Hidden Passions (24 page)

If that was true, Chris was grateful. Regrettably, he couldn't help thinking Tony was painting his emotions a tad too rosy.

THE engagement party was in full swing by the time the private elevator let them out at Cass's super-luxe penthouse. The store her home was perched on took up a city block--plenty of room to show off what being a Maycee meant. Tony watched Chris gape at the marble-clad outer hall without letting on he'd noticed. They heard people laughing before the apartment door opened.

Nate stuck his head out of it. "What held up the two of you?"

"Traffic," Tony singsonged, giving Nate's freshly shaven cheek a gay little pat.

"Uh-huh," Nate said with both eyebrows up. Tony wasn't normally this fey. Nate and Chris exchanged soberer hetero greetings. Tony didn't tease, because he had his I-barely-know-this-tiger disguise on.

"The bartender sucks," Nate informed the cat. "Once you've had your fill of socializing, I'm sure no one would complain if you stepped in."

Tony opened his mouth to say,
Oh yeah, Chris's mango martinis are dee-licious
. He shut his jaw just in time. That was not an approved comment. At least, he didn't think it was. Chris had tended bar at Nate and Evina's engagement. If Nate remembered, wasn't Tony allowed to?

Maybe Chris's second-guessing had rubbed off on him. Having to parse every word he said for the rest of the evening suddenly seemed a drag. Also, was a party really a party if you couldn't share a single dance with your true new love?

Tony frowned at himself. He'd just had amazing sex, the sort that realigned a person's atoms and left their spine tingly. He was fine with his and Chris's arrangement. No way was he going to let a moment's doubt ruin his stellar mood.

"I'm hopping in the pool," he announced to Nate as if Chris's plans were irrelevant. "Where can I change that won't shock anyone?"

Nate laughed. "Guest bedrooms are that way. Just knock if the door is closed."

Tony sashayed off, then wondered if he should have thanked Chris for driving him. Oh screw it. Nate wasn't going to think about it one way or another.
You're in a stellar mood
, he reminded.

Selectively lying about his personal life didn't make it less awesome.

~

The wolves had a history of rooftop parties. This one at Cass's place lived up to tradition. Stripped to his red swimsuit, Tony knew he looked fine strolling onto the big terrace. He was tall but graceful, muscular but not musclebound. The air felt good on his exposed skin. The warming spell was topnotch, soft and balmy without crossing over to sweltering.

Tony wondered if Cass's father had spun it. Tony had learned from Rick that the pureblood was really juiced. If he were the enchantment's author, it might explain why the flowerbeds were blooming in midwinter.

Since he didn't want to think about Roald or their weird first meeting, he waved at the kids splashing in the pool. Maria's husband Johnny manned the barbecue, smoke from the roasting meat wafting on the breeze like incense.

Tony wasn't the only guest inhaling.

"Hel-lo, handsome," said Evina's free-spirited friend Freda. The paramedic covered her mouth when Tony turned around. "Oh, it's you. Sorry."

"Don't be sorry," he teased. "Everybody likes compliments."

She laughed good-naturedly. "Dance with me later?"

"Absolutely," he promised.

Mood buoyed, he grabbed a sunrise-orange drink from a tray--one of Chris's specials, he realized as soon as he sipped it. He must have replaced the bartender already. Determinedly avoiding looking around for him, Tony worked his way between groups of partiers toward the jazz quartet at the roof's far-end. Some of the guests looked ritzy, but most were casual. His parents were close-dancing in front of the band's low stage, still feeling the afterglow from their cruise on the submarine. Tony kissed his mother's cheek, but didn't interrupt.

"Tony," she exclaimed, catching sight of him. "You're nearly naked!"

His father whispered something in her ear and paddled her bottom. Because it was probably along the lines of
Leave the boy alone
, Tony grinned at the interplay.

The dragons liked music, and they weren't far away. They'd drawn together beneath a cluster of young maples and were peeking curiously around at everything. They'd grown fast in the last few months, closer to the size of St. Bernards now and not housecats. Since everyone trusted Tony to babysit, the trio knew him well. Auric trilled when he spotted him, his greeting joined a moment later by Scarlet and Verdi's.

