Vintage Pride by Eilzabeth Lapthorne

aroma that caused the hairs on the back of his neck to prickle and his cock to stir. The last time he’d had such an instant, visceral reaction to a scent was the day Benoît had walked into his life.
    Jean-Luc shook his head. He had to be imagining this. Nothing would ever smell as delicious to him as Benoît had. Wrapped up in fantasies of his mate and the long and happy life they should have had together, he’d merely conjured up an illusion that would surely fade as all the others did.
    But the scent didn’t disappear. If anything, it grew stronger the closer he came to the bottom of the stairs.
    Perhaps Marcus is right and I really am losing it…
    A door opened in front of him and a man stepped out into the hallway. In that instant, Jean-Luc knew this stranger to be the source of the intoxicating spoor.
    Who the fuck are you? And why do you smell so good, so…right?
    He couldn’t be having this reaction to a human. Yet the longer he stared at the man, with his dirty-blond hair and his soft gray eyes, the more aroused Jean-Luc grew. He thanked fortune that he wore baggy black sweatpants for if he’d had on anything that fit more tightly, the hard bulge at his groin would have been all too apparent.
    The look of surprise on the stranger’s face faded, and his open, handsome features broke into a smile. “Oh, hey, you must be Jean-Luc. Nice to meet you.”
    Still struggling to compose his thoughts, Jean-Luc did not return the pleasantry. He merely snapped, “And you are…?”
    “Ethan Wayne. I’m part of the Spirits Seekers team. We just arrived about half an hour ago.”
    That stupid television show. The one he’d fought so hard to convince Marcus it would be a bad idea to get involved with. He’d foreseen so many ways in which inviting paranormal investigators into the château might bring misfortune. He’d never dreamed one of those investigators would be a man who affected him in entirely the same manner Benoît had.
    “And you’ve spoken to Marcus?”
    “Yes. He’s been very welcoming.”
    “I hope he’s told you that I wanted nothing to do with any of it.” His tone was sharp.
    “He made it abundantly clear, yes. And I’m sorry if I’m intruding on your private space. It’s just that Agathe put me in the guest room here.”
    Merde . Things had just become a thousand times worse. How was he expected to sleep knowing Ethan was on the floor below him, so close his scent would permeate the whole of this tower? He’d go to Agathe, tell her that he absolutely could not have this man so close to him.
    “You must understand that this really is not convenient for me,” Jean-Luc said.
    “Well, the way we conduct our investigations, you’re not going to see much of me or my team, unless you’re in any way nocturnal,” Ethan replied.
    Was he being mocked? On the verge of telling Ethan to take his equipment and his colleagues and get the fuck out of his home, Jean-Luc salvaged his composure. This man couldn’t have a clue about his true nature. Jean-Luc couldn’t let his paranoid thoughts about the centuries-old distrust between shifters and humans get the better of him.
    “As long as you appreciate that the topmost level of this turret is out of bounds at all times, then I think we may be able to reach some kind of accord.”
    “Hey, man, we know we’re guests in your house and we’re really grateful for the access we’ve been given. None of us wants to do anything to abuse your hospitality.” Ethan started to yawn and quickly put his palm over his mouth. “I’m sorry. You’ll have to excuse me. My body clock’s shot to hell and I really need to get some sleep.”
    As Ethan made to go into his room, Jean-Luc put a hand out to stop him. “Just one last thing. What do you hope to achieve here?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Say you find the evidence you’re looking for and you manage to prove whatever’s been happening in this château is the result of some…otherworldly