Wicked Flames (Solsti Prophecy) (7 page)

Mathias glanced to the front door as another patron came in. The shop was big, with several rectangular wooden tables near the register and pastry display, and smaller tables near the back. He figured students probably held study groups here. At one side near the front sat two big speakers and a chair, with a sign resting on it proclaiming last night’s Open Mic program.

He scanned the room, noting the handful of patrons.
Where is she?
Two students in Santa hats chatted at one of the small tables, smart phones sitting face up. A couple of middle-aged professor types talked politics at one rectangular table. And walking away from the sugar-and-cream stand was some biker chick…

Wait. Holy shit. That’s Gin
.

She turned abruptly and headed back to the display. Glancing up, she met his eyes and froze. Her hand hovered above the stack of white paper napkins, as surprise and recognition dawned on her face.

He opened his mouth but his words were stuck. Standing before him now was a dressed down, earthy, don’t-mess-with-me version of Gin. Gone was the sexy elegance of last night. And damn if she wasn’t even sexier this way.

She wore Doc Martens and her toned legs were wrapped tightly in faded, ripped denim. A black T-shirt with “Ramones” in bold white letters peeked from beneath a black leather motorcycle jacket with a million buckles, and her hair cascaded in loose touch-me waves.

The sunlight filtering through a nearby window illuminated her eyes, glittering like emeralds against her pale skin. She blinked. Then her lips turned up into a heart-stopping smile.

Good gods, she had a beautiful smile. It brightened her whole face. It hit him like another sucker punch and shit, he loved that she could surprise him.

“Hey.” She tilted her head. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Good morning.” His voice came out strained. He cleared his throat as he crossed the room to stand next to her. “Thought I’d checkout the local coffee.”

“You’re in luck.” She leaned toward him conspiratorially and winked. “This morning they’re brewing Brazilian rocket fuel.”

“Brazilian rocket fuel?” He grinned, charmed by her playful tone. “Is that a good thing?”

“Mm, it’s my favorite dark roast. Nicole’s too. She always asks me to bring some home with me.”

“Nicole?” He said the blond Solsti’s name slowly, recognizing this was his chance to interject that he knew her. He really should say something like
Oh, she never mentioned that
, or
I’ve met Nicole
, but Gin spoke again.

“Oh, duh!” She looked at the floor for a second and waved her hand in front of her face. “Sorry. Nicole is my oldest sister. I have two. There’s also Brooke, who’s in between Nicole and me.”

Tell her you already know thi
s
!
A voice warned in his mind.

“Do you have siblings?” she asked, before his mind could finish arguing with itself.

“Yeah. Five.”

“Five? Wow! Where are you in the birth order?” Bright green eyes studied his face, and before he could speak, she started in again. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m standing here babbling and you just wanted coffee.”

He didn’t think she’d been a chatterbox. And it didn’t bother him one bit. He wouldn’t mind if she rattled off scientific equations all day. “No problem. May I join you?”

“Of course.” Her voice was low as she held his gaze, a mischievous mirth dancing in her eyes. Her body language broadcast that she was happy to see him. And that body…his eyes slid down her slender frame. “I have a table back there.” Her soft words pulled him from his trance.

He looked over her head, spying a backpack tossed on a tiny table sandwiched by two huge overstuffed armchairs. Right next to a window and a fake Christmas tree decorated with small paper coffee cups. “I’ll be right there.”

He strode to the counter and placed his order. What was he doing?
Persuade her, Hunter. She’s a Solsti. She can’t opt out
. Arawn’s words echoed in his head. Mathias had planned to be straightforward in this job, but—

“Room for cream in the Brazilian rocket fuel?” the barista asked.

“No, thanks.” He met the girl’s eyes, and she blushed scarlet as she topped off the cup and handed it to him.

He made his way around the rectangular tables to the back portion of the shop. Gin sat in one armchair checking her phone, sunlight bathing her in a golden glow. It brought out the subtle red streaks in her hair.

He slowed as he approached. She was, simply and honestly, beautiful. He’d spent plenty of time around beautiful females. But she was having some odd effect on him. Her scent, her green-eyed gaze, and the confident sensuality that came through with every quirk of her lips, combined into an invisible force that urged him nearer.

