“Trust me, I can take the heat if you can.” He smirked when her chin lifted in defiance. “Besides,” he added, “I never squander the chance to enjoy a gorgeous day. I know too many others who can’t ever experience this gift for me to take it for granted.”
Kaya tilted her head at him, a skeptical look on her pretty face. “Empathy? That’s an unexpected twist.”
He grunted. “Hey, I may be an arrogant asshole with more blessings than I’ll ever deserve, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have enough self-awareness to recognize something extraordinary. Especially when I’m looking right at it.”
Whatever sharp retort she’d been meaning to deliver faded into silence as she blinked up at him, her gaze softening on him for the first time since they’d met.
Aric realized only now how close they stood to each other on the grass. No one to hear them, no one to intrude on them despite the sea of people milling about in all directions.
He took a breath and his senses filled with Kaya’s enticing scent, a mixture of cinnamon and roses and something more elusive. Sunshine warmed her skin and dark hair, which only intensified the fragrance that was uniquely hers. Every Breedmate had her own blood scent, and Kaya’s was wreaking havoc on Aric’s focus and control.
It wasn’t as if he was hungered for female company. He was far from a saint, but he made it a practice to avoid intimate entanglements with women bearing the teardrop-and-crescent-moon birthmark of a Breedmate. If he needed a reminder of why he kept his appetites confined to human women only, Kaya Laurent was it.
Even so, the urge to touch her was nearly overwhelming.
More tempting was the desire to kiss her again, though if he did that now, it would have nothing to do with their mission or the effort to fortify their covers.
No, if he touched her, it would be for purely selfish reasons.
And because the silent invitation in her eyes told him that she was feeling the same crackle of arousal too.
Aric swallowed on a dry throat as he fought to keep his hands fisted and still at his sides.
He couldn’t think of a worse idea than letting his attraction to Kaya overshadow his attention to their assignment. Regardless, he was on the verge of losing that argument with himself when a cheer suddenly went up from the gathered crowd.
Kaya sucked in a shallow gasp, though whether in reaction to the abrupt clamor of excitement from all around them or from relief over the timeliness of the interruption, Aric couldn’t be sure.
He swiveled away from her, adding his wooden applause to the enthusiastic greeting the newlyweds were receiving as they emerged at the top of the marble steps. Their golden-haired target, Stephan Mercier, kissed his bride to the delighted shouts of the onlookers. The groom earned an even greater cheer when he bent his beautiful bride over his arm and swept her into a smooth, swoon-worthy dip.
Aric groaned, hardly able to stifle his disdain for the suspected Opus sympathizer. Kaya, too, wore an expression of cold business as she watched the happy couple descend the stairs hand-in-hand while the orchestra segued from garden music to a jaunty rendition of the “Wedding March”.
Aric slid a glance at his partner. “Game on. You ready?”
She nodded, her smile as dazzling as it was determined. “Let’s do this.”
CHAPTER 6
Unfortunately, Lucan’s advice that it wasn’t going to be easy getting close to their target had been correct. A security detail of ten grim-faced men in dark suits and sunglasses kept a close eye on both the bride and groom as they greeted some of their guests on the way to the wedding party’s table inside the pavilion.
The guards remained posted nearby through all of the endless toasts and the lavish luncheon that followed. There was no quick path for getting Mercier alone for even a few seconds, never mind the minute-plus that Kaya needed.
Which left Aric and her with one good chance to make their move.
As the orchestra conductor announced the formal introduction of Mr. and Mrs. Stephan Mercier with their first dance as husband and wife, Aric’s hand closed around Kaya’s under the table. She was sure the chaste kiss he pressed to her temple was only part of his act--just as his unexpected claiming of her mouth back in the car had been--yet that didn’t stop her pulse from skittering in her veins at the brief contact.
He smiled at their tablemates as he began to rise from his seat. “Will you all excuse us, please? The first dance is always Elizabeth’s favorite part of a wedding.”
“Yes, it is,” Kaya agreed, allowing him to assist her out of her chair while the other couples seated with them nodded absently or offered indulgent smiles.
Kaya kept her expression schooled as she and Aric crossed the garden at a deliberately casual pace. They weren’t alone. Other guests had a similar idea, no less than twenty couples converging on the covered structure where the bride and groom were slowly swaying and twirling to a romantic ballad.
Aric still held on to her hand as they approached the pavilion with its fairy tale decorations. For one disorienting moment, Kaya found it difficult to separate herself from the comfort of his touch in such a beautiful setting and the sobering gravity of what they had come here to do. She’d never dreamed of rainbows and roses, so why the sight of so much romance and fantasy made her heart flutter now, she had no idea. Nor did she want to know. Not when the rest of her was focused on her mission.
Aric led her to a spot as close as they could get
