Tamed Galley Master (2 page)

Kate chose the farthest bench and settled in. She unwrapped the sandwich and dug in with gusto. They hadn't had dinner earlier. Just drinks. They met up with Will and Alan at Galapagos and supposedly would head to a comedy show on Bicknell after that. Chappelle headlined Miami for a week before continuing his tour to Tampa, but Danielle had a feeling no matter how hilarious the show would be, it couldn't salvage their disastrous date night.

Danielle sipped her coffee. Slowly, the simmering buzz from the alcohol ebbed away. She took a bite of her sandwich and savored the complex sour and salty taste. Her stomach calmed gradually.

She took a breather. Deep, long exhalation. The breeze from the sea gave respite from the hot and humid weather. She could smell salt in the air. Along with burned charcoal and pungent seasoning. Laughter and a seductive Latin beat rumbled in the background, along with the soft crashing of ocean waves.

Friday night in Miami.

Mating night. And everyone tried to get lucky.

Except her.

Kate looked psyched. "So, listen, I heard this from the girls at the office. There's a dating website that guarantees curvy women hookups with hot guys."

"Here we go again."

"No, really. They said it's a phantom website—"

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that not everybody can just see it. If you're meant to see it, you can find it. That is why they call it
phantom
."

"Sounds like a scam to me." Danielle waved off her best friend’s enthusiasm. "Would you stop pimping me around? I don't need men."

"That's the problem. You won't be able to forget Brian if you don't hook up with another guy. In fact, I won't stop. No, scratch that, I will make this my life mission to see you date some hot guy." Kate sipped her coffee and winced from its bitterness. "They said in order to see this phantom dating site, you have to send a blank email to this website. Dangerous Curves. Dangerous Curves. Dangerous Curves. Three times. If they deem you worthy to get laid they'll match you with some hot guy."

"That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"Yeah, but you've got nothing to lose, right? Now, give me your phone."

"What? No."

Too late. Kate snatched it from Danielle's handbag. She giggled while she swiped the device and opened Danielle's email.

Danielle sighed again. She gave up. When Kate had her mind on something, she would make it happen. Kate could be pushy at times, but Danielle couldn't get mad at her. Kate always had her best interest at heart even when it came as intrusive.

"So, here we go." Kate's fingers danced on the screen. "Dangerous Curves. Three times.”

Danielle lifted a brow. “Just Dangerous Curves without any extension? No dot com or dot net or anything? How does that even work?”

“The instruction I heard was you type in just Dangerous Curves three times on the address field. They say if you are meant to see the website, you’ll be able to send your message.”

“This is the biggest bullshit I heard all evening.”

“Won’t hurt to try.”

“It won’t work. No email service will allow you to send a message without a proper extension.”

Kate pushed send anyway.

Danielle glanced at the screen. Wait, weird. Kate was able to send it.
Bet it would bounce
, she thought.

A few seconds after that, Danielle's phone chimed, announcing a new message.

Danielle peeked. Instead of a notification of an undeliverable email, she got a message with
Congratulations
in the subject. Kate thumbed it open and scrolled down. They read the message together. It said that Danielle was the kind of woman Dangerous Curves was looking for.

"Oh my God. It works. It works!" Kate laughed with excitement.

"Let me see that. I don’t believe this."

Kate dodged Danielle's hand. She followed the link provided on the email and it opened to a fancy website. Designed in elegant red and gold color scheme, the site boasted their success stories by displaying testimonies from happy couples.

Kate widened her eyes at her. “Do you see these hotties? The guys who are being matched with the girls are extremely hunky. Ooh, check out this one, says he is a lion and a firefighter. They were matched last June and they are currently expecting their first cub.”

“What do they mean he’s a lion?” Danielle frowned.

“Maybe his horoscope, a Leo,” Kate offered.

“But why did they say they are expecting their first
cub
?” Danielle pointed out.

“A typo. They meant a baby. Or they do that for fun. You know, marketing gimmick.”

Danielle tsked. “A scam. I can smell it to high heaven.”

“Gosh, you
really
are a Negative Nancy.” Kate continued typing. "We’re still doing this. They asked your name and birthday. That's it? Nothing else? Okay. No pain no hot guy gain."

