POLICE CHIEF THAYER held Paddy in his jail until the leprechaun Elders sent someone to fetch the cluricaun. As for the other cluricaun, everyone denied Paddy worked for them, distancing themselves from the thief so as not to reap the wrath of the leprechauns. Or Seraphine. No one wanted to be on her bad side.
Quinn never released Brandie’s hand, clutching to her from the bank all the way back to Daydreamer Inn. Sandie stood behind the front desk, watching as the quartet entered, offering a sleepy smile and a wave. “He still weirds me out,” Kerry said, remembering the first time she met the Sandman. “I think he needs to ditch the line about having a way to make you drift off to dreamland. It has a horror flick ring to it.”
The others just laughed as Arden squeezed her hand. She felt the blush creep up her neck at his touch, at how much she had grown to feel for the leprechaun in only two days. They hadn’t spoken again about her staying in Black Hollow a little longer, but she already made up her mind to follow through with the plan. She didn’t need to see more of the town really, just Arden.
As they neared their rooms, Brandie reached out, after shaking Quinn loose for a moment, and embraced her sister one more time, the hug tight and almost desperate. “I’m glad you followed through on the investigation and came looking for me,” Brandie said. “I probably never would have been returned to normal without your persistence in finding me.”
“What can I say?” Kerry asked. “You taught me all the right skills to be an investigator all on my own.”
Brandie laughed as they broke the hug. “I need to hire you on, I think.”
Kerry just laughed as she reached into her purse for the iron key to her room. “I’m on vacation. Talk to me later about it.” She then opened her door and winked at her sister. “See you in the morning.” She reached out, grabbed Arden’s hand, and led him into her room.
Arden chuckled behind her as the door shut with a definite click. “You two crack me up,” he said. “I think your sister wanted more time with you.”
“She’ll get it,” Kerry said. “Tomorrow. Tonight, I want to be with just you. No bank heists. No missing sister. No cluricauns or ogres. Just us.” She then glanced around the room through narrowed slits. “And no brownies, so if you’re in here, get lost.”
Arden laughed even harder. “Yes, you definitely crack me up.” He walked over to where she stood in the middle of the room, slid his arms around her waist, and pulled her tightly against him. He stared down at her with his baby blue eyes, his expression soft, alluring, deep. “How is it possible to feel so strongly about someone so fast? Even with all the chaos of the investigation and the hunt for your sister, you have still managed to capture not only my attention, but my heart as well. Kerry Underwood, you may have the strongest magic in all of Black Hollow.”
“I bet you say that to all the out-of-towners,” Kerry said with a slight giggle.
He slid a hand up her neck and into her hair. “There has been no one else,” Arden assured her, his voice soft as he lost himself in her eyes. “This is the first I have ever felt this way.” She watched as he leaned in, his gaze fixed on her lips as he moved to kiss her.
Her breath caught in her throat until she felt the warmth of his lips on hers, felt his tongue slip inside her mouth and dance with hers as he tasted her. She groaned. She couldn’t help it, so completely lost in the shaggy-haired man holding her. A leprechaun. A real live leprechaun. Who would have thought anything like this possible?
When Arden broke the kiss, he stared intently into her eyes. She could feel his thick bulge against her abdomen, felt it pushing its need against her. “Kerry, I need you in my life,” he whispered, huskily. “I need us to follow this path and see where it takes us.”
Kerry needed him, as well. With the rush of the events of the past two days, she had not had time to examine the pull she felt toward the man before her, but now that the chaos was over, she could not deny she felt something for Arden. A strong something. Instead of saying those words, she wrapped a hand around his neck and pulled him in for another kiss, a harder, more urgent kiss.
She felt his hands grip her waist, felt him pull her against him and the pressure almost took her breath away. When he broke the kiss, he said “God, I hope you’re staying in Black Hollow. This cannot be the end of things.” He glanced down at her, and the way he stared at her, the desire, the hope in his eyes, stirred more than just her heart.
She grinned at him as she placed a hand on his chest. “Well, that depends,” she said, her voice playful as her lips curved up in a mischievous grin. She bit her bottom lip before adding, “Can you have sex in both of your forms?”
Arden’s lips twisted up even more. He winked at her as he took her hand in his and moved her to the edge of the bed. “I can have sex in all my forms,” he assured her.
Kerry stood at the foot of her bed as he took a step back. Then, just as every other time, she felt his magic electrify the air, sending the hair on her arms standing on end. She watched as he shifted, his body shrinking down to the size when she first met him at Hell’s Brew. From the bulge in his pants, only one thing didn’t shrink on the man, and Kerry couldn’t keep the grin off her face.
“Is this what you wanted?” he asked as he moved to stand in front of her, his lips kissing her waist.
She grinned back at him. “Definitely.”
“Then it looks like you’re staying in Black Hollow.” With a hard shove, he pushed her back onto the bed, making her yelp with surprise before he scampered up beside her.