Midnight Magic, page 26
“I mean, look at that gorgeous smile.” Jen fanned her face.
Okay, they both had nice smiles. But one of the males… yeah, holy wow. There was something about that white smile against skin that echoed of lands of distant suns that definitely rivaled the top male models in the world. It shone of charm and charisma as well as dark and dangerous things.
And where that male’s primary weapon was his smile, the other male’s was clearly his enormous body. Fine, both males were big and muscley. But one of them was definitely beefier—not in an overdone steroid type of way either. It was more that he was just lumberjack giant—big-boned and big-muscled and just… big.
Maddie had the passing (and very inappropriate thought) that Mr. Beefy likely wouldn’t have any trouble having hot wall sex with her. Hell, he probably didn’t even need a wall and could just hold her up with brute strength alone.
“What’s that look all about?” Jen asked with the curiosity of the wolf within.
“Nothing.” Maddie stuffed more cotton candy in her pie hole and commanded her cheeks to simmer the hell down on the blush.
“No way. I know that look. Spill.”
“Fine. I was just thinking about how Mr. Beefcakes over there likely has lots of wall sex.”
“Oh my god!” Jen barked out a laugh. “But yeah, he probably does. And same with McHunky who’s with him.”
They both laughed this time.
Bright green eyes looked over and pinned them to the spot.
“Oh my god, Jen,” Maddie whispered from the corner of her mouth. “McHunky is looking at you,” she sang.
“What?!” Jen unceremoniously whipped her head around.
“Real smooth there,” Maddie muttered, clamping her lips together to hold in her smile.
Jen and the male had a mini staring match from across the span of several specians casually chatting as they walked by or stood in line at the carts for food and drink.
In another swift movement, Jen turned back around to face Maddie, effectively putting her back to the male.
“What are you doing?” Maddie gingerly protested.
“Guys like that do not go for girls like me,” Jen retorted with a shrug.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Look at me.” Jen did an up and down motion with her hands. “I’m practically half his size and remember the push-up situation?” She gestured to her respectable B cups.
“Umm, remember how we were just talking about wall sex?” Maddie reminded her with a bit of sass. “Well, he wouldn’t even need to use the wall. You’re like every male’s standing sex fantasy.”
Jen couldn’t keep in her laughter. “You know, standing sex isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Not only does the guy have to have the muscle to hold you, but he’s gotta have rhythm too.”
Maddie’s eyes went wide and her cheeks went as pink as the cotton candy she was eating.
“Is that so?”
Jen yipped at the deep male voice behind her and whirled around to stop short at McHunky, flashing his panty-melting smile.
“Hi,” Jen practically squeaked.
“Hi,” the male returned, grin just a bit wicked.
“Hi.” Jen tucked some of her long, dark hair behind her ear.
Maddie wasn’t surprised by the sudden shift in her friend’s demeanor. She knew her feisty friend’s confidence plummeted when near a male she was attracted to, transforming Jen into an uber shy and submissive female. She was about to step in, but McHunky beat her to it.
“Name’s Logan.”
Jen seemed to freeze up on the spot.
“This is Jen,” Maddie breezed in nonchalantly. “And I’m Maddie.”
“Nice to meet you.” Logan’s gorgeous green eyes were back on Jen, openly and unashamedly watchful. Not in a creepy kinda way, but curious, appreciative. “Havin’ fun at the party?”
Maddie waited for a beat to see if her friend would jump in. But Jen’s eyes were downcast, and there was a slight tint of pink peeking through her tanned skin. “Yup. I’m so glad Jen dragged me out.”
Although Maddie hadn’t been thrilled to find out that the party Jen invited her to was none other than the Caswell Pride’s solstice party. Okay, fine, that was a total lie. As soon as Jen had told her when they were getting ready earlier, her heart had done a fricken cartwheel and the damn hopeless romantic thing had suddenly conjured up a scene of her running into Clyde like she was in a damn romance novel.