Danielle frowned. "Kate—"

"Hold on. I'm almost finished."

"Kate, cut it out."

"One second. Send." Kate grinned triumphantly.

Suddenly, the world around her flickered like a dying television. Danielle blinked back in surprise. The reality shifted and a new scene emerged.

She was no longer in Miami.

Chapter Two

Dane Edwards stood under the archway that separated the dining room and the living room, watching the party underway in his apartment with a forced smile. His face hurt from putting on a fake smile when he didn't give a shit about it at all. His aunt had put him up to it. His family had raised concern about him not being inclined to get a mate anytime soon.

Okay. They made a big stink about it. Dane's father, Prima of the clan, had announced that he would soon abdicate his position to the oldest son, Dane, and it was a rule that before a prima took over, he must already have a mate.

Since their clan was a prominent House in the underground supernatural community in New York, the mate of Prima was a coveted status by the lesser Houses. Dane's House preferred to avoid complicated political favors by taking a mate and the guarantee of a future heir was at hand.

Problem was Dane hadn't met any woman he liked, let alone head-over-heels enough to marry. Plus, his close bond with his twin brother rather complicated everything.

Collin stalked by him and motioned him to follow.

Dane withdrew himself unobtrusively from the party and shadowed his twin to the second floor of the penthouse. Collin closed the French doors of the library behind Dane.

Dane sank into a wingback chair by the fireplace.

"See anyone you like?" Collin asked. He took a seat on the opposite side.

Dane only grunted in displeasure. "This is the last time I have to sit in this kind of ridiculous party. I won't fall for another of Titania's tricks.” Their aunt was a perennial busy-body who made her life mission to stick her nose into other people’s business. Since Dane and Collin’s mother passed away when they were in high school, Aunt Titania appointed herself as their mother replacement.

Collin chuckled softly. He was born one minute after him and dodged all obligations expected from a future Prima. They were identical straight down to their voices. When they were young, Dane and Collin loved switching identities and tricking people. They were always involved in mischief, one after another, and people couldn't distinguish one from the other, not even their own mother. Weighed down with heavy responsibilities of the clan, Dane grew to be a serious man, rather cynic at times, while Collin maintained his happy-go-lucky persona.

Dane checked his wristwatch. “When will she arrive?”

“Anytime now,” said Collin.

“I wish Titania hadn’t scheduled the party for today.”

“I think the timing is perfect. When she comes, you could announce you’d found your bride. I’m sure everyone will get off your back from now on.”

Dane smirked. “Yes, and they will hound you next.”

“They can try. I’ll just tell them I’m gay.”

“No one would believe you. Your womanizing past is quite a legend.”

Collin shrugged. “Hey, people change over time. Maybe I want to play on the same team now. You can’t fault me for that.”

“Shut up.”

Exactly one month ago, Dane and Collin had gone to a
weaver
who owned a wish-granting shop in underground Harlem. This specific weaver, or witch, dabbled in the matchmaking specialty. Once the weaver sent them their perfect mate, Dane and Collin had forty-eight hours to convince the woman they were what she was looking for and claim her. During that time, the woman would be enchanted so she’d be unable to contact or return home.

And if they failed to convince the woman, Dane and Collin were doomed into a loveless life until their demise.

The price was steep, but thinking that they had nothing to lose, Dane and Collin agreed to make that deal with the weaver.

As paranormal twins, they shared closer bonds than human twins. If Dane was in pain, Collin would feel it. If Collin was intimate with a woman, Dane would experience the ecstasy as well. However, Collin’s pleasure was incomplete. Hollow pleasure that was unsatisfying. Unless the two of them shared the same woman.

But managing a ménage relationship out of the bedroom was tricky. The type of woman Collin liked, Dane couldn’t stand. And vice versa. Once, they both fell for the same woman, but she was old-fashioned and couldn’t bring herself into a three-way relationship.

Collin never planned to marry. Dane needed a wife and heir for the future of the clan. The two of them were looking for the perfect woman who could play the role as Dane’s wife but could share a bed with the two brothers behind the closed door.

