Andrew Dorincourt has the blood of powerful shifters in his veins. It’s his job to take care of his siblings, who are his pack, and he has no intention of letting anything get in the way. However, he’s seen the love shared not only by his parents but by the Papas, the men who raised his mother, and he wants that for himself. The problem is none of the young women he’s dated have left him wanting anything more than to go home alone. Perhaps he’d have more success by dating men, as his brother does. Only it seems he’s not very successful at that, either. Da’ric is the son of Ric’u, a Brachi who’d been stranded on Terra for decades, and David Knight, an ichthyologist who traveled up the Amazon in search of his heart’s desire. Seeing the deep love his fathers have for each other, Da’ric determines to settle for nothing less. At any rate, the dating pool is pretty much empty in the Lagoon of Dreams, and so he goes to the States, where he intends to become a herpetologist. In order to do that, he must mingle with normals, Terrans who have no idea extraterrestrials share the planet with them. When he walks among Terrans, he must disguise his heritage by wearing sunglasses to conceal his rainbow-colored eyes and long-sleeved shirts to hide his scale-patterned skin. After being kidnapped and sold to a high-ranking member of the London underworld to be displayed as the Snake Boy, Da’ despairs of ever seeing his beloved family again, until Drew wanders into the House of Oddities and helps Da’ escape. Is it fate, kismet, or destiny that brings together the offspring of two very unique families? Have these two been waiting for each other, and will the future hold the love they’d both been seeking?

Rainbows in Your Eyes

Following his directions, I took a bowl down from a cabinet he couldn’t reach, and when I turned to place it on the counter, he stared at me in fascination.


“Is there something on my face?” I asked him.


“No,” he said simply. “I’ve just never seen anyone with eyes like yours before.”


I clapped a hand to my face, but obviously I’d removed my glasses. “Shit!” They’d become uncomfortable—I needed to replace them—and had forgotten to put them back on. In spite of the damage already being done, I found them and slapped them on.


He gaped at me. “You’re allowed to say words like that? My mother would have a heart attack, and my father would beat the—” He grinned at me mischievously. “—the shit out of me. Don’t worry, Day. I won’t tell anyone, I promise. About your eyes, I mean.”


Just like that. He didn’t ask for anything in exchange, not friendship, not respect, nothing.


So of course, I had to give him at least that back. He deserved nothing less.


Chapter 33