And then what? she had asked her stupid heart. You know exactly why we can’t do anything about the Cowboy Convict. And PS, we really need to stop calling him that. I mean, is he even really a cowboy?
Fine, her heart responded. We’ll call him the Caswell Convict.
Great. Like that was any better.
“Now, I would’ve pegged you for the partier.” Logan’s eyes flicked to Maddie’s for a split second before landing back on Jen.
“One would think,” Maddie laughed, tearing off another piece of the cotton candy and deciding not to air the fact that she led a pretty boring life.
“What are you ladies drinking?” Logan asked, noticing their drinks were pretty much empty. “I’ll buy your next round.” His sexy as hell smile slid into the conversation like melted butter.
“I’m driving,” Maddie lied through her teeth—okay, she actually was driving but not till way later and could indulge in another drink. Instead, she continued with the fib, “But Jen was just talking about getting a refill, weren’t you?”
Jen shot a slightly terrified glance at Maddie, who decided to ignore it.
“She’s drinking the solstice special,” Maddie egged on with an innocent smile.
“Great. We—” Logan frowned as his phone interrupted him, announcing a call. His frown only deepened as he looked at the screen. “Sorry, I gotta take this. I’ll just be a minute.” He accepted the call and took a few steps away, just out of earshot.
“What are you doing?!” Jen hissed under her breath with wide eyes.
“Being a fantastic best friend, setting you up to get a drink with McHunky.”
“I can’t go with him!” Jen protested.
“Yes, you can. And should.” Maddie eyed Logan again. “Definitely should.”
“No, definitely shouldn’t.”
“Why not? He’s clearly into you, Jen.”
Jen rolled her eyes.
“He is.”
More eye rolls.
“Whatever. I’m not arguing with you about you clearly being in denial. Go. Get a drink. Chat about fair things—”
“Fair things?!” Jen’s voice was back to that squeak. “What the hell is fair things?!”
“You know, like, ‘Hey, have you tried that swirlberry fried funnel cake before?’ or ‘Have you been on that ride or played that game?’ You know, fair things.” Maddie shrugged.
Jen’s eyes widened further.
“Jen, go. You’ll be fine. It’ll be fun.”
“Easy for you to say,” Jen grumbled, but her eyes wandered over to Logan and there was desire in them.
“And… well, I think Logan’s the perfect choice to make good on our new solstice tradition,” Maddie nudged.
“Him?!” If Jen’s eyes got any wider they’d pop right out. “I can’t kiss him!”
As if he heard her, Logan turned briefly but then said, “Yeah, sorry, I’m listening,” and shifted slightly away again.
“Yes, you can kiss him. Now, go,” Maddie said quickly when it looked like Logan was wrapping things up. “And I expect a good story later.”
“What about you?” Jen was clearly grasping at straws.
“I’m a big girl. I’ll be fine. Besides, I’m going to locate the nearest bathroom and then hunt up some fair food.”
Jen’s chest expanded as if she were breathing in courage. “Okay, you’re right. I can do this. I can have a drink with McHunky and then kiss him.”
“Yes, you can,” Maddie encouraged, sending Jen off with a hug.
“I expect a story from you too, Mads.”
“Whose bright idea was this new solstice tradition again?”
They both laughed.
“I have my phone on, Jen. Call me if you need a rescue.” Although something was telling Maddie that Jen would be in good hands with Logan.
“Same.”
“Again, sorry about that. It’s work.” Logan approached them once more.
“No worries,” Maddie cut in. “I actually have to make a call too.” She was racking up the lying sins. “So, Jen’s gonna go with you, and we’ll catch up later.”
And then a terrified Jen was walking off with the big male who towered over her.
“Good luck, Jen,” Maddie cheered under her breath.
* * *
Maddie had wandered for a bit, finishing her cotton candy, locating a restroom, and even playing a game or two as she indulged in one of her favorite pastimes: specian watching.
