Pursued by a Werewolf (Mystic Isle, Book 4) (5 page)

“Excuse me.”

She turned toward the voice and saw a plump woman striding toward her. She was shorter than Avery with lots of curves and even more golden hair. Curls surrounded a beautiful round face.

“Pearl? I’m sorry, do I call you Princess? Your Highness? Mr. Latham didn’t instruct—”

“Pearl is fine.”

“I’m Avery.”

Pearl smiled and Avery was a little awestruck. “It’s lovely to meet you.”

Pearl’s blue green eyes were incredible and Avery realized she was staring. “And you,” she said quickly. “Have you ever taken yoga before?”

“Nope. First time. I thought-- maybe it’d help me, you know, tone up a little.” Avery heard a hint of pain in her voice. Did she not like her curves? To hear Grayson talk, athletic women like Avery were ugly. Avery secretly envied Coco for having a man so head over heels for her, accepting of everything she was and everything she was not.

Avery had always been lean with an athletic build and despite the fact that it had made her career as a runner easier, she’d always craved a more feminine shape. She bit back a sigh. Women were never happy.

Well, that wasn’t exactly true. She’d been happy for thirty, almost thirty-one years.

Avery shook off the memories and nodded. “It’ll certainly do that. It doesn’t seem like it could help, but I’d be willing to bet you’ll feel a difference by the end of the week.”

“That’d be great.” Pearl looked like she had more she wanted to say. Avery waited. When the princess said nothing, Avery waved at the shelving unit full of yoga mats.

“Ready to get started?”

Pearl nodded and dropped her canvas bag at the edge the room. “Go easy on me.”

It’d been a long time since Avery had been around someone so self-conscious about their looks but all the signs were there in Pearl. She tugged her T-shirt down over her hips. Then she brushed her gorgeous curls back but had no chance of taming them. It took Avery hours under the curlers to achieve something close to Pearl’s natural ringlets.

 They picked her out a mat and laid it down next to Avery’s. As they discarded their shoes she told Pearl a little bit about yoga’s history. Then she started Pearl on the most basic moves.

“This one is called the
forward bend
,” Avery said, showing how to bend forward at the hips and place her hands on the floor. “Basically you just want to try to touch your toes. It’ll loosen up your lower back.”

Pearl said something in a language Avery didn’t recognize.

“Everything okay?” she asked, glancing over at her student whose fingertips dangled above the floor a good six inches.

“I’ve got too much padding to do this one right.” She blew a stray curl out of her face. It fell right back.

“You’ll get there. It’s still your first day.” She made a few suggestions and then counted out fifteen more seconds.

“Good thing I’m immortal,” Pearl grumbled good-naturedly.

“That’s the ticket. I’ve been at this for decades now.”

“Did you start as a toddler?” Pearl asked from the next position.

Avery snickered at the wry tone in her student’s voice. “No. Before my change I was a runner. Yoga kept me lean and my core strong. That was before it was fashionable and everyone who did it was a ‘hippie.’” She made air quotes around the word.

“Have you been teaching long?”

“A few years. I teach a few nights a month in eastern France where our coven is.”

From the
downward dog
, they moved to the
plank
. Avery knew this position scared beginners, but it did amazing things for the body. Pearl’s outburst was immediate and colorful.

“Good gods. Why do you do this to yourself? You’re already perfect.”

“You’re pretty perfect yourself. Have you looked in the mirror lately?”

“Don’t humor me, Avery.”

“How do you think I stay this way?” Avery asked and again offered a few pointers. “By next weekend you won’t think anything of the mean old
plank
.”

Pearl sighed. “I’ll take your word for it. Do you think yoga helps with you know…bedroom activities?”

Avery bit back a laugh. “Absolutely. Not only will you be stronger, you’ll be more flexible too.”

“Unfortunately, a partner is required,” Pearl said quietly. “You know. For...”

“Bedroom activities?” Avery grinned. “Well, you’ve come to the right place for that.”

Pearl didn’t reply.

Avery glanced over at her student. She was executing the
cow
pose perfectly, but Avery had a feeling that there was something more on her mind. “Want to take a short break? I could use something to drink.”

