It must have worked. He didn’t seem at all offended, because he laughed as I gave him change. But his next words alerted me that, unfortunately, he hadn’t quite gotten the true message.
“Hey, come on,” he cajoled. “Maybe we go to the same school.”
Since I’d graduated midyear from an all-girls boarding school, I doubted it.
“Sorry,” I lied, “but our boss docks our pay if we’re caught flirting.” He didn’t. Spike was cool, but this was the quickest way to avoid getting caught in the flirtation net. I’d been in Athena for almost three weeks, and it was unlikely that I’d stay. I wasn’t interested in a short-term relationship—and certainly not one with a Static. It could lead to nothing except trouble. Besides, my kind mated for life. We searched for the one and only, simply weren’t drawn to the temporary. Due to my genetic makeup, I didn’t find Statics all that sexy. They might look like us, but below the surface they were so plain. I peered around him. “Next.”
Cute-stuff got the message and shouldered his way through the crowd, stopping to flirt with a girl who was waiting in line. I hoped he had more luck connecting with her. He seemed nice, but he just wasn’t my type.
As a skinny guy took his place at the front of the line and lifted his gaze to the menu posted on the wall behind me, I refrained from rolling my eyes. Things would move so much more quickly if people used their time in line to study the menu and decide what they wanted before they got to me. But most stood there talking about the awesome slopes or powder or tomorrow’s forecast.
Business was always brisk at twilight, as the sun descended beyond the snow-covered mountains, forcing the skiers to abandon the slopes. People crowded the front of the counter, trying to get their hot beverages—coffee, chocolate, tea, cider—to warm themselves. The din of their laughter and voices drowned out our snow tunes playlist, which repeated constantly to remind people how cold it was outside and tempt them into ordering the Bigfoot-sized mugs. I relished the fact that all these people didn’t bother me. They almost filled me with a sense of calm, because I couldn’t feel their deepest fears or yearnings. The only emotions cascading through me were mine.
The door opened, just as it had dozens of times that day, but for some reason, this time it drew my attention. Drew everyone’s, as there was a collective holding of breath for just a heartbeat before the din started again. It wasn’t the door so much as the guy striding through it. Tall, dark, and handsome was a cliché, but it fit him perfectly. My heart stuttered. I recognized him immediately.
Daniel Foster. A Shifter. A Dark Guardian.
Crap. What the hell was he doing here?
Until he’d walked in, I hadn’t been aware of any Shifters in the area. It bothered me that I hadn’t known he was at the resort until I saw him. I’d never tested the full limits of my ability, but I knew I could easily sense a Shifter’s emotions if he was within a block or so of where I was. If his emotions were ratcheted up to the extreme like Justin’s had been the night he died, I could sense him farther away than that. So I should have felt Daniel’s presence before he strode through that door. I should have known he was nearby so I could have run. Why had he taken me by surprise? Did he have the ability to shut down his emotions? Even now that I could see him, I couldn’t tap into what he was feeling. I was as bothered by that fact as I was by his presence—which I was fairly certain didn’t bode well for me.
I didn’t know much about Daniel. He’d joined our pack only last summer. I’d seen him a couple of times from a distance when I’d visited Wolford last June. But I hadn’t paid a great deal of attention to him. I figured he could have his choice of mate, and I’d never been on any Shifter’s Girl Most Likely to Be Asked Out list.
He wore a black, quilted down jacket that he hadn’t bothered to zip, so his dark-gray sweater beneath it was visible. His black hair was cropped short. His facial features were rugged, chiseled as though they’d been carved from the roughest granite. In the middle of winter he was deeply tanned—like any self-respecting guy who lived for the outdoors. The stubble shadowing his strong jaw gave him a dangerous edge.
Other guys hanging around in the Hot Brew Café were unshaven, too. Athena was one of the most popular winter vacation resorts in the state, and few people dressed up for it. But none of them looked as though they had the ability—or desire—to defend their territory. Daniel gave off the aura that he marked it and would willingly take down anyone who crossed the line into what he considered his. He was not someone to mess with.
Even his eyes—the most amazing, mesmerizing green, like emeralds—were those of a competent hunter. He simply stood there, his well-toned body so still, so very still, the way a predator waits for the precise moment to pounce on its prey. His only movement was his gaze slowly scanning the shop. Then it locked with mine and I was hit with a quivering sense of dread.
Within his eyes, I saw recognition and triumph—but I didn’t feel them. But more important, I realized I was his prey. Just as I’d feared, I was the reason he was here.
He ambled over to the far end of the counter where there were stools—all occupied. He came to a stop behind the one in the corner. The buff guy sitting on it gave a little startled jump as though someone had given him a wedgie. He glanced back over his shoulder at Daniel, then grabbed his coffee cup and slunk away. Daniel’s power of intimidation without confrontation was incredible, but deeply unsettling because I still couldn’t tap into his emotions—even with his increasing nearness. I should have felt something.
I forced myself to break the spell, to snap my attention away from Daniel and back to the guy who’d been studying the menu. After taking his order, I turned to the preparation counter, where we kept all the essentials for the beverages we provided. I focused on my task. Two scoops of chocolate powder. A dab of marshmallow cream. Hot water from the spigot. Stir briskly. I watched the contents swirling, melting. Focus. Focus. Don’t look around. Don’t let him know you’re aware that he’s watching you.
But I was acutely aware of him watching me, the way an animal in the forest knows it’s been targeted. The hairs on the nape of my neck prickled and rose, sending an icy shimmer skittering along my spine. I handed the mug of chocolate to the customer and took his money.
In spite of my best efforts not to, I slid my gaze to the side. Daniel sat unmoving, his eyes lasering in on me. He was the storm, the thunder and lightning that turned the blue sky to gray. Not literally, of course. Metaphorically. But if ever there was a guy who emanated danger, he was it.