Chalk it up to her mind-healing nature, but she was fascinated with watching specians interacting.
Jen had been gone for a while now and Maddie had been compulsively checking her phone in case Jen texted her, but nothing so far.
No news is good news, right?
Just in case, she sent a quick text to Jen.
* * *
Maddie: Everything okay?
Jen: Yeah, if you ignore the fact that I spilled my entire drink on Logan!!!
Maddie: What?!
Jen: It was an accident! Ugh. Too long of a story, and he’s eyeing me as I text this now. His eyes are… watchful. I know he’s a predatory shifter and a dominant. My wolf can sense it. But I just don’t know what animal he is… he’s wearing a scent blocker and won’t tell me! The bastard hunk!
Maddie: LOL! Sounds like you’re having a good time. And I can’t wait to hear all about it… including the part where you kiss him!
Jen: Oh god. I don’t know if I can do it.
Maddie: Yes you can!
Then Maddie looked around, realizing she was going to have to make good on this promise too. She’d just walk up and ask to kiss the next male who walked by. Tell them it was a silly bet she made with a friend. No harm, no foul.
The next male who walked by was sweaty (and not in the hot kind of way) and smelled of BO.
Okay, nix that plan, she thought, not making eye contact in case he’d somehow miraculously read her mind and picked up on her terrible idea.
Maddie: So you’re good, right?
Jen: Yeah. And he’s invited me to watch the concert soon too.
Maddie: Nice! You two can make out while the band plays.
Jen: I hate you! He just asked me why I’m blushing!!!
Maddie: LOL! Tell him we’re talking about standing sex again.
Jen: STOP! I’m putting my phone away! But wait. Mads, you okay? I can ditch McHunky and hang with you? Or wait… have you found your own solstice date yet?
Maddie: I’m good, promise. And I haven’t found my solstice date yet. I’m working on it.
Jen: You better not leave me high and dry on this solstice tradition you made up!
Maddie: I’m working on it... Okay, now stop texting me and get back to making out with McHunky!
Jen: I hate you.
Maddie: Right back at you.
* * *
Putting her phone away, Maddie got a swirlberry lemonade and then perched up for a while as if she were birdwatching or binging on a reality TV show. For whatever reason, some part of her mind drifted and wondered what Clyde was doing.
CHAPTER 7
“Oh, Clyde, thank heavens I found you!”
“Lalita?” Clyde’s brows knitted together. “What’s wrong?”
“Aanya! Oh, god, I don’t know where Aanya went!” Lalita looked absolutely frantic and on the verge of losing control of her animal.
Shit.
“Come here.” Clyde opened his arms and wrapped them around Lalita.
Sometimes, the animal half of them needed comfort in the way of touch. There was nothing sexual about it, just comfort and friendly affection offered from one pride mate to another. And in this case, if they didn’t soothe Lalita enough, she may shift and succumb to her animal completely. And a scared, fiercely protective mother on the hunt for her missing cub? Yeah, that was a recipe for disaster.
“Where was the last place you saw her?” Noah asked, expression and tone transforming into the first commander.
Lalita rattled off the details, almost breaking down in tears several times. “Oh god! What if we don’t find her? What if—” Her voice cracked. “What if someone took—”
“Shhh,” Clyde soothed, rubbing his hand on her back. “We’ll do everything in our power to find her.”
He felt her nod.
“Why don’t you go get some water over there while Noah and I work out the details for the search party.” Clyde’s words were more of a gentle order than a question.
“Okay.” Her breath hitched.
Yeah, he could imagine the lioness hadn’t exactly been keeping track of and replenishing her fluids. But more importantly, they could keep an eye on her as they spoke privately.
“I’ll notify Caleb and the others,” Clyde said, pulling out his phone. The “others” were their fellow first commanders—Gabe, Jezibelle, and Logan. Technically, Logan and Jezibelle won the raffle and were off duty tonight, but Clyde knew they would want to be kept in the loop.
