“Can’t believe I never thought of that.”
Warmed by his praise, she moved through the rest of the ward, pointing out thin spots and minute errors in execution, which left the overall spell weaker and easier to pull apart.
Despite that, she had to give him credit, the work was very, very good, and she told him so.
“Thank you.”
“Can I …” She wanted to show him how to use his othersight; it was clear he didn’t really access it very well, but she didn’t want to embarrass him either.
He stood very close, taking her cheeks in his hands and tipping her face up to see it better. “You can. Anything. Just say it.”
She swallowed, hard. “Can I give you some tips on how to open yourself up more fully to your othersight?”
He paused and it made her nervous.
“It’s just that you do it, but you’re not using it to its full potential. It’s a very powerful tool.”
“This will make my spellwork stronger?”
“Yes. Part of the way magick works when you spellcast is you use energy to form intent. If you use your othersight better, you can manipulate and direct the energy flow more efficiently. Then your spellwork is stronger. Plus, it’s a good tool in general.”
“You use it all the time?”
“Yes. Most witches do. I can show you how to blend it better with your regular consciousness so it’s not distracting.”
“Show me. Tell me.”
So she took his hands. “My mother’s bond-mate was my first real magickal teacher, but it’s really my father who taught me how to use my othersight effectively. He relates to his magick like it’s math. And since I hate math it took him a while to get to me. But I’m thickheaded.”
Dominic grinned and ducked in to give her a quick kiss.
“Essentially, your othersight is like radar. You open yourself to it, yes, but really it’s about using your magick to relate to all you see around you. If you use it while you do your spellwork, you’ll be better able to see the thin spots, where things are weak or the knot with another part of the spell needs to be tighter.”
“But clearly you can work magick without it. I rarely use it.”
“Sure you can. But an enterprising witch with a better handle on her othersight than the originator of the spell can spot all the weak points in a spell and unravel them.”
“Oh. Good point.”
“Your othersight is there, always. You don’t have to make it, or manage it. You just need to make opening yourself up to it part of how you work your magick until it’s second nature.”
She walked him through it, pleased at his quick progress, delighted by his reaction to learning something new. The more he practiced, the better he’d be until it was second nature.
When they finished, he pulled her into his arms, slowly, as if they were dancing. The kiss warmed up slowly. A brush of his lips and then another quick one.
“Thank you for that. I can see exactly what you mean.”
Dizzy with him, she managed a goofy smile, swallowing hard as she looked at that face of his. His eyes were her favorite feature. Thick, dark lashes framed the color, a very pale green, like spring. They were beautiful eyes. His nose was strong, not quite straight. She brushed her thumb from brow to tip.
“Broken. Three times.”
She smiled and shook her head. “I’m not surprised. It suits you. Being totally perfect might offend the gods.”
The sweet confused pleasure on his face made her weak in the knees.
And then his mouth was on hers again, his taste back where it belonged. Rough hands hauled her close as she opened to his tongue, groaning as he nipped her bottom lip.
The music from outside thumped against the walls, the bass line throbbing deep in her belly.
His hands were on her hips and sliding upward to cup her breasts.
Hers were on his belt, yanking at it when someone banged on the door and he broke the kiss with a snarl.
“We’ll pick up where we left off later. I’m sorry.” He touched his forehead to hers before easing away, but keeping her hand in his.
Simon came in and looked between the two of them. “Evening, Meriel. You look beautiful. Dom, we need to move some cash to the safe. We’re at capacity. Bar’s been full all night long.”
“Of course.” He turned to Meriel. “I need to sign some paperwork. Would you like a drink while I do this? I’ll set you up at my table; no, not the one with all the women in it from last night.”
“Am I that obvious?”
He kissed her again, hard. “Bloodthirsty.”
It was rather exciting to know a man like that thought her bloodthirsty.
“Let’s get you settled and then I’ll make very quick work out of this business to get back to you.”
True to his word, he escorted her to a table in a far corner. It was tucked back into an alcove of sorts, but offered great views of the entire club. She liked to watch him change from her date into a business owner. He lost all that roguish charm and hardened his features while keeping them polite.
“Now lookie here.”
She turned in her seat to take Gage in as he slid into the booth beside her a few minutes later.
“What on earth is Meriel Owen doing right here in a box that looks a little like something the owner would use?” His smirk made her laugh.
“I’m here on a date with Dominic. This is his table. He had to go sign something or whatever.”
“Is this why you sounded so sad this morning?”
“This is such a long story I honestly don’t have the energy to recount it all to you now.”
“Nell’s back tomorrow. If I can see how different your magick looks, you think she’s going to miss it?”
“If I tell you, it’s as my friend, not as a member of council staff.”
“I would never betray your confidences, Meriel.”
“He’s my bond-mate.” She blurted it, knowing if she didn’t, she’d never get it out. “But he grew up outclan. He’s not ready yet and he doesn’t have to be. He needs time and I’m giving it to him.”
Gage nodded, blowing out a breath. “All right. Can I help at all?”
