A knock sounded on the door.
Talon set the bowl he was looking at back with the others on the shelf by the door. He stepped to the door and opened it to see Kyrian and Julian standing on the other side.
They both gaped as they caught sight of him standing virtually naked in the loft.
Talon quickly slammed the door shut.
Kyrian roared with laughter. Talon cringed.
"C'mon, Tally," Kyrian teased from the other side. "Don't you want your clothes, your keys? Oh wait, how about some dignity?"
Talon opened the door, grabbed Kyrian by the shirt and hauled him inside. "You are such an asshole."
Kyrian laughed even harder as Julian Alexander walked in.
By his expression, Talon could tell that Julian wanted to laugh too, but he was trying hard not to. Talon appreciated it.
Kyrian, on the other hand, wasn't so kind. "Nice knees, bud, but the hairy legs could use a Bush Hog."
"Shut up." Talon grabbed the bag of clothes from Kyrian's hand and pulled his leather pants out. "Julian, I just want to thank you for being a grown-up and not laughing at my expense."
His hands in his pants pockets, Julian nodded. "Well, having been in your shoes, I can relate. Of course, in my defense, my towel was at least dark green and not pink."
The two of them roared with laughter while Talon groaned.
Kyrian flicked at the edge of the towel. "What is this? Lace?"
"No," Julian said, "I think it's called crochet."
Talon bared his fangs at the two of them. "Better be careful, humans, or I might decide to feed off you."
"Uh, half-human," Julian reminded him. "Feed off me and I'll give you a bellyache from hell."
Growling at them, Talon quickly exchanged his towel for his pants.
"So," Kyrian said. "Have you become Ravyn now? Do I need to forewarn Nick you'll be shedding your clothes on a daily basis or what?"
Talon rolled his eyes at the mention of the Katagari Dark-Hunter. Ravyn was a shapeshifter who often got caught naked after sunup. "No, it's a one-time thing." I hope. "Speaking of Nick, where is he? I tried to call him for this chore."
"He's in class."
"Yeah, well, he's still on Dark-Hunter payroll, so tell him to keep his phone turned on."
"Ooo," Kyrian said. "Getting testy in your fierce nakedness."
Talon ignored him as he pulled his black T-shirt on.
Sunshine paused beside Selena Laurens's tarot-card stand in Jackson Square. Selena's brown frizzy hair was tied back with a leopard-print scarf, and her thin body was covered with a black-and-white houndstooth coat.
"Hey, Sunny," Selena greeted her. "I was wondering if you were sick or something since you're not out here with your art."
"Oh no, someone came up."
Selena arched a brow at her. "Someone old or someone new?"
"New."
Selena looked a bit skeptical. "I hope this one is nicer than that last bozo you dated."
Sunshine wrinkled her nose as she remembered Greg. A rough biker, he'd been less than desirable and he'd kept confusing her with his ex-girlfriend Sara-nothing like being called the wrong name while having sex with someone.
Not to mention, he'd borrowed three hundred dollars from her the day before she'd kicked him out. Although, all things considered, it was worth the three hundred dollars to be rid of him.
"He seems to be." She patted her bag with Talon's clothes. "Well, I need to be getting back to him-"
"Sunshine!" Selena snapped. "Tell me you didn't."
"Didn't what?"
"Leave him in your loft unattended."
"It's okay. He's safe."
Selena groaned. "Woman, that generous heart of yours gets you into more trouble. Do you know this guy at all?"
Sunshine took a deep breath. She was so tired of everyone lecturing her. "I'll see you later, Madame Selene." She rushed back down the street toward her car with Selena fussing at her the whole way.
Ugh! Why couldn't anyone ever trust her? She wasn't a two-year-old. And being absentminded didn't equate to stupidity. If her kindness killed her, then she was better off dead than living a cold, unfeeling life where she misered up all her feelings and possessions.
Besides, Talon wasn't like other men. She knew it. He seemed to have a lot more heart than most men she'd known.
He was electrifying. Dangerous. Mysterious.
Best of all, he was waiting naked in her loft.
Getting into her car, she headed home.
It didn't take long to reach her father's club and pull around to the back where she always parked. Sunshine frowned as she saw a huge black Harley motorcycle parked beside a black Lamborghini.
Talon's friends?
