Page 13 of Temptation Unleashed (Talaenian Fae #3)

Rori motioned to the classroom door. “I’ve got to stick around and ask some questions, then head home.

I’m going in early tonight to try and make some extra cash for bills.

” She rested a hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t we plan for some drinks beachside Friday?

Celebrate another week of clinicals and exams in the books.

Cassy said something about ladies night or karaoke at the bars.

You know she’s always up for a night out. ”

“Sounds good. Might need a night out after Friday’s exam.” Brandon glanced around the emptying hallways. When his eyes turned back to her, they softened. He playfully tapped her nose. “If you need anything, I’m always here.”

“I know.” She started back to the classroom. “See you at work.”

“Always, querida .”

Rori reached up and gingerly touched her forehead where Brandon had rested his kiss as she returned to the classroom.

It wasn’t the first time he’d made the gesture, but for some reason, today it felt different.

His kiss, as tender as it was, possessed more meaning, more emotion, more inclination.

There was an extra whisper of hope, a layer of protection, an implication of promise.

A subtle nudge, maybe a test, to see if she might be willing to give him a chance in the way he sought.

Or maybe, just maybe, it was her wishful thinking that his kiss could wash away the happenings of the night before. That a simple, friendly kiss could ground her back in her old reality from a mere twenty-four hours earlier.

Twenty minutes later, the automatic sliding doors opened to the humidity of the late fall, greeting her with a blast of hot, sticky air.

The Florida sun cast its unbearable rays down from a cloudless blue sky.

Heat waves snaked off the pavement, distorting the distant parking lot beneath the sweltering mirage.

She squinted against the blinding sunlight, cupping a hand over her eyes as she fished out a pair of sunglasses from her purse and slipped them on.

After three years of living in this state—a pact she and Cassy had made after high school graduation and months of traveling until they decided to set down roots here—she still couldn’t get used to the weather.

For one, her pale skin from her Irish roots didn’t befriend the sun like Cassy or Brandon’s did.

The closest to tan she got was roasted tomato, a measure of well-done she never cared to experience after the first time.

Brandon’s Hispanic roots gave him a skin tone she envied.

The man could tan like it was nobody’s business, and he wore the sun’s splash of color utterly well.

Brandon . Her trustworthy friend who didn’t take pleasure in blades and murder plots.

Her dear friend who came to her at the drop of a dime in her darkest times.

A wholesome heart with a handsome face and a tender touch.

So what if his hair was the color of raven feathers and his eyes dark brown.

So what if his skin was kissed by the sun and he decided to paint his upper arms in tattoos.

So what if he wasn’t as perfect as Thaddeus, with eyes that held so many different hues of icy blue, hair with more shades of white-gold than she thought possible, skin like marble, both hard and impeccable.

Magic wasn’t the only no-go on her list of things she wanted in a man.

Entirely engrossed in her thoughts, she came up short a space away from her car.

Her heart hammered unnervingly, her stomach flipping when she realized who leaned against her trunk.

Had she been paying attention, she would’ve seen her surprise guest before she made it to the parking lot and perhaps avoided this confrontation.

Cael pushed off her car and waved, a bright smile playing over his mouth.

A smile that insinuated there was nothing wrong with the fact that he still had that strange, albeit beautiful, golden hair and very pointy ears.

She knew in her heart that the smidgen of hope she held that his dark sunglasses hid brown eyes was lost with logic.

If the rest of him retained the changes from the night before, so did his eyes.

Which meant Thaddeus was real.

Oh, the logic. How ironic .

“Hey, Rori. Figured I’d try and catch up with you after class.” He closed the gap between them and eased her bookbag off her shoulder. Her stunned mind didn’t quite follow what was happening until he slung the bag over his own shoulder and nodded toward her car. “Hope you don’t mind?”

“I, uh, well…”

He chuckled and, with a hand against her lower back, guided her to her car. “It’s okay. I’m sure you’re still trying to process everything.”

Rori stiffened, stopping a few steps from her car, and shrugged off his hand. “I’m sorry, but why are you here?”

