A Hunter Under The Mistletoe: All Is Bright / Heat of a Helios

Evangeline blew through the door, a goddess in full pique, her hands full of dresses. Her hair was pulled back from her face, sticking up at odd angles from the massage. Her face glowed a high pink—heightened by her anger but still rosy from her facial—and the sexiest toes he’d ever seen peeped out from beneath a long spa robe.

“You look well.”

Evangeline shook the dresses at him as Madelina slipped out through the still-swinging door. “Where are my clothes?”

“Laundry, I presume.”

“They were nice clothes. And clean.”

“Now they’ll be cleaner.”

Evangeline tossed the handful of silks onto a nearby couch. “I am perfectly capable of dressing myself. Taking care of myself. Sleeping when I want, working when I want. I do damn fine living my life.”

“What’s wrong with someone showing you some kindness?” Rafe asked.

“Kindness is a day off. Not spa treatments and expensive dresses.” Evangeline bent down and snagged one of the dresses. The move tugged the bodice of her robe ever so slightly and Rafe got a glimpse of tanned skin, tapering into the slope of one breast.

Catching his eye, she snapped the robe closed as she tossed the garment his way. “This is a thousand-dollar dress.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets, his gaze flicking briefly to the fabric before taking in the thick, schlumpy fit of the robe. Even covered in acres of terry cloth, she was a vision. “I don’t see a tag.”

“I’ve seen it in the boutique window for a month. I know how much it costs.”

“So you like it?”

“It’s gorgeous.”

“It’s yours.”

She shook the dress at him. “What is wrong with you?”

“We have a strict dress code at Flame. Since we’ve got reservations this evening I figured you’d like something to wear.”

“I have clothes. Good ones that are more than acceptable for Flame. And—” She broke off, her eyes narrowing. “I’m not going with you to the casino’s steak house.”

“We’ve got business to discuss.”

“Then we can go to your office.”

“I’m hungry.”

“You’re mad.”

“And you’re the strangest woman I’ve ever met.” Rafe moved in, the lingering wash of lavender and jasmine from her treatments assaulting his senses. “Most women like spa days. And new clothes. And nice dinners.”

“As a date, maybe. Not with their employer.”

“I can’t show you gratitude for the work you’ve done?”

“A thank-you is fine.”

Rafe took another step closer, those scents fading as something distinctly Evangeline rose up through the lingering effects of a day of pampering. Something earthy and natural, like the air after a rain or the bright scent of rebirth after he regenerated.

With gentle movements, as if a sudden motion would startle her, he pressed his lips to her ear. “Well, then. Thank you.”

Chapter 3 (#u494d2c68-0de1-5f3e-a778-21e0e7a50b47)

Rafe wasn’t sure what had gotten into him. First the misstep the night before during his Rejuvenation and now this focused, deliberate sensual assault on Evangeline Kennedy. It was dangerous and very out of character.

Yet he couldn’t seem to help himself.

A year of watching Evangeline from afar was suddenly not enough. Ignoring that strange tug of attraction that gripped him each and every time he saw her moving around the property had grown tiresome. And leaving the lingering question in his mind if she’d come to the Archangel to undermine his people was no longer tenable.

He wanted answers.

And damn it, he wanted her.

There was no reason he couldn’t have both.

It was a simple idea, formed as he’d marched from the security center to the lawns where she’d been determinedly seeking out scorch marks. But it had grown as she whiled away the afternoon in her spa treatment. He was going after the answers he sought.

If he could seduce them out of her, then the process would be that much more enjoyable.

“Say it,” he whispered against her ear once more, pleased she hadn’t yet pulled away.

“Say what?”

“Yes.”

His overt meaning was dinner, but something in the question stuck with him, searing his thoughts with images of the two of them, naked and locked in each other’s arms.

Would she say yes to sharing his bed?

A possible Hunter?

The thought was enough to jar Rafe from the tempting interlude and he stepped back and reached for the dress that had fallen next to his feet when she’d tossed it. The pale silk slid through his fingers and the stubborn ache that had settled in his chest subsided as his focus narrowed on his plan.

“It’s just dinner. Wear a pretty dress. Join me for a meal.”

Indecision painted her features in sharp relief, the heightened pink glow from her spa treatments fading as she considered his offer.

For reasons he refused to think about too closely, he held his breath, awaiting her response. And was more than a little surprised when she finally answered.

“Yes.”

For a woman who’d always prided herself on her unassuming life and the easy, simple comfort of her home, Evangeline couldn’t quite figure out why it felt like the walls were closing in. She’d returned home from her afternoon at the Archangel with several hundred dollars’ worth of spa treatments still coating her skin and a dress worth twice that in a small bag with silky string handles.

And she had dinner plans with Rafe Stavros.