Free Her Druid Desire (The Amber Druid Series) by Trish F Leger

Apparently
Cole listened to his gut about as much as Drake did. It wasn’t often that a
human impressed him. Now was one of those times.
               
“I believe you are right. Renee is obviously very confident in everything she
does; it fairly oozes from her. Nadia must have been more hurt by Donavan than
she lets on.”
               
Just thinking about that ass caused Drake’s hand to itch. The urge to beat him
to a bloody pulp, castrate him, then show him what kind of harm that he
could really do, surged through Drake. This wasn’t the first time he wanted to
kill a human. He was sure it wouldn’t be the last.
               
With a blink he changed his thoughts. It wouldn’t be wise to allow his anger to
override his judgment. What a show that would be.
    ***
               
She felt his eyes on her from across the yard.
               
Now it was a forgone thing to ignore him. There was no way she would be able to
get away from him if he wanted to readdress their discussion from the other
night, bullshit about mundane things, or just tell her hello. She was well and
truly stuck. And here she had thought her night would be amazing. How was it
possible for it to turn crappy so fast?
               
Her eyes slid over him quickly. She didn’t want to be caught staring, and from
what she saw, he was still making all the women drool. Didn’t matter if it was
an outdoor party or black tie, the man was simply dangerous.
               
A plain black tee shirt that had the Safe Haven seal on the left side covered
his upper torso. Dark washed blue jeans fit him tightly, and a trusty pair of
boots was on his feet. He looked relaxed, at ease, in the early twilight that
filtered through the many trees, the last rays of sun touching him, bringing
every detail of his finely molded body into high relief. Even while she noticed
him looking at her, she felt his relaxed stance. She couldn’t fight off the
knowledge that he was more comfortable at night, in the darkness, where for
some reason she sensed the subtle layer of privacy cloaking him really came
down, baring the real man, the man that she itched to know.
               
Those light, caramel colored eyes tracked her movement until she was standing
before both him and Cole. Nadia had about half a millisecond before Cole
grabbed her in a huge hug and squeezed her.
               
“It’s good to see you again, Nadia. I’m glad you changed your mind,” he told
her as he let her go and sent a wicked look towards Renee. Nadia was more than
happy to introduce her secretary and let Cole’s interest be pushed onto someone
else.
               
“This is Renee Allemande. She has been my secretary since I became president,
but I have known her for almost three years,” Nadia told Cole.
               
“Miss Allemande, it is my pleasure,” Cole said, as he held out his hand.
               
“It is lovely to meet you, Mr. Walker. I have heard nothing but good things
about you.” Renee sent him a sly glance, long enough to take him in, then gave
his hand a hearty shake.
               
Cole grinned, “Call me Cole, and with Nadia doing the talking you never know.
But I’m glad to hear they were good things.”
               
Nadia rewarded him with a slap on the arm. “Keep it up and I might tell her
more than you want her to know.” She sent a wink in his direction, softening
the threat, then turned to Drake who had been silent through the introduction
but had a small grin on his face.
               
“I’m sure you remember Renee, right?” Nadia asked Drake.
               
Drake smiled his crooked grin, leaning in as he shook Renee’s hand. He was so
tall that he had to bend a bit to look her tall friend in the eye. “Renee, I
hope you enjoy yourself tonight. Cole makes some of the best barbeque in