Page 18 of Thunder with a Chance of Lovestruck

Henry caught my extended hand and turned me in a circle so fast that everything was a blur. He chuckled. “Rachael, I can’t decide if you’re refreshing or exhausting.”

“Why pick one?” I asked, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. “Don’t be boring, Henry. Now, where is this Hunter you have decided is your newest mortal enemy? I’d like it noted that I heard his voice from the foyer, and he doesn’t sound like an evil villain. He sounds leading-man-worthy. Is he handsome? Because his voice alone is enough to make my heart flutter.”

Amice clapped, looking so excited that I thought she might burst. “He is!”

My brother exhaled slowly, looking past me, toward the kitchen door that was at my back. He then took hold of my shoulders and turned me around gently.

It was only then I realized the Hunter in question was in the dining room and had witnessed my attempt at lightening the mood. Not only had he seen me acting like a fool and heard me mention his voice was leading-man-worthy and made my heart flutter, but he was also drop-dead gorgeous.

The tall, sinewy man was standing there, his dark blue gaze on me. He had a head of medium-brown hair that touched his broad shoulders. Stubble covered his jawline, drawing attention to his full lips. Thick lashes surrounded eyes so blue they almost didn’t look to be real.

The dark purple dress shirt he had on was cuffed at the elbow and unbuttoned a few buttons, showing off his chiseled chest and muscular arms. He wore dark gray slacks and a black belt. He was the total package. Saying the man was handsome was a major understatement.

He was a total hunk and for sure leading-man material.

I moved closer to my sister-in-law, suddenly very self-conscious. I should have spent more time on my hair and clothing choices and less time thinking of ways to annoy my brother. I elbowed her lightly, giving her a questioning look. The hunk could not possibly be our new Hunter, could he?

Amice nodded, as if reading my mind. The look on her face conveyed so much to me.Yes. This is the family’s Hunter. And yes, he really is that good-looking.

Sure, she’d not actually said anything of the sort, but in the two years I’d known her, we’d become close, even with me spending a year of that abroad. She’d neglected to mention in her letters and phone calls just how attractive Drest was.

I stared back at her, willing her to catch my drift.You never mentioned it.

She waggled her brows before focusing on the Hunter. “Drest, I’d like to introduce you to Rachael. I’m sorry we weren’t able to get her in sooner to meet you. Things have been hectic since she got back from London with her schedule. But she’s here now.”

All I could do was stare at the man as I tried to get my brain to think about something other than how amazing he looked. There were a ton of reasons why I had no business fawning over him.

For one, he was too old for me. He had to be in his thirties. Then again, he could appear to be thirty but actually be hundreds of years old, seeing as how he was Fae. For another thing, he was our assigned Hunter. Finding him attractive wasn’t an option. As far as my brother and uncle went, the man was public enemy number one. And the Nightshade Clan loathed my family.

My brain let the information bounce around a moment before it decided it didn’t care how old he was or that he was a Hunter. It was pretty much stuck on how good he looked in that shirt, and how amazing he probably lookedoutof the shirt.

Out of it?

Where in the world had that thought come from? And why did I feel like I had a ton of thoughts just like that waiting to pop into my head?

He blinked and licked his lower lip. “Um, yes. Rachael, it’s nice to finally meet you. Henry has told me the absolute least he could about you. Most of which he grunted.”

I laughed softly. “Have you gotten him to the point he pretty much loses the ability to actually form words?”

Drest grinned, managing to look even sexier. “No, but now I’m looking forward to that. It would be a temporary reprieve from his nonstop arguing with me.”

“I’m not that bad,” protested Henry, proving Drest’s point.

I touched my brother’s arm, my expression begging to differ.

“All right. Fine. I concede,” he said with a snort. “Truce for the night.”

My gaze whipped to Drest. “This is groundbreaking. Accept it fast before he changes his mind.”

“It really is a pleasure to meet you, Rachael.” Drest’s eyes crinkled with mirth as he came around the end of the long table toward me and put his hand out to me.

I took it, and the second our skin made contact, it felt as if someone had taken a hair dryer to the area, warming my skin quickly. A small gasp came from me at the same moment the Edison bulbs in the overhead iron chandelier sparked, and a large silver ring with a purple gemstone that Drest had on his finger started to glow slightly. I’d seen other Hunters with rings that were similar. None of them had glowed. I wasn’t even aware they could.

Amice glanced up, all smiles, as if she wasn’t the least bit surprised the bulbs had done that.

I’d lived in the house all my life. That had never happened before. There were a lot of firsts happening tonight and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

Henry frowned, staring at the bulbs closely and then the faint glow coming from the Hunter’s ring. He narrowed his gaze, angling his body slightly as if to pry Drest and me apart.

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