“Would this be friends from the army of darkness?” I ask.
“No. Those friends would say I was feared by all.”
That makes me laugh, and his confusion only makes me chuckle harder. Damn this man’s ability to make me smile.
“I’ve heard a lot of people list a lot of work skills on their résumés and in interviews before. Feared by all is a definite first,” I say playfully.
“I suppose you’ll just have to see if it’s true for yourself, won’t you?” That cocky grin is there again, and my legs feel a little like jelly.
“Bring it,” I reply.
In no time at all, we’re standing in front of my building. I don’t even remember checking my map to get here. Perhaps I was just following Tanner.
“Well, I guess you know where I live now.”
Something flashes in his expression, but it’s gone in an instant. “The building. I mean, not your apartment at least.”
I wave my hand. “You’re fine. It’s not like I’m some VIP that needs to live under high-security lockdown. It’s just an apartment.”
“You never know. Best to keep an eye out at all times,” he says cryptically.
The only “eye out” my mind wants right now is on that masterfully sculpted man chest in front of me.
My heart is pounding with questions I don’t dare ask.
Wanna come inside? Maybe pick up where we left off after the bar?
No, no, NO. Down Eva. You work together now.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow. Again,” I reply awkwardly.
“Yes, of course.” He takes a step forward, just a couple feet from me, and I can practically feel myself get turned on as he gets closer. “Sleep well, Eva.”
“I… You too.”
The air hangs thick around us as his dark eyes appraise me, waiting patiently. And as badly as I want to leap into those arms and let him kiss me senseless, I know things are complicated.
We work together.
He’s all wrong for me.
Also, we keep running into each other and he may be a stalker, but the fact of the matter is that whenever he shows up, things go better for me than when he doesn’t.
Before my hormones can get the best of me, I turn to go inside, waving behind me as I go. But even as the warm air of the lobby hits me, I feel a little chill inside every time I look away from him.
I take one last look over my shoulder, and he’s just there, hands in his pockets, watching as I go as though he has nowhere else to be right now.
Go stalk someone else, you sexy creep.
7
Tanner
“So you were there in time?” Flynn, wearing loungewear and sprawled back in a chair with a blanket over him, has been listening with rapt attention as I recount my adventure following Eva tonight.
“She’s strong,” I say. “These were just humans, so she would have been okay. Probably.” A muscle tightens at my jaw, at the fury I felt just knowing even regular people on the street would try to assault her.
That they would try to assault anyone, like common animals.
But especially the woman who is my soul bond.
Chaos is everywhere, and it only adds to the stress I feel, being away from home and unable to defend my kingdom.
“I envy your ability to hide in shadows,” Ian says, cocking his head from where he’s sitting on the couch, also listening. “Very cool.”
“Thanks.” I’m leaning against the kitchen counter, still a bit too energized to sit down and rest yet.
It was almost too easy to follow her, disguising myself as her shadow, though my urge to bond with her gets stronger every time I see her. And seeing her in those tight workout clothes, emphasizing every curve…
My throat goes dry, and I swallow awkwardly, trying to burn the image out of my mind so I can stay professional.
At least around my fae roommates.
“We have messages from home,” Brett says, opening the door to our apartment without even knocking. We gave him a key since he and Avery insist on having their own place across the hall. But seriously…
“Knock, Brett,” I say irritably, walking forward with the others to get my message.
To fae, communication is very serious. It affects our bonds. Maybe we seem old-fashioned in just this one thing, but we carefully think out our messages and handwrite them with indestructible ink on indestructible parchment.
Words from those we love must never be forgotten.
The scroll is from my brother, and I narrow my eyes at the way his handwriting is extra slanted as if he’s stressed.
I frown as I take my scroll to my room and close the door, sitting on my bed to read it.
My kingdom is currently in the most trouble, always under onslaught from invading chaos forces. With me not there, I can only hope my brothers are fine holding the front lines and keeping my kingdom and those I care about safe.
Damn, I need to win Eva over soon so I can take her home and help my kingdom again.
I’m hoping for good news, but my frown only deepens as I read every one of my brother’s hastily written words.
He tells me to make haste, that they are having trouble keeping the chaos forces at bay.
He also says there has been an increase in duels, even between allies, and some of our dark fae are falling to Chaos’s side.
I close my eyes as I set aside the letter, fighting back the chaos that tries to enter my heart at the thought of anything happening to the people I love.
Surely, my brother must be exaggerating.
If things were that bad, my mother or sister would have sent for me.
That thought reassures me at least enough to not lose focus of what I’m doing here in this world.
My brothers are strong enough if they work together and don’t let chaos overwhelm them.
Despite this letter, I know they can hold out.
And this world needs my protection. Eva needs my protection.
Plus, if the other princes and I don’t work hard to keep the chaos princes from taking beacons, then there’s that much more of a chance that chaos will end up overwhelming our world anyway.
A good soldier needs to stay focused, and no matter where I am, I will always be a good soldier.
There’s a knock on the door, and I quickly roll up the scroll and tuck it under my covers. “Come in.”
“It’s me,” Ian says, opening the door slowly and peeking in around it. His pretty face belies a very sharp brutality, though, that few will ever experience.
“Hi,” I say, standing up to pull a chair over for him. I sit on my bed, facing him so we can talk.
“I felt distress from you,” he says. “Our bond.”
I nod. Ian and I have become the closest since being here in the human world. We lived together while training and were paired together from the start.
Our friendship bond is quite strong, giving us the ability to know if the other is hurting as long as we tune in to it.
“I’m sorry, Ian. Just… the message from home wasn’t what I expected.”
Ian raises an eyebrow that’s a few shades darker than his white-blond hair. “Would you like me to read it?”
I shake my head. “No.” I don’t want to think about it any longer. “Tell me what’s going on with you. I’ve been busy lately.” Tailing Eva. Thinking of Eva. Stalking Eva, as she would put it. But only to keep her safe.