"Tonight is the start of my grand adventure. And since it's my birthday, you guys are welcome to join in the fun." Kat Roberts grinned as she spread out the folded piece of paper on the table so her friends Lacy and Mark could see.
They were nestled in the corner of the Pickerel Inn just outside Magdalene College in Cambridge, catching a brief break from studying for exams. The pub was full of other students, all enjoying the relaxed atmosphere and the fish and chips the pub served late into the night.
"What on earth is that?" Lacy asked as she brushed her hair back from her face and peered at the list.
Kat tapped the paper. "A list of ten things every undergraduate should do while studying and living in Cambridge. Number one? Drink a glass of Nelson's Revenge at the Pickerel Inn pub on Magdalene Street."
Mark, Lacy's boyfriend, chuckled. "Have too many Nelsons and he'll definitely get his revenge. You Americans aren't used to our stout ales."
Kat was only half—listening as she studied the list, contemplating the other suggestions it gave. She'd moved to England in August to start college while her dad worked in London, and now more than ever she wanted to do something wild, something fun and crazy. That's why she'd picked this list from an online article about attending school in Cambridge. It had fun things for her to do. Now that she'd settled into her classes and schoolwork, she could focus on enjoying the whole college experience. She'd picked an easy item from the list first—drinking a pint here at the Pickerel—but she'd work her way up to the bigger items soon.
Mark leaned forward, his elbows propped on the old wooden table. "Is this really all we get to do to help you celebrate your nineteenth birthday?"
"He's right, Kat. We should be doing something really fun tonight. Like going clubbing!" Lacy curved her lips in a charming but teasing smile that under other circumstances would've made Kat laugh.
"Clubbing? Lacy, you know I can't dance. I'd fall flat on my face. Maybe if I drink enough you can talk me into it." Kat winked at her friend and gulped down more of the cider and beer blend she had ordered. It wasn't strong, but she wanted to get warmed up before going for the Nelson's Revenge.
Lacy grinned. "You're officially nineteen, and as this is your first semester at college, we need to make something amazing happen. Let's go dancing, meet some hot guys." She jerked her head suggestively toward a nearby table where a group of decent—looking men were watching them, pints in hand and friendly smiles on their faces. She nudged Mark in the ribs. "Right?" She winked.
Mark put an arm around Lacy's shoulders and shook his head, silently laughing. "You have a hot guy right here for you, no need to find a new one," he teased.
"First I'll drink my pint, then I'll work my way up to meeting hot guys. How's that?"
Mark shook his head. "I think you're underestimating your appeal. You'll have no trouble getting a guy." He nodded at the same group of men his girlfriend had pointed out. "Start with them. They look nice enough, and if they aren't, I'll beat them up for you." Mark put up his fists with a silly, goonish expression that made Kat and Lacy giggle.
Kat adored her new friends. She'd only known them since August, but something about them, their natural warmth, the way they opened up to her, made her feel like she'd known them for years.
Maybe it was the magic of the city, too. It was more of a home for her than any other place she'd ever lived.
"Well, don't tell me you're afraid to give it a go?" Mark laughed.
His brown eyes were dark and full of brotherly mischief, offering a friendship Kat hadn't thought she'd find again since she'd left her last high school boyfriend behind. She and Ben had been good friends, more than she'd ever thought possible with a guy. Like him, Mark was easygoing, with a ready smile and a playful attitude that put her at ease.
She and Ben hadn't been serious, and calling him a boyfriend was really more of a stretch. They'd hung out but never even kissed. Kat jerked herself out of the spiral her thoughts had taken and focused on her friends. She tipped back her drink and finished it. She couldn't believe it was close to the end of November, and the term was winding down. As much as she'd enjoyed her classes, she was glad for the upcoming winter break. What better way to start the holidays than getting a jumpstart on her "Operation Adventure."
When the front door of the pub suddenly opened, an icy wind cut through the cozy atmosphere of the building. Despite the dim gold light cast by the fixtures in the pub, Kat could see more than one person at the surrounding tables muttering, clutching at their coats and glancing toward the front door.
"Oh my," Lacy murmured, her brown eyes all soft and dreamy as she stared at something behind Kat.
Mark coughed, catching Lacy's attention, but Kat was already turning around in her seat. For some reason all of the breath left her body and she blinked, completely spellbound.
When he closed the door behind him, snowflakes swirled and eddied around him, clinging to his dark hair and his black knee—length pea coat. He made her think of Hades, the dark god of the Netherworld, in search of his sweet, innocent lover Persephone.
Kat would never have thought she'd describe a man in such terms, but this man…oh yes, the description was perfect. A slow wave of heat overtook Kat as she stared at him, and she clamped her thighs together when a slow throb began to build in her lower abdomen.
Now that's the sort of man I want to get involved with. The decent—looking guys a few tables away had nothing on this man. And that was just it: He was a man. Nothing about him screamed "college student." The way he walked, in an almost predatory, graceful movement, sucked her in, and she couldn't look away. He was the sort of man who would stop every woman in her tracks as he strode past, demanding their attention, their desire…