King of the Wilds - Tasha Black Page 0,12

think it’s probably best for us all to keep our space from each other, given the circumstances.”

Sara looked a little disappointed. But she brightened quickly.

“Did you know we have only two more monsters to catch?” she confided. “I kind of wish we had you around a little longer. It seems like we could wrap things up quickly with all of us assembled.”

“Unfortunately, I’ve got to get back to work tomorrow,” Miranda said. “My boss isn’t prone to giving days off.”

“If you change your mind, text me,” Sara said, slipping Miranda a business card.

“Tarker’s Hollow Realty Group?” Miranda read dubiously. “You’re a real estate agent?”

“Guilty as charged,” Sara replied happily. “Monster hunting is more of a side hustle.”

Miranda laughed in spite of herself.

They had reached the parking lot.

“It was great to hunt monsters with you guys,” Miranda said, meaning it.

Sara grinned and even Tabitha nodded her head in acknowledgement.

Tristan gave her a smile and Dorian waved.

Only Bron stood still as a statue in the light of the nearly full moon.

“Thank you for helping me, Bron,” Miranda added softly.

He turned to her and she could see the pain and longing in his eyes.

He feels it too. This strange pull between us…

She spun on her heel and headed for her car, hopping in as fast as she could and taking off down the trail before she could change her mind.

She just needed a bath and a little sleep, she decided. She was not really mooning over some woodland fae king. Everything would seem normal again in the morning. She was sure of it.

6

Miranda

Miranda awoke at dawn, beating the alarm on her phone to the punch, as usual.

The bed at the Inn was soft and cozy. She stretched and took a moment to look out the window at the blue Tarker’s Hollow sky, her mind buzzing with unanswered questions.

In the bright daylight, last night didn’t seem real at all.

Had she really changed how the others saw her?

Was something like that even possible?

Were there really monsters in the woods?

Did she really have the power to command them?

That last thought seemed the most unlikely of all. It had probably been part luck and partly the power of surprise.

Though Sara’s words echoed in her head.

I was falling and my feet just… stopped.

Well, she was most likely never going to see any of them again, so it wasn’t worth worrying about.

She’d stumbled back to the Inn last night drained and exhausted. Right now she felt like she could barely command herself to get out of bed.

She decided to take a hot shower and then hunt down some breakfast.

As the steaming water pounded down on her, she thought suddenly about how she’d felt last night, padding back to the bedroom of her suite in just a towel, past the burly fae king.

His eyes on her were a revelation, sending lightning bolts of awareness through her.

He probably had that effect on every woman - it was probably just part of being a king, or just part of looking like a walking nature god.

But of course, the other two kings, gorgeous, refined, and so much more her type as they were, had no such effect on her libido.

“Don’t think about it,” she advised herself. “You’ve got to get back to the city and focus on work.”

But when she wandered back into the bedroom, wrapped in a fluffy hotel robe, and checked her phone there was a text from her boss waiting.

Cullen Ward:

Don’t bother coming in today. I’ve got a few things to take care of. Take a couple of days off. Enjoy.

She blinked and read it again.

Miranda had been working for Cullen Ward for almost three years.

In that time, he had never once given her an unplanned day off. Even when things were quiet, he always kept her close.

She wondered vaguely what in the world he needed to get done. Mr. Ward never took time off for himself, either.

She read the message a third time.

Nope, she hadn’t imagined it.

She sat on the edge of the bed and wondered what she would actually do.

But she already knew.

She was up, grabbing Sara Mason’s business card from the dresser, texting her before she could change her mind.

Miranda Cannon:

Hey, my boss just told me to take a couple of days off.

She put the phone down and went to get dressed.

It buzzed almost immediately.

Sara Mason:

Perfect! Meet me at Le Sucre in an hour. We’ll make a plan. Bring a bathing suit if you have one

Miranda looked down at the phone.

It really was going to be that