francine’s lips curved into a cool smile.