She broke pose and pulled two bottles of water from the shelf. Pearl sat back on her yoga mat, legs crossed at the ankles, and accepted a bottle.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” She sat down and draped her arms over her knees, trying not to be too obvious as she studied the other woman. Like most immortals, Pearl was a knock out. Sure, she had a little extra padding, but that didn’t detract from her incredible blue-green eyes or spun gold hair. And she was a princess. Didn’t that make her the target of all sorts of available men?

“Want to talk about it?” she asked cautiously. “Not that it’s any of my business or that I know anything about…you know, being a princess, but I do know plenty about men.”

“I bet it’s nice when a man likes you for you and not your family name or status.”

Avery was instantly taken back to her years on the track, when she’d been a commodity. Not a person. A winner. A runner. A champion. A gold medalist. It’d taken several years to distance herself from those people who saw her that way.

“Believe it or not, in a small way, I understand. And you’re right. It is nice to know a person likes you for you. Even liking you for your smile or your butt is preferable, in my opinion.”

Pearl laughed, just as Avery had hoped she would.

“Does everyone know you’re a princess? I mean, it’s not like you wear a crown or are surrounded by guards.”

Pearl glanced over at the door, a smile hovering on her lips. “They’re never far away.”

Better safe than sorry. Even at a place like Mystic Isle.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t meet someone.” Or sleep with someone. She kept that last bit to herself.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, Avery. But you look familiar.”

Avery’d been hearing that a lot lately. “You’ve heard of Shimmer?”

“Of course. The most gorgeous jewelry in the world.”

It was certainly that. “My coven mate owns the company. I’m the spokes model for the immortal campaign.”

“That’s it!”

“She’s opening a store here on Mystic Isle. You’ll have to come to the Masquerade party. Valencia’s parties are legendary. Maybe we’ll find you a Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome there.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” Pearl said and finished off her water.

“Ready to continue?”

Pearl nodded. They moved to the next position,
cat
pose and she noted that Pearl’s cheeks looked like a little girl who’d gotten into her mother’s blush. “Doing okay?”

“Never better,” her student said with that dry humor Avery appreciated.

They completed the program with minimal discussion. “Okay, final pose. Lay on your back. Relax and breathe.”

Pearl collapsed onto the floor, flopped onto her back with a melodramatic sigh and stared up at the ceiling. “I’m all for that.”

Avery laughed and stared up at the ceiling. The princess wasn’t anything like what she’d been expecting. Shy or stuck up, quiet or regal, but certainly not down to earth and in need of some sexy times.

“So what brings you to Mystic Isle? You know, if you’re not planning on…partaking.”

Despite its reputation as the exclusive sex resort for paranormals, Charles Latham was attracting more and more singles and couples who had no interest in testing out the hotel’s quirkier charms. She’d heard that one of the most renowned chef’s was going to be teaching for a whole week next spring. The class was filling up fast according to Rosanna, Latham’s right hand woman.

“Just running away from home,” Pearl said, sitting up.

“Really?” She hadn’t expected that answer.

Pearl laughed. “Being an only princess can be a little stifling. Even when I’m older than the hills.”

“I guess I can understand that. I have a former coven mate whose parents smothered her. And she wasn’t technically a princess.”

Avery was guessing that Pearl was some sort of Fae, even though she hadn’t glimpsed a pointy ear yet.

“What about you?” Pearl said.

“Sex.”

Pearl sputtered.

“Initially, then Latham asked me to teach yoga.”

“Am I — ah— keeping you from someone?” she asked.

Avery immediately thought of Hunter. She could be wrapped up in him right now. Resting her head against his chest. Crying his name. Kissing his lips. Riding his cock to another earth-shaking orgasm.

She licked her lips and swallowed hard, ready to deny—

“I am!” Pearl’s eyes got wider and a hint of a smile tugged the corner of her lips up. Then she sighed. “What’s he like?”

Avery looked away, not sure she could talk about Hunter right now. Just thinking about him got her hot and bothered. And that was really difficult when they couldn’t be together.

“You’re not keeping me from anyone.” She took a sip from her thermos, trying to hide her turmoil behind the rim.

Pearl made a sound of disbelief. “He must be hot to put that look on your face.”

