Vanessa Unveiled Read Free Page B

about her life was remotely normal. But this? Two maddening, infuriating, and yes, sexier-than-should-be-legal pookas insisting she was their mate?
    Yeah, welcome to bizarro land.
    More than likely she’d nailed it when she’d accused Rand and Braeden of conniving to weasel their way out of incarceration. Because the whole notion of soul mates and love that lasts forever? Only an illusion. And if anyone was an expert at seeing past the veil of illusion, it was her.
    The sound of an approaching whistle broke through her disgruntled musings, and she turned just as a train chugged into the lobby. She stared, completely bemused, as the locomotive slowed just long enough to allow a group of elves, a family of Sasquatch and a chupacabra sporting a three-piece white disco suit to disembark before rumbling through the wall and disappearing.
    She started forward, intent on solving the mystery of this hotel by speaking to the Otherworlders, but a hand suddenly cupped her shoulder, making her jump. Spinning, she eyed Rand, her traitorous nipples tightening. Yes, he was aggravating as hell, but there was no denying that the breathtakingly gorgeous pooka oozed sexual magnetism. He’d more than proved his prowess with that little stunt he’d pulled earlier. Her clitoris pulsed at the reminder of her almost-orgasm. He hadn’t even touched her. How mind-blowing would actual sex with him be?
    Correction, sex with him and Braeden. The throbbing in her clit intensified, and she stifled her moan. Looking to get her mind off sex, she swiveled back in the direction of the elves and their motley band of traveling companions. They’d vanished. “Damn it.” Irritated that she’d missed her shot at interrogating the Otherworlders, she pinned Rand with a glare. “What’s the deal with the train?”
    “It comes through occasionally and unloads guests.” He shrugged as if that were a perfectly logical occurrence. “Are you ready? Housekeeping is just about finished tidying up our room.”
    She gaped at him. “What do you mean by our room?”
    He gave a nonchalant shrug. “We assumed you wouldn’t mind.”
    “Well you assumed wrong. And speaking of your partner in crime, where the hell is Braeden?”
    “He’s already upstairs, giving the maids a hand.”
    Yeah, more like giving them an eyeful, if he was still gallivanting around naked. Determined to track down someone and find out for herself the situation with the lack of room vacancies, she shoved her hands in the pockets of her jacket and took an angry march around the perimeter of the fountain. Frowning, she stared at the vast expanse of empty space between the pyramid and the four towering walls that made up the interior of the hotel. “Okay, I give. Where is the damn check-in desk?”
    He made a great show of looking around. “Odd, it was here just a second ago. Guess you’re stuck with us after all.”
    Somehow she controlled the urge to fish the stick from the fountain and brain him. “How convenient.”
    Cupping her elbow, he steered her toward the adjacent wall. A recessed door she hadn’t noticed earlier slid open, revealing a mirrored elevator. He gestured for her to precede him inside. Soft, sensual music accompanied them on the ride up. Being confined in the cramped space only added to her hyper awareness of Rand. To make matters worse, every once in a while she’d catch him watching her, his dark eyes filled with an intense hunger that made her breath quicken. She half-expected him to rip her clothes off and toss her to the floor of the elevator, where he’d have his wicked way with her.
    How pathetic did it make her that she wished he would?
    The elevator coasted to a smooth stop and the doors popped open. Rather than exiting into a hallway as she’d expected, the conveyance had delivered them directly to what she assumed was their room. Only it was like no hotel room she’d ever encountered. A massive arched entry led into a large living space filled with