Once he was close enough, they all jostled up to him.

"Hey, brats," Tony said, giving them the side slaps they liked.

Verdi burst out with a string of dragon chatter, complete with expressive wing gestures. Tony didn't know what it meant but found it amusing.

"You're totally Italian," he told the dragon, who didn't disagree. He went to his knees to stroke Verdi's muzzle with both hands. It was impossible not to smile at him. The dragons had an amazing gift for conveying affection with their eyes. Assuming Scarlet's squawk meant
me too
, he gave her a share of the petting.

A shadow came up behind him. Somewhat to his surprise, Tony recognized its shape and scent.

"They really like you," Liam said.

Tony looked up at him. The tiger's manner was tentative--and also a smidge sulky, like he wondered why Tony deserved the favor of these rare creatures. Tony's wolf wanted him on his feet to meet the potential threat, but Tony overruled its impulse. Liam was huge and a pain in the butt, but when you got down to it, he was just a confused kid. As a fellow omega, Tony understood his need for approval. Liam wanted to do what he thought would earn it, but couldn't always puzzle out what that was. It took courage for a low-ranked shifter to decide to be his own damn self and to hell with his clan's opinions.

Tony couldn't swear he'd done that a hundred percent himself.

"They're used to me," he said, maintaining a pleasant expression. "I dragon-sit sometimes."

"The red one just finished your martini."

"Crap." When he spun around to Scarlet, she blinked at him innocently. Not fooled, he took her pretty muzzle between his hands. "Drinks aren't for dragons, you little lush."

"There were only a few sips left," Liam assured him. He shifted his weight on his giant feet. "Could you . . . show me how to pet them?"

That was a concession. A guy like Liam preferred to pretend wolves--especially gay wolves--couldn't school tigers in anything.

"Sure," Tony said, working to keep his thoughts from showing. "Come down to their level and let them sniff at you."

Liam dropped to the grass a bit awkwardly. The dragons were friendly, and there wasn't much danger, certainly not with Tony to smooth the way. He'd observed the brood had good instincts about people, seeming to know their moods and intentions by reading their energy.

"Their sides are the safest place to stroke them," Tony said. "Use your palm and go head to tail, in the direction of their scales. You can use some pressure. They're too heavy and well balanced to push over."

Liam tried the technique on Verdi, who was closest and seemed the most settled. The biggest of the dragons stood patiently, gazing past Liam in apparent fascination with the bass player. The tip of his sinuous tail swished in time to the rhythm.

"He's warm," Liam said.

"They use their magic for heat, I think. They enjoy sunning, too, like cold-blooded reptiles do."

Liam accidentally bumped Verdi's wing, which caused the dragon to twitch the appendage into a tighter fold.

"They're protective of their wings," the big cat observed.

"Yes," Tony said, "and you should definitely avoid their dorsal spikes. The bigger the dragons grow, the sharper those become. You could slice a finger off on one."

Verdi made a grumbling noise in his throat.

"Just making an observation," Tony said. "I didn't say you'd do it on purpose."

Liam laughed, then looked surprised he had. "Do they understand human speech?"

Tony could not resist this opening. "They're a bit like cats. They understand instructions when they want to."

Liam smiled a little and looked down. "About before. I'm . . . sorry I gave you a hard time."

That was a nice vague statement, but Tony didn't press for more. "You're not the first to give me grief, and I doubt you'll be the last. I appreciate the apology, though. Nate and Evina are both my friends. I'd like us to get along."

Some reaction tightened Liam's face. Had Tony said the wrong thing? He must have. Liam's expression was suddenly closed down.

Tony pushed to his feet, abruptly wishing he were wearing more clothes. His mom was right. He was way too naked for some people. Liam could barely look at him. "I'm going to hit the pool. Why don't you hang with these guys a bit?"

Liam's gaze jerked to his. "They won't mind being left with me?"

"Nah. As long as you're not pushy, they like company."

"Okay," Liam said. "I'll keep an eye on them."

He seemed alarmingly serious. "Uh," Tony said. "If they're naughty or whatever, don't try to control them. They're powerful, and that's better left to Rick and Cass. Or Cass's father. He used to train dragons."

"Sure," Liam said. "Anything goes wrong, I'll find one of them."

