Gift (Enchanted Ardor #2)

Chapter Three

Olivia checked her coat at the counter before ducking into the ladies’ room to straighten her dress and make-up as the snow dusting her hair turned to a fine mist, giving it a sheen. “What are you doing here, Liv?” she muttered. “These stilettos are ridiculous and you’re going to break something. You should have worn flats. Or stayed home.”

At home, she’d been on the verge of calling to cancel her ride, so she could wriggle out of her dress in favor of sweatpants, when her doorbell chimed.

Discovering a fully uniformed chauffeur standing on the other side of her door, and unable to find words of protest, she bit her lip and grabbed her coat, following him to a shiny black SUV.

I can’t just turn him away, he drove all the way here, from who knows-where.

After nearly an hour’s drive, Olivia was second guessing her natural penchant for trusting people.

Will you never learn, Liv?

She gripped Quinn’s business card on her lap, hoping she wasn’t being taken to a murder house.

No. Stop that, Liv. The tea woman wasn’t the type.

She didn’t feel broken.

Gena’s right, you’ve been bingeing too much True Crime this week.

She glanced down at the card again.

She felt… warm. And complicated.

Quinn O’Clery. Global tea purveyor and hostess.

And tea leaf reader.

Though it hadn’t been much of a reading. Olivia’s thoughts kept returning to Quinn’s words.

Love and a warning.

Maybe she’s just learning how it works? A new hobby. A warning makes sense, but love?

She snorted.

Now, she stared at herself in the mansion’s powder room mirror, hands trembling. “It’s fine. It’s all good. Besides, you need to unwind before diving back into the job seeking slog on Monday.”

She closed her eyes, drew a deep breath and left the washroom, nearly colliding with a large figure on her way past the coat check counter.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.”

A large, strong hand caught her elbow as she stumbled past him, ankle tipping.

In a blink, her intuition read the power in his aura. The ‘otherness’ that cloaked him was similar in strength to her friend Gena’s djinn, though vastly different in power. She didn’t detect a beastly aspect, like the powerful dragon shifters she’d met in her time, though he was just as powerful.

It was something else.

He was something else.

Her gaze locked on his tie at eye-level, decorated with cheery little Santa heads. “Great tie.”

“A gift, from guys who think they have a great sense of humor, when ties aren’t optional.” His voice was rich with a hint of an northern European accent that she hadn’t heard since her early days wandering the continent.

She lifted her gaze to his. “Oh.”

The tie was certainly at odds with the bearded face staring back at her. She registered his dark eyes first, shivering at the depths in them. There was a deep, deep, longevity in his eyes that she recognized instantly, burrowing into her. His long hair, a blend of gold, silver and platinum threads, was drawn back in thin braids from a wide forehead, with a perma-frown crease between his thick brows. Blue and black tattoos peaked out from behind the beard and crisp collar, along his muscled neck.

Her elbow remained in his firm, warm grasp.

“Well, I like it. It matches my dress,” she beamed at him, though it didn’t, really.

He blinked at her sudden smile, his brows descending into an actual frown as his gaze swept her classic black dress.

“I’m Olivia. Boncoeur.” She held up her free hand to shake.

He immediately released her elbow, grasped her fingers and bent over them. “Nick Klaus.”

“Nick Klaus—oh, I get it now. Funny friends you have.”

“They think so.”

She leaned in. “Don’t worry, no one will ever mistake you for the real Santa Claus. You’re far too trim, and certainly don’t exude joviality. So, I think you’re safe.”

His gaze flicked over her face, full of confusion before his full lips stretched into a wide smile, exposing even white teeth as he laughed.

Deep and rich, rumbling through Liv’s core in a delicious way. Her breath hitched.

“Do you have a date waiting on you?”

“Heavens, no. Last minute decision.”

“Care to join me?” He lifted a brow, mischief lighting his eyes.

Olivia licked her suddenly dry lips as her heart pattered and tummy fluttered, warmth branched out through her entire body.

Oh yes, please.

She slid her fingers over his solid forearm as he led her through the cavernous foyer toward the doormen who eased massive arched doors open at their approach.

Olivia gasped. “Oh, how lovely.”

Her gaze devoured the large space, decorated with luxurious precision.

“Yes, lovely.” Nick’s voice was low, fluttering up her nape. She glanced up to see him staring down at her.

She quickly diverted her gaze to the venue as heat bloomed in her cheeks and flushed the rest of her body.

The expanse displayed before them held a warm glow with an inviting ambiance that drew them further into the room. Candlelight flickered off gold and crystal edges, giving the space a delicate shimmer. Guests lingered at random intervals; their power signatures brushed against Olivia as they strolled past. Shifters, magic users, magic beings—some much older than herself, others not yet to their first century.

“Everything glitters, but it’s all so tastefully done.” Olivia breathed.

“Perfect! You’re both here and you’ve met already.” Their hostess, Quinn O’Clery, clapped her hands together as she approached them. She waved a server over, extracted two drinks from the tray, and handed them to Olivia and Nick. “So perfect. Enjoy the party.”

“Already met? Didn’t you want to speak to me?” Liv eyed Quinn as she rubbed her palms together, before placing a hand on each of their arms. Was there glee in her eyes? Liv turned to Nick, brow raised.

Nick shrugged.