“Oh, trust me. He’s the hottest. I remember the first time I saw him. I think the exact words were gods’ gift to womankind.” She smirked just thinking of it.

“Oh!” Pearl sat up straighter. “Does he know it?”

Avery thought about that. While Hunter was self-assured and sinful as caramel filled chocolate, he didn’t strut around as some men did. Especially on Mystic Isle where everyone was ridiculously good looking.

Possessive. That was Hunter. Deliciously self-assured. But not conceited.

“No. Not really.”

“Ahh. Even better! Cocky bastards are the worst,” Pearl declared, wrapping her arms around her knees. Her pink T-shirt pulled tight across her chest.

“Met a few of those?” Avery asked and took another sip from her bottle.

“Too many. I come from a long line of them.”

Avery started to ask about them when Pearl glanced at the tiny watch on her left wrist. “I’ve gotta jet. Appointment with the spa. Have you had the mud wrap here? It’s to die for. And the massages, oh, Avery. You’ve gotta get one.”

Pearl was standing with her bag in hand by the time she stopped talking. Avery stood, amused at the woman’s rapid-fire words.

“Same time tomorrow?” Pearl asked.

“I’ll be here.”

“Excellent. Thanks!”

Gotta jet.
Avery hadn’t heard that phrase in years. She smiled again. No, Pearl wasn’t anything like she’d expected. A burst of sunshine rather than a cool rain cloud. But Avery got the distinct impression that despite the princess’s enthusiasm and zest for life, she needed to come out of her shell.

CHAPTER FIVE

Cal Demetriou sat with his ass in the sand and stared out at the raging surf. There was a storm coming. That suited him just fine. The thunder and lightning, whipping winds and stinging water droplets would mirror the feelings raging inside him perfectly.

How the hell had he fallen in love with his best friend? It had to be love because ever since that night, he couldn’t stop thinking about Thane Blackledge no matter how hard he tried. He worked extra hours, cleaned his cottage from top to bottom, swam laps around the island all to no avail.

He’d never looked at another man and felt a single hint of sexual interest; so why was Thane different? Was it just because of the unexpected-but-incredible sex? Could he chalk everything he was feeling up to simple lust? Correction: strong lust.

No, that didn’t seem quite right.

He’d been in serious lust before. Hell, he worked as a bartender on a pleasure island where woman strutted around in front of him with nothing but skimpy bikini bottoms on. As crude as it sounded, he had his choice of pussy. It was an all you can eat buffet of pretty paranormals.

But lately he found himself thinking about Thane at the oddest times, wanting to share tidbits about his day and ask what was on his best friend’s mind.

“What are you doing up so late?”

He looked up to find Rosanna Santiago walking through the surf toward him. She held a tall mug in one hand and clasped her riotous brunette curls back with the other.

Being up late or into the early morning hours was nothing new; he’d been working the night shift for the last few years. Last night after his fruitless conversation with Thane he’d wandered down to the beach and the sun had come up while he wasn’t paying attention.

It seemed these late night sessions with the sea and sky were becoming a pattern. The softest light was peaking above the horizon. His messed up schedule wasn’t anything new; not since that night a month ago.

“Just thinking. Does Latham need something?”

As Charles Latham’s number one assistant, Rosanna was always in the know and Cal wouldn’t mind a diversion right now.

“No.”

She sat down next to him and he didn’t miss the way her breezy purple skirt moved around her legs, hinting at what lay beneath. She was a beautiful woman, fresh faced with a smile that wouldn’t quit and hair that called to a man’s hands. Cal often wondered why Latham didn’t stake a claim on her. She was smart, driven, and capable with a touch of sass that any man would find irresistible.

“Must be some heavy thoughts in that head of yours,” she murmured and took a sip of her coffee.

The delicious scent hit him straight in the nose and his stomach growled.

She laughed a soft lyrical laugh and handed the mug over. “Just a warning, I put sugar in it.”

For some reason, he couldn’t deny himself. He gripped the handle, lifted the cup to his lips and took a long, slow sip. The warm liquid jolted through him as if it was his first time ever tasting coffee. But it also soothed something inside of him. Maybe not
it
so much as
her
.