S.L. Hadley - Kappas Caress (Intimate Myths Book 3)

To Josephs relief, traffic was heavy enough that Gwensendless questions slowed to a trickle as she drove. And, equally satisfying,her thoroughly dented Saturn succeeded in turning a two-hour walk into a barelyfifteen-minute drive. By the time he pointed out Levis storefront, hed almostmanaged to relax from the mornings excitement.

Gwen, on the other hand, wore a decidedly sour expression asshe pulled into the parking lot. She eyed the other shops sharing the striparundown Chinese buffet and an empty building with boarded-up windowsthen turnedher gaze on Joseph.

Youre kidding me.

Joseph exited the vehicle without bothering to reply. Heclutched his cane tightly, waiting only half a second for Gwen to join himbefore marching confidently up to the store in question. There was no name abovethe storefront, merely a small piece of paper taped in the tinted glass windowreading Levis Resale LLC. Taking a deep breath, he entered.

In many ways, Levis resembled an ordinary pawn shop. Therewere shelves and racks of merchandise lining the edge of the narrow, poorly litinterior, with an absurd number of boxes strewn about to create makeshiftaisles. To the left of the front door, a long row of glass display cases caughtthe light in a way that shouldnt have been possible. And leaning against thetop of the nearest one was Levi, himself.

The man was half-dressed as always, with a thin vest hangingloosely from powerfully muscled shoulders. On another person, the look wouldhave been incredibly unprofessional, but on Levi one could hardly notice. Thedark crimson hue of his skin drew the eye first, but could have passed for anextreme sunburn if not for his head. His brows and cheeks were ridged, likesomething out of an old Star Trek episode, but with gleaming ivory spines thatpoked through the scaly flesh like so many fangs. From his temples, twoenormous horns jutted. The space between them was connected with asemi-translucent membrane that ended several inches from the tips, where thehorns themselves curled wickedly upward.

Levi, Joseph said, bowing with a playful flourish. From thecorner of his eye, he watched Gwen enter the shop and freeze. He had to biteback a laugh as she fought not to gasp.

The non-human turned to look at them, expression brightening.

Joseph! he laughed. The word came out as a growling hiss,but without any malevolence. Son of a bitch, its been too long!

As Joseph advanced, Levi noticed Gwen and his brow furrowed.Given his lack of eyebrows, or any hair at all, it was a subtler change than itmight have been otherwise.

And whos this? he asked, glancing between the two of them.

This is Gwen, Joseph said, absentmindedly. He moved toexamine one of the racks nearest the door, scanning its contents quickly beforemoving on to the next. Shes

Im his apprentice, Gwen interjected. She hurried to joinhim, seemingly oblivious to the furious glare Joseph sent her way.

Probationary, he added. To Levi, he gave an exaggeratedshrug and rolled his eyes. She had a run-in with a dryad earlier and shesbeen clinging to me ever since.

A dryad, eh? Levi laughed again and slowly made his way outfrom behind the counter. Lucky her. Never had the pleasure myself. Its a damnshame, too. Ive heard theyre lively little things.

Almost imperceptibly, Gwen pinched the elbow of Josephsjacket and tugged it for attention. Raising a brow, she nodded questioningly inLevis direction. The unspoken question behind it was obvious.

Ask him yourself, Joseph said. The dismissiveness rubbed himthe wrong way, but it couldnt be helped. If he continued holding the girlshand the whole way, hed never succeed in driving her off.

Grumbling, Gwen pushed past him and faced Levi with a cockedhead.

Not to be rude, Gwen said. But what exactly are you?

Joseph whirled, horrified, but the damage had already beendone. He waited, anxiously gripping his cane, and only relaxed when Leviglanced at him and chuckled.

Seven hells, Joe. You really didnt tell her anything?Without waiting for an answer, Levi turned back to Gwen. Im a dragon, lass.Or what passes for one, these days. Leviathan-blood on my fathers side,Shandong-lung on my mothers.

Oh.

Joseph breathed a sigh of relief, only to suffer anothernear-heart attack when Gwen continued.

I thought dragons had wings?

Cursing under his breath, Joseph abandoned the rack hed beeninspecting and promptly grabbed the girl by the shoulder. Ignoring herprotests, and Levis amusement, he steered her swiftly away.

Youre being rude, he hissed.