“Damn, I’m good at this,” Quinn mumbled under her breath. “No, no. Just go and enjoy yourselves. We can catch up later. Open bar. Guest rooms are upstairs.”

“Guest rooms?” Liv echoed, but Quinn was already wandering toward the next arriving guests. She looked up at Nick, who surveyed the scene. “Know anyone?”

He shook his head. “Do you dance?” A layer of tension marked his brow.

“Not without breaking toes.”

His brow relaxed. “I see garden doors across the room.”

“An atrium? I love atriums.”

“Atrium it is, then.”

Drinks in hand, Nick guided Olivia in the direction he indicated, nodding here and there to other guests clustered in conversation, or couples paired off at club tables or cozy love seats.

Open Bar.

Guest rooms upstairs.

Liv bit her lip, casting glances up at Nick, struggling against the urge to lean into him.

Get a grip, Liv! You met the guy thirty seconds ago.

She sipped her drink, distantly noting it was a fine champagne.

Inhaling, she detected hints of cinnamon in Nick’s cologne.

“Boncoeur. French? From Quebec?” he asked over the rim of his drink.

“I lived there for a time. Originally from France. Way back.” She didn’t mention that she’d sailed to New France with the Filles du Roi. “And you? Do I detect Norwegian in your accent?”

He smiled down at her, eyes crinkling in the corners. “Something like that. Way back, too.”

At the threshold to the atrium, she turned into him, her curiosity uncontrollable. Glancing around at the rest of the guests, she turned her attention back to him. Heart racing, she challenged him. “Nearly everyone here is… special. With the exception of me, of course. I can sense that much. What about you?”

Liv, what is wrong with you? It’s been sixty seconds, don’t alienate the man before the frost even melts off your shoes!

She bit her lip again, breath held.

His gaze turned intense as he scrutinized her face, locked on her eyes, reading deep into her soul.

She couldn’t breathe.

And all she should think about was kissing the full lips nestled in his soft beard and leaning into the comfort of his embrace.

She blinked, then sipped her drink again.

Jésus, Liv!

He broke into another laugh. “So much mischief in those eyes. You are as exceptional as everyone else in this place. Perhaps more so. Olivia, you are the light in the darkest winter.”

Moisture blurred Liv’s eyes. Her heart pounded deep in her chest as her core turned molten, melting her spine. Her breath hitched as she swallowed, licking her lips. “And you sir, are the ultimate flirt.” She drank half of the remaining champagne.

He winked and tapped his nose. “And you, are a good girl.” His lips curled in the corner as he finally allowed his gaze to drift below her chin.

As his gaze slid to her throat, chest and breasts, then hips down to her ankles and strappy stilettos, she forgot about the atrium and all she could think about now was that there were guest rooms somewhere upstairs.

Oh, I can be bad. So bad.

No one had ever made her feel so… desired with a single glance.

He met her gaze over the rim of his glass as he finally imbibed of his own drink. “Atrium?”

No.

Ninety seconds, Liv.

She nodded.

Finally turning her attention to the open room beyond the threshold, she gasped. “How enchanting!”

The atrium held the same golden glitter and glow as the rest of the manor house, but this room held a different quality to it. Magic skittered over Olivia’s skin as Nick led her into the glassed-in expanse.

She felt exposed, vulnerable, as though there were no hiding secrets of any kind.

Not in this space.

And she was already prone to serious filter lapses.

This place is dangerous, Liv.

She drained her glass.

Above them, snow fell like drifting stars, melting on the glass roof in crystalline rivulets. Strings of golden beads dangled from the supports. Around them, blooms were full and heady, inviting them deeper into the creamy maze of roses, peonies, lilies and all manor of delicate flora. Candles glowed from strategic pedestals while the music from the main room lingered at the door.

The atrium stood in a hush of magic, insulated from not just the outside world, but the thriving party behind them.

Finally, she turned her attention back to Nick, who looked up through the glass roof.

The snowflakes splattered, thick and heavy against the glass.

“Snowstorm?”

He nodded. “The roads will be impassable later.”

“I just got here after an eternal ride with the chauffeur.” She sighed, dropping her gaze to her feet. “And these shoes would not survive that much snow.”

“I have a rental. I could drive you back.”

“Rental? You don’t live nearby, then. When do you go home?”

“Day after tomorrow. There is still a lot of work to do before Christmas Eve, though my crew are putting in a lot of extra time in my absence.”

She groaned. “You’re not kidding there. So much work to do. But that’s a Monday problem.” Olivia kept the bit about ‘work to do’ meant ‘jobs to find’ in her case.

“Agreed.” He smiled, gaze caressing her face. “Home, or another drink?”

“Quinn did say that there are guest rooms upstairs.”

“She did.”

“Perhaps another drink?” She searched his face. “Unless you’re anxious to go back to your hotel.”

“There is no one of interest there.”

Belatedly, a new thought drifted into Olivia’s head. “And no Mrs. Klaus at home?”

Nick shook his head, holding her gaze. “Not at the moment.”

“Well then, let’s make the most of this one, enchanting night.” Olivia slid her fingers along Nick’s.

Subtle shocks snapped between their warm palms when he grasped her hand in his, lifting it to his lips, murmuring. “A perfect gift for the holidays.”

A hundred and twenty seconds, Liv.

But she knew she was going to be in for the best snowstorm of the decade as she looked up into his face.

Maybe even a lifetime.