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Prologue
NewYear’sEve
The buzz in the bar was palpable as the clock drew nearer to midnight. A similar buzz echoed throughout Marshall Cavendish’s veins, the result of maybe one too many drinks, but hey, it was New Year’s Eve, and he deserved to let loose occasionally. In fact, his best friend and business partner, Saint, had insisted on it.
They’d had a busy year, opening not one but two new mixed martial arts gyms, bringing their small empire to three locations citywide. It was a huge achievement for the two of them, friends since childhood. Of course, they’d worked their asses off to get to this point, and tonight was a well-earned reward for the long hours they’d been putting in.
The bar where they’d met with friends to ring in the New Year was crammed full of hot, sweaty bodies and several interested parties, both human and supernatural, had approached Marshall.
One of his New Year’s resolutions was to quit with the casual fucks and find someone to settle down with. His life had been so busy for the last few years that one-night stands and bathroom hook-ups had been all he had time for, but now, with the business running well and their expansion goals realized, he wanted to move to his next goal of a steady relationship. So, while he was tempted by some of the offers made, he’d simply smiled and declined.
He scanned the crowd again, looking for Saint. His business partner had no intentions of settling down, and Marshall had last seen him disappearing into a dark corner with not one, but two guys. His perusal of the bar was interrupted when he was jostled by someone knocking into him.
“Oops, sorry, my bad,” said a short, black-haired guy with a giggle.
“S’all good. Are you okay?”.
“I’m fine,” came the reply as eyes raked him from top to toe. “And, so sir, are you.”
Marshall’s bicep was grasped tightly, and the guy leaned into him, fluttering his eyelashes.
“Why thank you,” Marshall drawled with amusement as short, dark, and flirty began gently squeezing Marshall’s arm.
“You’re so pretty,” the younger man sighed and pressed their bodies together, and Marshall could feel the gentle fluttering of a purr as the guy’s bright blue eyes flashed.
Cat shifter,Marshall surmised. Probably a lynx, given the guy’s coloring and stature. A shifter’s human form was usually comparable in size to their animal counterparts. Marshall gently eased the guy away from him and got an adorable pout in return.
Before Marshall could say anything, a large hand grasped the younger man’s shoulder and pulled him protectively away from Marshall. Years of training had Marshall instinctively readying himself to defend both himself and the lynx, but the smaller man just rolled his eyes at the intrusion.
“Dammit, Davy, you’re supposed to stay close, not wander off propositioning every man you see.”
“I wasn’t propositioning anyone,” Davy replied. A sassy grin appeared. “You didn’t give me time to, Rafe.”
Marshall couldn’t stop a burst of laughter. Davy was so cute and adorable, and clearly only just legal. He could understand why Rafe wanted to keep him close. Too many predators here—of both the human and supernatural variety—for the man not to worry.
“He’s fine,” he reassured Rafe before turning his attention back to Davy. “Thank you for the compliments. You’re gorgeous yourself, but I’m not the person for you.”
He felt Rafe tense beside him, and dark eyes raked his body.
“What’s the matter,human?Are you too good for a shifter?”
Marshall turned his head to stare at the other man. He was satisfied to see that Rafe did a double take at him; he knew he had his ‘death stare,’ as Saint called it, on his face. It was the look he used just before he took down an opponent on the mats.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but my best friend and work partner is a shifter. I have no problem with anyone’s species. The only problem I have is with assholes.”
Davy clutched Rafe’s arm, drawing his attention away from Marshall.
“Rafe, stop being an ass.”
Rafe turned his glare from Marshall to Davy. “I’m not being an ass. You know Aaron will have my hide if anything happens to you.”
“Pfft!” Davy snorted with a casual wave of his hand.
Deciding this was something he wanted nothing to do with, Marshall patted Davy on the shoulder. “Have a good night, Davy. Nice to meet you.”
Before Davy could respond, Marshall moved away towards the bar, scanning the crowd for Saint. There were only a few minutes left until midnight, and he wanted to greet the New Year with his best friend.
The harried bartender had just passed his beer when a familiar hand landed on his shoulder.
