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as he burrowed inside her. How her hot, wet channel would squeeze his cock and how she’d scream out his name as he drove deep inside her.
    Her breasts rose and fell with each of her breaths, and her lips parted. She innocently mimicked his action. Her pink, little tongue darted over her full lips.
    His cock jerked to attention. The tight, familiar ache gripped his balls. Getting off became an immediate priority.
    “Geez, Rourke, I guess you need to get laid more than you realized,” Dane said, his voice low. He frowned at the growing evidence in Rourke’s shorts.
    “Some women make it more urgent than others.”
    The woman on the terrace tilted her head and met Rourke’s eyes. Her lips parted and lifted into a promise. Rourke felt her smile reach all the way to his cock.
    Dane didn’t miss the exchange. “Really? Then you’d better stop grinning like the Big Bad Wolf if you plan on seducing that woman into your bed.”
    Rourke exhaled and then inhaled the lingering scent of her into his lungs. “The prospects are looking up,” he said in a whisper as he adjusted himself.
    “Let’s go introduce ourselves. And Rourke, try to wipe that hungry look off your face.”

Chapter 5

    Meeting

    The one called Dane was the smaller—if she could call a six-foot-plus man weighing about two hundred pounds small. He was slightly leaner than Rourke but still powerfully built.
    When he chased down a ball rolling in her direction, the laughter stopped. Both players glanced over at her, but Dane brushed his raven-black hair off his face and grinned unabashedly. Openly interested, he exuded a lighthearted enthusiasm Celeste couldn’t deny appealed to her. He was far less intimidating than the man to his right glaring at her with eyes flashing.
    “Hey, there,” Dane said, ignoring his brother’s attitude. He planted his fists on his hips. His Hollywood smile was meant to dazzle. “I’m Dane Grayland.” He ran his hands through his hair and tilted his head in the other man’s direction, his eyes focused on her the entire time. “That’s my brother, Rourke.”
    The naughty charmer, she thought, was a hard man to resist. “Hey, yourself,” she said to Dane, but she kept her attention on Rourke. He said nothing as she stared him down until the conflict became ridiculous. He refused to be the one to break eye contact, finally forcing her to look away first. The lout chuckled at her response, thinking he’d managed to ruffle her, but she took no offense. She’d get back at him later.
    “ Nice to meet you both. I’m Celeste Cameron.”
    The surly one finally acknowledged the introductions and, to Celeste’s chagrin, did it effortlessly.
    “Nice to meet you, too, Celeste.” He was all business, with a voice as smooth as hundred-year-old brandy.
    No one had to tell her that if her knees wobbled and the air felt too thin it was a good indication she should hold onto something. Celeste was also certain those spots dancing before her eyes were a dangerous sign, too, and didn’t think twice before reaching out for the railing.
    Rourke’s eyes burned with fire when he asked her, sounding sexy as hell and looking it, too, “Didn’t I see you in the lounge last night?”
    “Maybe. I was there for a few minutes, but I left early.”
    She’d seen him with Dane and three women, but the power she’d sensed coming from him had sent her running like a coward.
    The paranormals must have all felt the same powerful alpha aura in Rourke that had drawn her to the club and then frightened her off. The women and a few of the men had openly pursued him, but Celeste had moved to the far end of the outside deck when she’d caught him sniffing for her scent. Once out of his range, she’d watched him deny them all.
    He had turned once or twice in her direction then followed her, finally forcing her to shift to avoid his notice. As an owl, she could watch and remain undetected for a while from the trees. The three female shifters had