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“Hey, Lark,” she says. “Hi guys, I’m Emmy. I know Lark’s mom.”
“Hello,” we all say in greeting. Lark though, is looking at this woman with starry eyes.
“I was just leaving some friends, Jojo and Claire, and we saw you sitting here in the sun and thought you might like to use our private cabana.” She points to a large tent at the edge of the pool.
Lark smiles up at her. “Oh wow, really?”
“Of course, Lark. We’re leaving for the day. It’s all set up for you guys: drinks, swimwear, the whole nine yards. It’s like my personal pool house.” She gives us a little wave. “Okay kids, enjoy, okay?”
“Thanks Emmy,” Lark says, watching her walk away.
“Shall we, little dove?” Sawyer asks, already standing. He takes Lark’s hand in his and walks away.
We follow, and once we enter the cabana, the breeze from a fan cools us right down. You can either raise the front panel of the tent or keep it down, as is. There are chaise lounges, a stocked bar, and a small changing area behind a screen.
“Wow, fancy,” Vaughn says.
“Yeah, I know, Emmy’s husband owns the hotel.”
Sawyer nods. “I remember meeting them with you the other day.”
I feel a pang of jealousy. I want to know everything about Lark, and it’s hard to know some of the other guys know more than me.
“So …” Lark says, looking around the furniture, as if debating where to sit. “What were you saying about being different than me?”
North sighs, but the rest of us shrug, giving him the go ahead he is looking for. “We’re shifters, Lark. Hawk shifters.”
She frowns, arms crossed. “What is that?”
“It means we can transform from man to hawk, and back again.”
She sits on the chaise, hand over her mouth. “Shit, you’re the hawks outside the house?”
“We are,” Brecken tells her. “And we are there every night to protect you.”
She inhales and then exhales slowly, shaking her head the entire time. “My mom warned me about you. For some reason she thought you might…she believed you could be bad, danger- ous. She told me to stay away.”
“She’s wrong,” Vaughn says, adamant. Vaughn is a man of few words, but his heart is always in the right place, and the very idea of being thought of as dangerous seems to blow his mind. “We are here for you, Lark, and you alone. To watch over you. Not because we don’t think you are strong, but because Gaia has reason to believe you are in danger.”
Lark shakes her head again. “Danger from what? That’s what I want to understand.”
“I wish I knew,” North says. “But we didn’t keep this from you to hurt you. We thought it might scare the crap out of you.”
She twists her pink lips. “My mom’s a witch. We can all fly across a stage. And the fact that you shift isn’t the craziest thing that has crossed my mind in the last twenty-four hours.”
“Oh yeah?” Brecken asks. “What other crazy things have you considered?”
She swallows. “Melanie just told me to avoid distractions, but...”
“But what?” I ask, stepping toward her.
“I know I should listen to Melanie, but honestly I can’t seem to stop the pull I feel when I’m around you.”
I move toward her then, unable to hold back. I have been looking at her lips for hours, dreaming of tasting them again. I want her to know that I’m good for her.
When I pull her into my arms, she melts against me instantly. And our mouths open, our tongues colliding. Her arms wrap around my neck, and she moans against my mouth.
“Oh God,” I groan, as she pulls back.
“I don’t know,” she whimpers, closing her eyes. “I need to focus on the show.”
“Damn, woman,” Brecken says. “I can’t handle much more of this push and pull.”
“I’m not meaning to–”
Brecken cuts her off. “It’s okay, Lark. You need to follow your heart. This is your show– your time to shine. Besides,” he says. “I have an idea; a way to cool this down.”
“Oh yeah?” she asks, looking relieved. “Hell yeah,” he says. “Let’s go swimming.”
16
Lark
We pull on swimsuits, leave the cabana, and jump in the water with laughter spilling from our hearts.
“Cannonball,” Sawyer shouts, pulling up his legs and causing a massive splash across the pool. He pulls me to him, the black bikini I borrowed from Emmy’s stash hugging my body in a way I know the guys find attractive. When I stepped out in it their jaws dropped, and I saw more than one of them adjust themselves.
Now, Sawyer reaches for me in the water, and I shriek as he lifts me up, as if planning to toss me in the air.
He doesn’t, though, he just draws me close until my legs wrap around his torso, and kisses me hard.
Thank god this is a public place, otherwise I’m not sure I could keep my resolve. He squeezes my ass as we kiss, and I guess it isn’t so scandalous here at this Vegas pool where most women wear thong bikini bottoms and some are topless.