~

Chris didn't mind playing bartender. He could people watch, and it supplied a polite excuse for not dancing with every woman who hoped to seduce him. Being a fireman and not plug ugly, he got plenty of offers. Ironically, the other tigers thought he liked mixing drinks because it made him a babe magnet.

Their misconception aside, he was so used to the tasks required he could do them on autopilot. He blended daiquiris while watching Tony introduce Liam to the dragons. Chris should have thought of that as a way to win over the grumpy cat. Who wouldn't want to make friends with magical creatures? But maybe it was better to let Tony be himself. The wolf was good with people when they gave him a chance.

"That's a true Mona Lisa smile," observed a familiar voice.

Startled, Chris stopped the blender's whir. One of the hosts from
As Luck Would Have It
had come over. His multiple viewings of their dragon special allowed him to identify her as Jin Levine. The interviewer's half elf genes made her extra pretty, though her human ones probably weren't chopped liver. Her hair and eyes were gold, her flawless skin kissed by the same 24-karat tone. Her lashes had to be false. Otherwise, they couldn't have been sooty.

"Daiquiri?" he offered. "I've made a fresh batch."

"I'd rather have your special, the mango martinis I've heard so much about."

She practically purred the words. Chris suspected she could turn reading a grocery list into a flirtation.

"Coming up," he said with a strictly professional smile.

Jin wasn't discouraged. She was a professional herself. Bending one sleek golden arm, she leaned on the bar top. If he'd been a different sort of man, he'd have admired the way she filled out her bikini. "You seem familiar. Have I seen you somewhere?"

"I'm a fireman," he said. "Sometimes we get caught on camera."

"No." Jin tapped her lips, not cooing over the fact that he battled fires. "It's something else. It'll come to me. I've got a memory like an elephant."

Chris fought a sudden chill. Unless she'd been a news junkie as a child, she was too young to remember his family tragedy.

"There isn't anything else," he said. "I'm a simple guy."

When Jin smiled, her mouth curved deeper on one side. The expression made her look unexpectedly likeable. "If there's one thing I've learned in life, it's that hardly anyone is simple."

A stir of sound and movement saved Chris from having to respond. Whatever the disturbance was it had started by the pool. A reporter down to her toes, Jin used her high-heeled sandals to peer over the party crowd.

"Oh boy," she said as if she didn't know whether to be worried or excited. "Hold onto your swizzle sticks. We've got faeries incoming."

The faeries' entrance
was
a sort of invasion. Nine purebloods in silk robes filed out through the window doors that connected the penthouse to the pool deck. Chris had never seen so many high fae in person in one place. Even from where he stood, their combined magic closed his throat. These were the beings who'd created Resurrection--possibly the actual ones, given their race's longevity. As amazing as it was to be a shifter or an elf, compared to the fae, their power was a small drop in a big bucket.

"Naughty, naughty," Jin murmured. "Cass didn't invite you to this party."

Her tone was humorous, her pretty face less so.

Feeling a sudden need to have free hands, Chris put down his drink mixing tools. "Why do you think they're here?"

"For them, I imagine." Thoroughly somber now, she tilted her head toward the young dragons.

That wasn't right. Tony's pack had risked their lives to protect the brood. No snooty faerie cabal ought to be able to sweep in and threaten them. Chris stepped out from behind the bar, his tiger's energy swelling inside him.

"Hey," Jin said, laying a cautionary hand on his arm. "Don't go all feral. I didn't say I thought the fae meant them harm."

"I need to get closer." His voice wasn't normal. His tiger had roughened it. He wasn't sure he should trust his urge to let it out . . . or if he could resist it. Obviously, he'd watched that dragon special too many times. He'd developed a sense of ownership. Knowing this was inappropriate didn't seem to matter. "Your friend Cass doesn't have to face them alone."

"She's not," Jin said, patting him. "Every wolf in this place just went to DEFCON-1, besides which Cass can handle more than people think. Look, the red dragon just flew over to help her confront them. This is politics, right here. Let the girls do their Madeleine Albright thing."

Jin seemed to know what she was talking about.

"I still want to get closer," he said gruffly. "I can't hear what they're saying from this distance."