Hmm, maybe Wayne was right. Maybe Talon was a drug dealer.
Not quite so sure of him, she got out of her car and used the back door that opened into the empty club.
She rushed up the steel-and-concrete stairs to her loft.
Pushing open the door, she froze as she caught sight of three men, all of whose testosterone levels were off the Richter scale. They were absolutely devastating.
Whoa, she needed a sketchbook. Pronto.
Talon was dressed in black leather pants and a tight T-shirt that hugged every crevice of his deadly male perfection.
He stood talking to the two men in her kitchen-two incredibly handsome men. Men who were dressed like professionals and not out-of-work bikers.
How wonderfully refreshing.
"Hi, Sunshine," Talon greeted her. "These are my friends."
The one who was Talon's height held his hand out to her. "Kyrian Hunter," he said in an enchanting accent that was nothing like Talon's.
Sunshine shook his strong, callused hand as she recognized the name. "So you're Selena's brother-in-law. She talks about you and Amanda all the time."
Kyrian was slightly leaner than Talon, with laughing green eyes and an easy smile. His blond hair was a shade darker than Talon's and cut in a very hip style. "I think I should be afraid of what she says about me. Knowing her, there's no telling."
Sunshine smiled. "It's all good, I promise you."
"This is Dr. Julian Alexander," Talon said, introducing the other man, who wore a navy sweater and khakis.
"Nice meeting you," Julian said, extending his hand.
Sunshine responded in kind. Julian was about two inches shorter than the other two and yet his aura was every bit as strong and powerful. His eyes were a gorgeous blue and his hair the same shade as Kyrian's. He was also the most subdued of the three of them, but his eyes were no less friendly.
"Doctor?" she asked.
"I teach Classics at Loyola."
"Oh. Do you know Selena Laurens too?"
Julian nodded. "Very well. She's best friends with my wife."
"Grace?" Sunshine said. "You're married to Grade?"
Recognition hit them at the same time.
"That was you?" she asked, stepping around to view him from behind. Oh yeah, now that she remembered. "You're Mr. Hot Bottom!"
His face went flush with embarrassment.
"Hot Bottom?" Talon asked. "This I've got to hear."
"Oh yeah," Kyrian added.
"We need to be going," Julian said, pushing Kyrian toward the door.
"Oh, like hell," Kyrian said. "Not until I hear this."
"Nice seeing you again, Sunshine," Julian said, shoving Kyrian out the door.
"Don't worry, Kyrian," Talon called. "I'll be sure to give you the full details."
Sunshine set the bag of clothes on her counter as the door slammed shut. "I guess you won't be needing these after all."
"Sorry." He leaned against the counter and watched her. "So, tell me how you met Julian."
She shrugged. "I sell my artwork at Jackson Square and I have a booth space next to Selena. A couple of years ago, she brought this bodacious guy to work with her wearing a tight tank top and shorts. Julian had really long hair back then. Anyway, there was this huge crowd of women who had gathered around to watch him. Selena thought it was a disaster, but I made so much money selling sketches of him that I didn't care."
Talon frowned as a very peculiar wave of jealousy went through him. And before he could stop himself, he asked, "Did you keep any of the sketches?"
"I only had one left, and I gave it to Grace about a year ago."
More relieved than he cared to admit, Talon watched her watch him. Her gaze traced the curve of his lips, the line of his jaw, and it made him ache to possess her, to kiss her lips one more time.
"You know, you are really handsome when you smile."
"Am I?" he asked, taking a strange amount of satisfaction from that.
"Yes, you are."
Sunshine swallowed as she realized there was no more reason for him to stay. Not that she should care; she needed to get back to her work. And yet at the same time she didn't want him to leave. "I guess you'll be going now that you're all dressed."
He looked askance at the sunlight. "I'm afraid I can't leave until the sun goes down."
"Oh." Sunshine tried to stifle the giddiness inside her.
He cleared his throat. "If you have things you need to do..."
"Oh no," she said quickly, then paused. "I mean, I... um... it would be rude, very rude, to leave you here alone. Especially since I don't have a TV or anything else for you to do." She licked her lips. "Well, since you can't leave, what would you like to do for the rest of the afternoon?"
"Honestly?"
"Yes."
"I'd like nothing better than to make love to you."