EXCERPT

The gorgeous warlock behind me placed a comforting hand on my left shoulder while circling around to my right, resting his other arm on the counter. The slightly intimate position should have been reserved for couples, something we were most definitely not!

Gah!

So much for avoiding him. I couldn’t figure out if my body wanted to panic or purr.

“Excuse me, young lady.” He caught the blonde’s attention right away.

Oh, that voice. I felt a part of my body relax and another part of me tense as its velvety tones washed over me.

He continued. “I sometimes find that places such as these make the annoying mistake of double booking rooms during holidays in case of future cancellations. Could you simply do a search under…what is your name miss?”

I had to turn into him a little to meet his questioning look. The close contact, combined with the way his magic seemed to make a tentative grab for me made me tingle inside.

“Analise Lavelle.”

He smiled. “Lovely.” Then he turned back to the receptionist. “Could you do a search for Analise Lavelle, please?”

The rich baritone of his voice and the tender manner in which he made the request had the receptionist clicking away at that keyboard faster than I could down a cheeseburger.

I was doing my best not to react to the strange power within this man’s core. Magic was generally something that remained inactive until its master wielded it. This man’s magic seemed to have a mind of its own, attempting to draw me in as if it wanted to have a conversation with me…get to know me better.

You are insane, Analise. Just keep it together for a few more minutes.

While I gave myself a mental pep talk, the receptionist continued her frantic search. Every now and then she glanced up, giving the warlock a shy smile— something that earned several eye rolls from me—and then continued with her clicking and clacking. The sound drove home the relentless pounding in my cranium.

The handsome foreigner continued to remain right behind me, with his arms and body encircling my figure and his inner core of magic throwing wispy tendrils of welcome my way.

“Ah, here it is. We did double book the room, Ms. Lavelle, and it doesn’t look like the gentleman who shares the same reservation with you has canceled.”

She said it like it was a good thing.

“Gentleman? What gentleman?”

“A Mr. Miguel Galvez.” She squinted at the screen for a second. “Yep, it looks as if we put you both in the same suite.”

The man behind me let out a low chuckle that rumbled through his chest, warming my back, not to mention my heart strings. I needed to get out of here before I killed the receptionist and kissed the foreigner.

“What is so funny?” I asked. My voice came out more strained than I cared to admit. I mentally batted away a pesky tug from that weird inner magic this guy held.

“It’s just interesting how things work. You see, my name is Miguel Galvez.”

As a mother of four children she can be found at any given time changing diapers, playing dress-ups with her daughters, getting her fanny kicked in Mario Kart by her snarky little son, and escaping into a corner of the house with her kindle for a nice, quiet (lol in her dreams) read. She is also married to the most deliciously, handsome looking Latino. As always, she has plenty to write about