As if sensing him, she looked up and smiled. She really needed to stop that or he was going to have to kiss her.

“I took your recommendation.” He raised his cup and winked, then lowered himself into the other chair.

“Good. It’ll wake you up.” She set her phone face down on the table. “So, six kids in your family? Must have been crazy at your house.”

“Yep. It still is, when we’re all together. But we get along. I’m number three, by the way.”
And Ria’s number four
.

“My sisters and I are close too. Our house seemed busy enough with just three.”

“Somehow I’d bet that half the kids doesn’t work out to half the craziness.”

“I guess we were a handful.” She paused and flicked a glance out the window. “There used to be four of us. I had a younger sister. She died before she turned two. I had just turned three, so I don’t even remember her.”

Three sisters. So who’s the fourth Solsti?
“I’m sorry,” he said. “That must’ve been devastating for your parents.”

She shook her head and smiled ruefully at him. “Actually, they had passed away by the time Alina died. Car accident. We were living with our adoptive parents. Who were awesome.”

He opened his mouth to speak but she held up a hand. “No, I may as well tell you the whole thing. My adoptive parents were older, and they passed away a few years ago.”

He waited, sensing she wasn’t done. And that maybe she’d given this spiel before.

“My life probably sounds like a sob story, but I grew up in a happy home. And now my sisters are my family. It’s okay. We’re okay.” She looked up at him, the flicker of sadness in her eyes belying her confidant tone.

“Siblings are great.” It was true, and he didn’t know what else to say. Gin didn’t seem to want condolences.

“Yeah,” she said softly.

A switch flipped in his mind. She was being so open. Which was a fantastic start, and one he wanted to preserve. He’d had objectives like her before, who’d been opposed to a certain idea and stubborn as hell. And the less they knew about his motives, the better.

Abandoning the direct approach, he decided to get to know Gin as if he had met her by chance last night. He had a task to accomplish and he’d play it with the no-previous-knowledge angle. No going back now. “You said your sister asks you to bring this to her?” He smiled and took a sip of the dark roast. The bitter drink stung his taste buds.
Hell yeah
. He looked down at his cup. “This is great.”

She grinned and sipped her own cup. “Liquid gold during midterms, finals, and dissertations. And yes, Nic loves this. She and Brooke live in Chicago.”

“Are they married? Giving you nieces and nephews?”

She snickered. “No kids. They have—” Her eyes narrowed as she seemed to search for the right word. “Boyfriends. Serious ones. Nicole has a ring.”

He’d seen the chunk of ice on Nicole’s finger. “Do I detect a trace of disapproval?”

“No, no. It’s just that—it happened really fast. They’ve only known these guys a few months.”

“They say when you meet the right person, you know.”

“Yeah, they do say that.” Green eyes locked with his across the tiny table. The spacious room seemed to shrink, the air thickening with awareness as the weight of her stare sliced through him.
Solsti
. She looked like any cute college girl, but her mind held the power to burn a city. He needed to tread carefully.

“Are you married?” she asked, breaking the spell.

Mathias coughed on the gulp of coffee he’d just swallowed. “What?” He thumped his chest.

“Are you?”

“No.”

“Do you have any kids?”

“No.” He cleared his throat. “You?”

“No to both.” She nibbled her bottom lip, so damn sexy he nearly coughed again. “I just thought it would be good to know.”

“I agree,” he said. “Nothing like getting straight to the point. Anything else?”

“What’s your last name?”

He gave his standard answer. “Hunter.”

She tilted her head. “You said you were checking out the local coffee. Are you visiting the area?”

Shit. No going back.
“Yeah. I have an interview with campus security.” The university was huge. He hoped she didn’t know anyone in that department. “I’m here a few days early. Thought I’d check out the party last night, since it was hosted by a student organization.”

“And I monopolized you,” she murmured.

He winked at her. “Hardly an inconvenience.”

Her phone chimed. She ignored it.

So polite
. “Go ahead.” He nodded to her phone.
 

She picked it up and grinned. “It’s from Nicole. She and Brooke are Christmas shopping on Michigan Avenue. She sent a picture of the ubiquitous fur protest outside Neiman Marcus. Here.” She turned the phone around. He leaned forward and shook his head at the crowd of people, some waving signs and some dressed like animals.