It’d been impossible to find the perfect one. With the deadline fast approaching, they resorted to hiring a weaver of matchmaking. And tonight, the weaver promised to deliver their perfect woman.

Dane sat restless in his seat. He checked his wristwatch again.

Collin followed suit. “Anytime now.”

Just as he said that, a brilliant bright light appeared out of nowhere…

One second ago, she was with her best friend Kate, drinking Cuban coffee and eating a sandwich on Miami Beach, and now Danielle found herself sitting on a sofa, in a room full of books with two gorgeous men lounging by the fire.

A wave of vertigo made her dizzy. When it passed, panic set in.

Her first reaction was to scream. Then she jumped off the sofa, trying to make sense of what was happening.

“She screamed. And we hadn’t even touched her,” said one man with an amused expression.

“Oh dear, people outside might think we did something to her,” said the other one, rather concerned.

The two men were identical. They looked in their late twenties, physically fit, and immaculately dressed in designer suits. They had smoldering golden hazel eyes, pale hair, and were drop-dead gorgeous. One wore a formal three-piece black suit with beautifully coordinated silk tie and the other wore a brown sport suit paired with a preppy shirt and khakis.

“Who are you people?” she demanded. “And where am I?”

They both rose from their seats. Their height towered against her. She quickly calculated they were at least six feet tall.

“Welcome,” said the man in the black suit, with a smile. He sported short hair. “My name is Dane Edwards, and this is my brother Collin. You’re in the Dakota.”

“W-where?”

“New York City.”

She thought she’d misheard him. “New York? No, no, that’s impossible.”

There was a knock on the door. “Dane? Collin? Are you in there?”

The man with the sport suit and shoulder-length hair inclined his head apologetically. “That’s Aunt Titania. I’ll handle this.” He stepped through the door and extracted himself unobtrusively.

She heard a muffled voice through the heavy door. “Nothing happened, Aunt Titania. No, no, go on. There’s nothing to see…”

Danielle cut her attention to Dane. “I’m pretty sure I’m not drunk anymore. Seriously, where am I?”

He waved toward the empty chair next to him. “Why don’t you take a seat? I know this must be confusing for you. I’ll explain everything.”

Collin returned and swiftly closed the door on someone. “Forgive me. It was a misunderstanding. Our aunt is quite nosy, you see.”

Danielle hesitated. Dane took her arm and guided her to the chair. She sat, feeling unreal.
This can’t be happening. People don’t get zapped to another state because they sign up on a matchmaking website.

Collin disappeared out the other door and came back with a bottle of water. “You look so flushed. Drink this.”

Danielle accepted the water. She unscrewed the cap and took a few sips.
Geez. I gotta stop drinking Zombies. I already have a hangover when the buzz hasn’t completely gone.

“Feeling better?” asked Dane.

“Not really. Am I really in New York?”

Collin waved his hand toward the windows. “See for yourself.”

Danielle had to check it out. Collin wasn’t lying, and neither was Dane. She was in New York. She pressed her forehead onto the glass pane. The window faced the expansive view of Central Park. She recognized it from the last time she went on a family vacation a long time ago.

I am in New York. Holy crap.

Danielle turned and took a deep breath. She gripped the ledge of the window as she tried to make herself calm.
Okay. I can do this. I will sort this weirdness out and make it through this as a sane person.
“How is this possible?”

“Did you sign up with any dating website lately?” Collin asked.

“Yes. No. Actually, my friend signed me up. She put in my name and birthday and I suddenly got here. It doesn’t make any sense at all.”

“I see. It appears that you have been chosen by the weaver as our perfect mate,” said Dane.

“Excuse me, mate? And what is a weaver?”

“A weaver is a witch. A powerful one,” answered Dane. “My brother and I were desperate to find a wife, so we went to a matchmaking witch and asked her to find a woman who’d be most compatible with us. When she found a perfect match, she would send that candidate to us. There are three simple rules once the candidate arrives in our home: one, we have been given forty-eight hours to court you as our mate. Two, during those forty-eight hours you’ll be under enchantment. That means you’re unable to contact your friends and family at home. This rule is placed to ensure that our courtship won’t suffer any distraction.”