Sebastian Seb Russo is forced to take a commercial flight to his next assignment since the Vampire Council doesn’t have any planes available. His leaders have charged him with assisting the alpha of the wolf shifters in Stone Ridge, Colorado with communications between paranormals and the human government. Except, the one thing that would delay him happens…he discovers his beloved, his soul mate, on that plane. Now, Seb finds himself in Las Vegas, trailing the human Dirk Lemans. His attempts to woo the human are successful, until he makes one too many verbal slips, and he discovers a powerful truth. Dirk thinks Seb is a shifter…and not too long ago, shifters held him captive. Can Seb convince Dirk that not all paranormals are the same?
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Seb curved up the corner of his mouth, settled back in his confiscated seat and asked, “So, is Vegas your final stop? Or do you have to get on another one of these death traps?”
Seb actually didn’t mind flying…on the council’s jet. He found commercial flying, however, tedious and annoying. Fortunately, it seemed this time, Fate had plans for him.
Hell, yeah!
“Vegas.”
“Yeah? Me, too,” Seb lied. He held out his hand, “Sebastian Russo. Friends call me Seb.”
For several heartbeats, the human stared at Seb’s hand as if it were a snake. Finally, he reached out and took Seb’s hand while murmuring, “Dirk Lemans.”
Smiling, knowing he took total advantage but unable to help himself, Seb lifted Dirk’s hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to the slender appendage. “Very pleased to meet you, Dirk,” Seb crooned. “Might I convince you to join me for dinner this evening?”
Dirk gaped like a fish at him for several seconds. “I-I c-can’t,” he finally stuttered.
Disappointment stabbed through Seb, but he managed to keep his smile in place. He mentally flipped through options of how to figure out if his human was already attached or if there was some other reason he declined. Seb couldn’t detect any other person’s scent on his beloved’s skin and he didn’t wear a ring.
Then Dirk pulled at his hand and Seb released his grip. Glancing around nervously, Dirk mumbled, “What makes you think I’m gay anyway?”
Oh, too cute!
“Because, cutie,” Seb stated, leaning close. “If you hadn’t been, no matter how much bigger I am, you’d have given some sign of being offended or confused. You’re neither.” He lifted a hand, but when he saw Dirk tense, he brought it down to rest on his opposite wrist where he leaned on the armrest. “So, please, don’t break my heart and deny my intuition,” he finished, raking the man with a lascivious gaze.
Seb liked the flush that warmed Dirk’s cheeks, especially with how it made the man’s blood sing to him where it flowed close to the surface.
“Um, I, well—” He snapped his jaw shut for a second, then focused on his hands clasped in his lap. “I’m attending the Comicon convention and won’t have time for dinner. Sorry.”
Well, fuck, what the hell? Surely, a beloved would feel the connection between them and want to spend time with him? Inhaling slowly, Seb gathered his thoughts, and Dirk’s fear, confusion, and, yes, lust, smacked him hard in the face.
Damn, I need to get to the bottom of that reaction!
“A Comicon,” Seb replied softly, straightening in his seat. “I’ve heard those are quite the productions.”
“Yeah, yeah they are,” Dirk muttered. He kept glancing up at Seb’s chin, but wouldn’t meet his gaze.
Seb gave him a warm smile. “In that case, I hope you have a blast,” he told him. Dirk’s brows shot up in surprise, and he finally met Seb’s eyes. The disbelief rolling off the human was unmistakable, so Seb kept his eyes soft, doing his best to exude sincerity. Especially, when he added, “And I hope we run into each other again, Dirk. See you around. I hope your headache fades.”
With that parting shot, Seb stood and, unable to resist, gently squeezed the sexy geek’s shoulder before returning to his own seat. By that time, Lex had moved over to the window seat, leaving him the aisle so he wouldn’t have to climb over him again.
Glancing at his watch, Seb realized he had forty minutes left of this flight to figure out the best way to get at his mate. He realized, judging by Dirk’s reactions to his blatant flirting, his beloved was inexperienced, perhaps he’d even been hurt in the past. The idea of another touching Dirk caused unreasonable jealousy to course through him.
“Hey, knock it off,” Lex snarled softly.
It was only then that he realized his eyes had hazed and his nails itched to grow into his three-inch claws. Shaking his head at his ridiculous reaction, after all, Seb wasn’t in any way even remotely virginal. Once he’d gained control of himself, he grimaced at Lex.
His friend smirked back and stated, “So, I guess I gotta make an uncomfortable call once we get off the plane?”
Seb nodded. “Yep.” He winked. “I’ll be too busy tracking down that Comicon Dirk spoke of.”
“So what’s your plan once you figure it out?”
Grinning, Seb leaned close to his friend so others couldn’t see as he hissed, “I’m going to crash it.”
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