“Interesting, as long as people aren’t tossing paint.”

“Usually not.” She wrinkled her nose. “My sisters go every year, fight the crowds and see the same fur protest. They can keep their routine. I’m not much of a shopper.” Gin turned her phone back to face her and scrolled, then turned it to him again. “Here’s a recent picture of them.”

Mathias nodded at their familiar faces. Damn, he was balancing on a dagger’s edge. “They both got creative with their hair.”

Gin rolled her eyes. “That’s a very diplomatic way to say it. Their hair is crazy. It’s for their boyfriends. The stripe of black in Nic’s hair matches Gunnar’s, and the stripe of blond in Brooke’s hair matches Kai’s.” She shook her head. “And the worst part is, the guys did the
same thing
. They each have a stripe to match their girl. It’s so weird.”

Had Nicole and Brooke explained the mate lock to Gin? Surely they had. When supernatural creatures mated, each one acquired a lock of hair in the color and texture of the other one.

“It looks trendy, I guess. Not that I know much about hair,” he said.

“Yeah,
trendy
.” Another eye roll. Gin looked like she thought it was ridiculous. “I’m going to the washroom. Be right back.”

Her ass was sweet and tight in those ripped-up jeans as she walked away from him. He pinched the bridge of his nose. What the hell was he doing? He blew out a breath and picked up the pink iPod she’d left on the table.

He grinned as he scrolled through her artists and playlists. If the Ramones T-shirt hadn’t clued him in, this sealed it. Gin was a die-hard eighties alternative rock fan. Depeche Mode, the Cure, U2’s
Unforgettable Fire
album. The list went on and on. There was also a playlist labeled “Ballroom” and the soundtracks to Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera. Diverse. Just like the rest of her interests.

He set the iPod down and looked out the window, wondering what her plans were for the day. Hell, he needed a plan. He was winging it. That alone wasn’t new for him. But Gin was. His instincts were screaming about her. To tell her jokes, make her smile. Tuck her close against his side. Kiss those sweet lips. Memorize her curves.

Trumpets blared in a loud burst as U2’s “Angel of Harlem” echoed from the sound system. The light thud of her boots and a waft of cinnamon announced her approach. He turned to see her green eyes twinkling, a playful smirk dancing across her mouth as she carried two small white plates with muffins. She set them on the table and settled into her chair.

Mathias raised one eyebrow.

Her smirk bloomed into a smile. “Cranberry muffins are my favorite. They only have them at Christmastime.”

He tilted his head. “I’ve never had a cranberry muffin.” True. In his five hundred twenty years.
You’re walking a whole new path here, Hunter
.

“They’re sweet and tart. Taste it.” A familiar glimmer sparked in her eyes. He recognized the look she’d given him last night when she didn’t think he could dance.
 

How could he resist that smile? It reached her eyes, lighting her whole face.
Sweet and tart. Is that how she tastes?
He leaned forward and broke a crumbling piece off the top, making sure to get one red berry nestled in a bed of sugary pastry. With deliberate slowness he raised it to his lips, not breaking eye contact with her.

His acute hearing registered her breath coming a fraction faster. Her attention dropped to his mouth as he popped the bite of muffin in.

“Mm.” He grinned and winked at her. “Sweet and tart. I need another taste.”

She swallowed audibly, blinked several times, and took a gulp of coffee. “Um…I’m glad you like it.”

He winked at her and made quick work of the rest of the muffin. Gin was fun and she wanted to play. The primal demon inside him basked in her interest. Miss B didn’t know what she was getting into. “So what are your plans for today?”

“Hang out here for a bit longer.” She nibbled her muffin. “Then go wrap presents at Toys for Tots. After that, who knows?”

Bono crooned something about a Christmas tree and a smiling angel. Mathias blinked.
Angel
. The word stuck in his head. He reached for his cup and gulped more Brazilian rocket fuel.

“How about you?” she asked.

“Me?”

She smiled and quirked an eyebrow. “Um, yes, you. What’s on your agenda today?” Her phone trilled before he could answer.

Good, because he hadn’t come up with one yet.

“Hello? What’s wr—Oh no! Bummer. Well, get some rest.” Gin frowned and pressed a key, then dropped her hand into her lap. “I just lost my other elf.”