A spark of deep green flashed in the man’s eyes, and suddenly my idea of leaving seemed silly.
Why had I wanted to go again?
The sensation from earlier started up again, like invisible hands brushing over my skin—up my legs, between my thighs.
I gasped. What was going on? His eyes… People’s eyes didn’t flash colors like that. I rubbed my face, then shook my head to clear it.
His clothes changed. Same jewel-toned colors, but the textures were different. Dark green oak leaves, layered like feathers, draped over him like a cloak. His black shirt shimmered like spun silk. His trousers looked soft and pliable like leaves that had been somehow stitched together. A tattered bit of red silk hung from a belt of vines, and even in the incredible weirdness of his entire being, I wondered at how that one piece of red silk didn’t fit the rest of him. What was it for?
Looking at his face, I blinked. That too had changed. His skin was luminescent, and my fingers ached to touch his cheek. His eyelashes had grown thicker too, and… No way. There were tiny leaves at the ends of his lashes. My gaze traveled upward. Black horns spiraled out of his head.
I rubbed my face again. This was nutso. Madness. One word came to my mind.
Magic.
The delicious sensations faded to a point where I could almost think. I was being paranoid and possibly hallucinating. Maybe I hadn’t slept as well as I’d thought last night. What was I about to do? Leave? But why?
I started to go, my thoughts whirling, but a new wave of pleasure rode up my back and across the nape of my neck. I turned back to see his fingers twitching at his sides, his gaze following the path of the insane sensations coursing through my body, heading at the moment for my breasts. Something shadowy moved behind his back. I squinted, body melting, then gasped. He had wings. Wings made of dark vines and glossy ivy. He was magnificent. The most stunning thing I’d ever seen. I couldn’t take it in.
Dizziness made me shut my eyes. What in the…
“You are the sunlight on the sea,” he said, his words almost a growl and making me open my eyes.
Knees like pudding, I swallowed. “I know that’s sarcasm,” I slurred out, “but I’ll take it from that pretty mouth of yours.” Drunk on whatever this feeling was, I shrugged off my worry, the nagging need to flee. In for a penny… “When, exactly, did you build this? I am freaking out right now because I could’ve sworn this place wasn’t here this morning. Is this some sort of Shakespeare or cosplay thing?” I waved a hand at his cloak and horns. “Or like the strangest prank ever?”
“Why don’t you come with me and I’ll tell you all about the castle’s construction?” His voice rolled like the dying thunder, and that feathery, delicious feeling dragged its way up my body, from my red-painted toes currently hiding inside my motorcycle boots to the soft skin at the base of my throat.
I swallowed, fighting the urge to sigh like a full-on tool. “Hard pass, dude,” I managed to stutter.
“Does that mean you want to come with me?”
“Oh, sure. I always head right into strange men’s homes. Especially when they magically appear during a storm.”
The man’s eyes narrowed. His extremely handsome lower lip twitched like he was actually pretty disappointed. A part of me wondered what his lip would taste like if I nibbled it.
Maybe he wasn’t that creepy. Maybe my avocado toast had gone bad. “Hey. Sorry.” I stuck out a hand for him to shake it. “That was rude. I’m kind of an unintentional asshole sometimes. A lot of times. Welcome to town. I’m Coren Connelly.”
“Apology accepted, tocco d’oro.”
“Took a what?” Was that Italian?
He grasped my hand gently, but I jerked my fingers away.
“It means touch of gold.” His thick eyebrows bunched. “Your aura sparks as golden as the sun.”
The tingling sensation crashed over me like a waterfall, knocking any sense I had right out of my brain.
His gaze—tinged with a savage gleam, a wildness—touched my forehead, cheeks, and chin as he took my hand, and all I could think was how smooth and warm his fingers were. Slowly, he bent his head. The sharp tips of his horns caught the light. He pressed his full lips against my palm. Sparks danced down my forearm as he whispered words in a foreign language, a language that sounded unlike anything I’d ever heard, not the Italian he had spoken first.
As he raised his horned head, still bent over my hand, his breath warmed my wrist, and I did sigh then. I couldn’t help it. His eyes blazed brightly, and I saw the forest in them, deep and limned in starlight. The sound of the rainstorm faded, and I heard the rustle of leaves, the hum of night insects, and a heartbeat—mine?—echoing in my ears.
Then, in less than a second, I was standing inside the castle fully, past the arched doorway, up against the cool stone wall, and his hips were pinned to mine.
My lungs worked to take a deep breath, to stop their shallow panting, but it was impossible with his flat stomach brushing mine, that scent of his rising, and the warmth of him pressed against me. Desire flooded me, fiery and rushing, out of control. He palmed my lower back and urged me even closer while his other hand snaked around the back of my neck. He dipped his head and parted his lips below my ear. His breath was soft and hot, and I had never wanted a man more in my entire life.
The muscles in his stomach tensed as I ran a hand down his torso and hooked a finger in
