Spanish Nights by Valerie Twombly Page A

girl.”
    Armand had racked his brain all night looking for anything he had done differently down to the food he'd eaten. He concluded it had to be Makayla, had known she was somehow special the first time he laid eyes on her, but how he had no idea. “It's beginning to look that way.”
    “Well then, I can see why she makes you testy. I'll dive into the scripts when I get home.”
    Armand nodded then tipped his glass back and drained it. Somehow, he had to keep Kayla close to him. Maybe he could get his Jinn to release. “There's only one problem.”
    Crone arched a brow. “That is?”
    “Kayla will be gone from here and back home before you return again.”
    Crone swirled the liquid in his glass then took a swig. “I don't see that as a problem. If I discover she is the key, then I will find her and bring her back to you. Well, as close as I can anyway.” He smiled. “However, it might be to your benefit to try and keep her here. Turn up your charm and make her fall in love with you.”
    That was the problem. He didn't want to break Kayla's heart. The old Armand, who had been left here a thousand years ago, wouldn't care. That Armand would have taken whatever he wanted. However, time had taught him many things. He'd watched so many people he had come to love pass on to the next world. Then he'd watched their children die. Generation after generation of people he tried not to care for had left him with a gaping hole in his heart.
    He was going to have to face a hard truth. If she really did hold the key to unlock his freedom, would he use her to get it? He'd been ready to earlier, but something had changed since the other day. Things were moving too fast.
    “Brother?”
    He met Crone's narrowed gaze. “Yes?”
    “You will do whatever is necessary to get home. Your family needs you and it is past time to take your rightful place.”
    He nodded. “I will do what I must.” In his heart, he knew he had no choice.
    *****
    Kayla stepped through the door to her villa and could swear she had floated all the way home. Last night had been like a dream, and she had to keep pinching herself to make sure it was real. She'd had sex with one of the most gorgeous men ever and to top it off it had been amazing. Her muscles ached in the best way.
    She was still having a difficult time wrapping her head around the fact he was a Jinn. However, more memories of her nana's stories about the Jinn were starting to return. Nana had said there was another path Kayla could choose. One that would lead her to a love so strong nothing could break it. It would come at a cost though. Everything did.
    She shook her head, desperate to remember everything and make sense of it. Hopefully, it would come back to her. Maybe Armand would come up with something as well and tonight they could compare notes.
    Kayla stepped into the bathroom and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Yep, she had a rosy glow. It was amazing what sex could do for a gal's outlook. Nikki had been right to send her here in the hopes she'd loosen up. A quick shower then she'd hit the laptop for some writing.
    She turned on the water then stripped and stepped into the warm spray and let it cascade over her. She filled the bath scrunchie with coconut-scented wash then lathered her skin. After a rinse, she filled her hand with shampoo then stopped short of scrubbing it through her hair. Instead she pushed open the glass doors and stuck her head out. She could have sworn she heard a noise.
    “Hello?”
    Quiet.
    She shrugged, shut the door and went back to washing her hair. She was both tired and still in a mental state of shock from last night. Perhaps a nap before she started writing so she could start with a fresh mind.
    Kayla exited the shower and wrapped one towel around her head and dried off with the other before she headed to the bedroom. She grabbed a clean pair of shorts and a tank and slipped them on. It dawned on her to go grab a glass of water before hitting the sack.