“I’m calling Lee,” Noah said, phone already at his ear and dialing.
Lee was a second commander, just under them in the ranks, and had been heavily involved in the scheduling and security for the party. He was also on duty.
“Lee. We have a situation and need to gear up a search party.”
As Noah explained with expert efficiency, Clyde sent a text to all the first commanders and Caleb. His phone was immediately inundated with replies requesting a location so they could join in the search.
Soon, they had a good number of commanders and Caleb hashing out search grids and teams.
“Let’s bring Aanya home,” Caleb said and received several grunts of agreement. “Pride!” Caleb’s voice boomed with his alpha power as he pounded his dominant fist over his heart.
“Pride!” they all echoed both the word and the gesture before dispersing into their search units.
*.*.*.*.*
* * *
“Fuck,” Caleb’s frustrated snarl filled the space as the last of the search parties turned up empty.
Instantly, their faces turned just as grim as everyone else’s when they easily interpreted the dark expressions on their fellow commanders.
Clyde ran his fingers through his hair… again. It was a habit that only increased in frequency when under stress.
Lalita’s wail sounded out, having everyone silently wince.
Caleb was instantly on it, wrapping the freaked-out mother in his arms and whispering to her.
“The sun’s about to set,” she cried into her alpha’s shoulder. “What if we don’t find my baby? What if—”
God damn it. Where the hell was Aanya? Clyde did another pass through his hair. “We start again. Add more to the search grid.” Clyde was grasping at straws, but he couldn’t think of anything else.
They were literally in a clusterfuck of a situation too. With all the fucking specians, all the scents, all the noises, all the everything—it made their task exponentially more difficult. It was like finding a needle in a haystack.
“Do you think she might’ve tried to shift and find her way back home?” Gabe asked.
“Or try to pick up on the scent of a pride mate she recognizes and only got more lost and turned around?” Jezibelle tossed in.
“Maybe.” Logan scrubbed his face and then quickly eyed the petite female a short distance away who’d shown up with him to help in the search.
Several pairs of eyes looked at the female, and there were lots of questions being held back at who the female was and why she’d shown up with Logan. It wasn’t unheard of for Logan to keep female company, but the way the male was keeping tabs on the female as if she’d take off at any moment was… interesting.
But that wasn’t important at the moment. They could all sniff that out later. Now, Aanya needed their full focus.
CHAPTER 8
Maddie wasn’t sure how much time had gone by but her butt was numb from sitting and specian-watching for so damn long and she noted the sky was quickly transforming into a watercolor painting of vivid pink, purple, orange, and amber. After she watched the sun tuck behind the horizon for the night’s slumber, she thought about calling it a day and heading home to cozy up on the couch with the latest release in the book series she loved—she’d apologize to Jen later about not finding someone to kiss. But first, she decided to swing back on over to the food cart gardens and splurge on a final treat.
Fat, fried, salty, sweet—whatever the craving, it was available in some combination that would surely result in indigestion and an extra ten pounds by morning.
She ordered a… well, she actually didn’t know what the hell it was exactly. She’d just seen a long line of specians walking away from the cart, each with the tempting display. And yeah, she’d absolutely made the right decision. It was sugary, gooey, and damn delicious.
It was also messy as hell.
Her fingers were practically glued together like she was wearing mitts. And she knew if she stuck a paper towel on her upper lip right now to try and wipe things off, she’d end up inadvertently giving herself a wax.
Locating the nearest restroom, she washed things off and was doing a once-over in the mirror while mentally gearing up to leave and chiding herself for chickening out from asking that cute male that had been ahead of her in the food cart line if she could fulfill her solstice kiss tradition. The words had just caught in her throat like a lump of peanut butter and she just couldn’t get herself to go through with it.
The thoughts of solstice kisses were interrupted by the sound of two females chatting as they entered the bathroom. And from their giggles and louder volume, she would’ve guessed they were rockin’ a good buzz.
