“Who are you, and why are you in my shower?”
“I told you. It’s the best shower in the villa. Draven lets me shower here.” He rinsed the conditioner out of his hair and then reached into a shower caddy and grabbed an anti-fog mirror. Hanging it up on the middle window latch, he did something glowey with his right hand, and used what looked like hardened starlight to shave.
Suddenly, I was just tired. The danger to my life, and then dealing with Draven’s power levels being through the roof when we’d returned had exhausted me. I felt like I could barely lift my head. And just that quickly, I wasn’t interested in the man in the shower anymore. I needed to lie down. I figured if Draven had let him in, he most likely wasn’t an axe murderer. He felt like a jolt of almost electric energy, the slow-moving peace of a river, the mischievousness of a 5-year-old on their birthday, and the goofiness of all the bad dad jokes in the entire world. In short, I knew him to be safe. Safe enough for me to go lay down in my room. I slowly made my way to the fireplace in my bedroom and slumped down onto the mega beanbag chair in front of it. The chair was the size of a small car and felt like a thick, cloudy heaven.
I lay there, soaked, staring at the ceiling, wondering how my day had turned so completely to crap. Bombs under my car, naked men in my shower… Most people might consider that last one a boon, but I just sighed in frustration and exhaustion.
Someone had tried to kill me today.
From the outside, the town looked and felt so safe. Like a quaint European seaside town with bright colors and cute shops. And they had such cute names: The Laughing Elf, Chocula Chocolates, The Serenading Siren, Midnight Masquerade, Wyld’s Wallflowers… In theory I knew they must have some crazies here too, but I guess I’d just wanted it to be idyllic. Like a supernatural eden. I think it was for most, just maybe not for an ancient vampire and his assistant. I groaned.
I wanted some chocolates from Chocula Chocolates right then. My hands were still shaking, and I knew the chocolate would help. It always did.
Mr. moon tats came in wearing sweats and a tee shirt that saidElves Do It Better.He invaded my space, smelling like citrus and spearmint and something cold and distant like starlight, if starlight had a smell. Which it didn’t. I was clearly hallucinating now. Help. Send chocolate.
I was splayed on the beanbag with my arms and legs out like a starfish, trying to calm my frantic heartbeat by breathing in and out in deep, measured breaths.
I remembered back to just before and after the bomb had gone off, and the emotions that had hit me that hadn’t felt like mine. It was hard to refute now that I really was an empath of unknown origins. I mean, it was one thing to know, but now Iknew.I felt it deep down inside of me. I released a stuttered breath. It was possible I was also something else mixed in, but until I manifested other abilities, I was content to assume I was simply an empath.
I’d mentioned that to Draven last night, and he’d laughed. Apparently, empaths are rare. Like, rarer than four-leaf clovers in the North Pole, rare. I did a few more deep breaths, and finally felt my heart and nervous system calm. I was so very grateful for bodyguards. I was going to ask Henry to make them something fantastic, especially Mesmer.
Speaking of empaths, I could feel Mr. moon tats next to me. His emotions were rippling between fascination, attraction, and irritation.
“Why are you irritated with me?” I squawked in indignation. “You invaded my space, you plunked your naked self in my shower, and I almost died today!” I said, being way too dramatic.
My eyes stung with tears, but I ignored them and opened my eyes wide until the liquid dried out.
Ugh.
I picked my head up and glared at the man next to me. “You’re done with your shower. Why are you still here?”
His beautiful eyes studied me as he laced his hands on his stomach and leaned against the wall. “You are the new assistant?” His voice was a little bit growl, and a little bit melodic. It was kind of soothing.
I sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m not usually this teenager-moody, or grumpy, but you invaded my space, and someone almost blasted me into tiny pieces today. I’m a little high-strung right now.”
He sat up straight, tense as a bowstring. “A bomb in Moonhaven? Is everyone okay?”
I nodded. “Yep. Well, other than the car that exploded, and the huge hole in the bridge railing, but pretty much. Mesmer sensed it from the undercarriage of the car. He forced the car to drive off the bridge and into the water, and flew me to safety.”
The man was quiet. Though, now that he wasn’t naked, and I could get a closer look at his ears, I thought he might be an elf. He had tipped ears. Huh, the shirt made sense now. Obviously, he was magical. I mean, his eyes were a dead giveaway. The gold dust in the dark purplemoved.
The elf drew closer to me, hesitated, then opened his arms, looking very uncertain. I eyed him for a minute, and eyed his arms, and then said heck with it and scooted closer so he could hug me. I sighed into the hug. It felt nice. I can’t say I had much experience with them. It was also nice to be hugged after a horrible experience. So much so that I sort of mourned the fact that I’d never had them after the bad experiences of my youth and early adult years.
He smoothed his hands down my ponytail and rubbed my back a bit. “Not a very great welcome to our town, was it?”
I shook my head and moved away from him. Hugs might feel fantastic, but I still wasn’t used to them. He studied me for another moment before he put his hand out. “I’m Rhys Liakis, owner of The Laughing Elf.”
I put my icy hand into his. “Mia Durran, future assistant extraordinaire, and very new to the paranormal community.”
He smiled cheekily at me. His was the grin of a person who knew he was handsome and fully expected any an all females to worship him. I almost laughed out loud. Yeah, not going to happen. I mean, he was really handsome, it was true, but I wasn’t attracted to him. And he for sure didn’t give me the warm flutteries I felt around Draven. I was determined to ignore those flutteries for multiple, very logical reasons. The most important being that I wanted to keep my job.
“I heard you’re an empath?”
I frowned, wondering if rumors about me were circling the town. I didn’t like that one bit. “That was private information.”
He shrugged. “For everyone but the Pacific Northwest Council, it would be. I’m part of the Council.”
I blinked at him. “You must be ancient then. Draven’s on the Council and he’s at least a thousand years old.”