Cael twisted, pausing to look back at her.

Through his sunglasses, she sensed the moment his eyes leveled with hers as soothing calm filled her mind and warmed her muscles.

Whether it was magic or not, she appreciated the natural anxiety remedy.

Whatever the story was with Cael, he had never treated her wrong.

Or that she was aware of, given his knack for conveniently making people forget things they shouldn’t witness.

As his girlfriend’s best friend, he was inclusive, thoughtful, and when shit went down with Rich, he was there alongside Cassy and Brandon, helping her escape and providing her with the protection she needed until things cooled down.

Her misguided anger and caution toward him, that sense of betrayal, was entirely out of line. Had he meant her any harm, he’d had plenty of opportunities to do so before last night.

He protected you against his brother.

Yes. Yes, he did. Looking at him now, she couldn’t find a hint of danger or threat in his demeanor. Despite the change in appearance, he remained the same familiar man she’d known for the last year .

“Does Cassy know you’re meeting up with me?” Rori groaned and rubbed two fingers against her temple. “God, does Cassy even know about you?”

His smile waned, the good-natured greeting taking the serious turn she could only blame herself for.

“Neither of you should have found out, but to answer your question, no. Cassy doesn’t know because she can’t.

She can’t see through the glamour, and I can’t make her.

Not here. It’s a natural defense mechanism us Fae have to blend into the mortal realm without detection.

However, she’s doing great, the same high-spirited woman you and I both adore. We had brunch a little while ago.”

“You fucked with her mind.”

Rori bit her bottom lip as soon as the accusation fled her tongue. What was left of Cael’s smile disappeared in a faint resemblance of regret. He tore his gaze from hers and scanned the parking lot before he sighed.

“We have a lot to discuss, and the parking lot isn’t a safe place to do so.”

“Now we’re in danger.”

“No.” Cael’s sharp declaration startled her. He lifted his sunglasses and pierced her with the sincerity of his unfamiliar silver gaze. “Not if I have any say in it. Rori, you’ve known me for over a year. Who I am has not changed with my appearance.”

Rori shook a finger at him. “That’s where you’re wrong, because who you are is defined by your new appearance. Yesterday, you were a human. Then you morphed into a creature straight from a storybook.”

“Okay, you have a point, but the person I am on the inside hasn’t changed.” He waved his hand toward the car. “Let’s go somewhere to talk. There’s a lot you need to know. To understand. ”

“I’d say.” She reached for her bookbag, but he tilted just out of reach.

“I have to decline the invitation. I have work in a little while and need to study.” When she tried for her bag a second time and he stepped back, she huffed a frustrated breath.

“Cael, seriously. I need some more time to let this all sink in.”

“And time is not something you have. Not when it comes to this version of Thaddeus.”

“He’s beginning to sound like a case study out of my psych text.

As long as your maniacal brother stays the hell away from me and Cassy, there won’t be any issues.

There’s nothing you can say that’ll make me interested in anything your brother has to offer.

” She pointed to her bookbag. “Can I have my bag please?”

“After we talk, because herein lies the problem, and it’s quite a complicated problem.

” He hooked a thumb on the pocket of his jeans.

“There’s no way around the fact that you are fully involved, so it would only behoove you to spend a few minutes of your time and hear me out.

I can drive. We’ll grab a bite to eat real quick and then I’m out of your hair. ”

For today.

The silent implication hung between them, unspoken but understood.

Rori eyed him skeptically. Steve. Cael. Handsome human-turned-gorgeous Fae.

Cassy’s boyfriend. She wasn’t foolish enough to believe that after a “real quick” bite to eat, Cael would leave her be.

She’d be seeing him again, if only to keep Cassy’s inquisition at bay.

She’d have to. Her friend would notice her change in behavior and wouldn’t hold back the interrogation.

Besides, questions brewed in her mind, taking her focus off things that required her attention more than pondering the intricacies of magical Fae creatures, murderous monsters, and Faeryland.

Maybe a few minutes of Cael’s time would settle her enough to let her proceed in her everyday life with some sense of normalcy.