Hope in Love by J. Hali Steele

was right.
    Yael reached for Ram’s mind and waited to feel the floor hit
her after she stumbled.
     
    His face couldn’t hold a larger smile as he stood at the bar
and waited for Yael’s return. Ram remembered the glint of jealousy that
appeared in her eyes at his study of the woman at the entrance. And something
else—his prim and proper Yael had claws, and she’d bared them!
    He didn’t have to be in her mind to know that. Her hands
were clenched as shoulders went straight and her lips formed a determined line.
The woman took a step back. She’d read Yael’s body language also. At the glare
full of menace lodged in her direction, she’d made a hasty retreat with her
escort.
    Ram marveled at women’s uncanny ability to spot competition.
    He liked the determination he heard in Yael’s usually soft
voice when she said she looked forward to their meal together.
    Escorting her to the ladies’ room, he walked behind her just
to see her hips work the seams of the dress she wore. His cock reared its broad
head as he thought about her sweet butt.
    While he waited for Yael to reappear, he saw the owner a
short distance away and went to greet him and make arrangements for the private
room. A long time passed as his fingers drummed with impatience on the bar
beside his drink.
    Finally the door to the ladies’ room opened and she came
out. His jaw dropped. So did a few other males in the room and he didn’t like
the scent he picked up.
    Desire.
    The added hem was gone and he watched, mesmerized, as she
pumped her hips across the room.
    He couldn’t move.
    Her hair looked as if she’d just crawled out of a love nest.
Her lips were dark and puffed as though she’d been kissed long and hard. Her
cheeks glowed with color. What struck him most were her eyes.
    Come-to-me-baby eyes.
    Oh. Hell. No. She did not flash them around the
restaurant at every male in her path.
    Ram’s blood boiled and his eyes grew dark.
    Then he heard her panicked cry in his mind.
    Ramiel!
    No one saw him move to catch her. He held her so tight in
his arms she couldn’t breathe. Yael kept her face pressed to his chest to hide
the tears that stung her eyes.
    “You’re the most beautiful woman alive,” he said as he
raised her chin and captured her lips in a scorching kiss.
    Everyone saw the passion in their kiss and Ram smiled when
he lifted his lips from hers. Yael was red with embarrassment. She’d heard the
sigh that went through the room.
    Ram pressed his palm low on her back and guided her to the
private room. He didn’t need food. He wanted her. He walked close behind her to
hide his cock, which stood at attention.
    He reminded himself to talk with Michael about the spell,
the one that wouldn’t allow him to wish his hard-on away. Ram planned to be in
Yael’s company for some time and he definitely needed that power back. He didn’t
want to walk around led by his penis.
    “I’m sorry, I…”
    “Never be sorry that you’re a beautiful, desirable woman.”
    “I didn’t see you right away.”
    “I shouldn’t have moved. You’re safe now,” Ram said. “I need
to explain more to you about the way things are here. I’m afraid I’ve rushed
you into this.”
    “I feel so silly.”
    “Yael, I understand. Things are very different from when you
lived on Earth.”
    “How can women be comfortable in so little clothing?”
    “Woman have changed and trust me, men like their new style
of dress.”
    He watched the color creep back into her face and he
surprised himself by thinking it endearing. This woman possessed no guile, no
deceit. He began to understand what Nona may have meant.
    Was he pushing her to be something she should never be? He
remembered the flash of anger he felt as the other men looked at her. But he
also enjoyed the look of newness on her face. He could see that she felt sexy
in her new clothes. He wanted to see that look more. He liked the strength and
determination he’d heard in her voice earlier.
    He refused to