She let out the tension from holding her breath. “You just did. Thanks for listening. Anything new on the mages?”
“And you are?” Dominic slid into the booth on Meriel’s other side, getting so close he enfolded her into his side, his arm along the back of her seat.
“This is Gage. He’s a friend and also runs the hunter crew for Nell. Gage, this is Dominic.”
Gage gave Dominic a long up-and-down look and Meriel leaned back into Dominic, needing to soothe. Which worked because the tension in his arm lessened and he slid his fingertip in a figure eight up and down her shoulder.
“I wanted to come out here to check the place over. See where I stood on the topic of this place being allowed to remain or not. I like what I see. Strong wards. I worry about the line of entry being through a space filled with humans. But I believe we can benefit from a place all the local Others are able to hang out and be ourselves.”
“
Allowed
to remain?”
She turned to look at him. “I told you exposure is a risk and that we had to assess all risks.”
He interrupted before she could continue. “And you never thought to tell me any of this? About some move to shut me down? How the hell can I trust you enough to be your bond-mate and all that jazz if you don’t tell me everything?”
It hurt that he’d think she was capable of such a thing. “In the first place, I’m not hiding anything. I just referenced a time when I
told you
about the exposure issue being a problem. Secondly, there is no
move
to do anything. We saw you were stealing. I dealt with it. That’s what the clan knows. But I’ll have to give a report on this place and of course one of the chief issues is going to be how safe this place is. To ignore that would be folly. It would be irresponsible of me both as the next in line to take over Owen and as your bond-mate to pretend away reality.”
“So you had this guy come to spy on me here?”
“Yes, frequently when I send out my spies I have them sit and have a drink with me and introduce them, complete with a reason for their being here, to you. I’m so devious that way.”
“This is totally not going in the right direction.” Gage put his drink down.
Meriel held a hand up to stay Gage. “No. You don’t need to explain yourself. I already did.” She turned her attention back to Dominic. “And if that’s not enough, we have a far bigger problem than the existence of this club.”
She made to scoot out of the booth but Dominic put a hand on her wrist. Not confining, which would have resulted in an injury. “Wait.”
“Meriel? Are you all right? We can go right now.” Gage said it to no one but her, which allowed her to catch her breath.
The tension ramped up as the two men both sought her attention. Both protective in their own way.
Dominic leaned in, his lips at her ear. “I’m sorry. I snapped at you and made a judgment that wasn’t fair. We should talk. Don’t leave this way.”
She hesitated. This was what she’d talked to Nell about a few times. That disconnect between what they’d grown up with and what their significant other understood and trusted. But more than that, clearly Dominic had trust issues. Which was such a cliche.
Gage waited, but looked out at the room instead of at her, giving her privacy to react.
“You’re being a rude asshole,” she said equally quietly.
“I know. I’m sorry. I felt broadsided. I know you told me about the exposure thing.”
If she could show as much honesty when she got called out for being an asshole, she’d be proud.
“Please stay.”
It would be like this from time to time. She understood that to her toes. He was a bossy, incorrigible man on many levels and she was a bossy woman who loved rules. They were bound to clash. So, she supposed, the real issue was how they got past it.
“All right.”
He kissed the corner of her mouth and then turned his attention to Gage. “I apologize for my manners.”
Gage nodded. “And I apologize for how I brought the subject up.”
“Moving along.” She squeezed Dominic’s hand. “We need to talk about Rodas.”
“I had to call Nell. This is too big not to relay. I caught her before they were boarding their flight home anyway. She’ll be in touch when she gets back. I told her to sleep first and she was mean to me.”
Meriel laughed. Oh how she’d missed her friend.
They spoke about the situation for some time. Dominic put in his opinion here and there, never in a pushy way. He had a lot of great insight about people and how they acted. He’d be so good at her side, would help her examine issues from a different perspective.
Multiple times they’d been interrupted, or rather, Dominic had been called away to deal with this or that. But it was good. It gave her a chance to watch him in action.
Gage tipped his glass in her direction. “Your mother was right to hand this over to you. There will be a time, very soon I think, where working with witches across practice and clan affiliation will be necessary to protect ourselves. You’ve known this for some time now. I respect the job your mother has done. But your vision is what’s needed to lead the next generation.”
She blushed, glad for the darkness in the club. “Thanks. I just hope we’re catching this early enough to combat it.”
Gage’s usually amused expression went hard. “We’ll take this shit out. Period. Listen, we’ve spent two hours talking about this. It’s Friday night and you’re on a date. I see a lovely woman at the bar who really appears to need some company.”
She looked to see who he meant and grinned, shaking her head. “Go on then. Make her night.”
Gage’s mouth tipped up into a sexy grin. “He’s all right. Your Dominic. Gonna be a lot to handle so it’s good he’s your bond-mate. Another woman might get swallowed up by a man like him.” He leaned in to kiss her cheek and she knew without even looking up that Dominic’s attention had been snagged and he’d be making his way back to her.
“Thanks for listening.”
“I told you already, I’m your friend.” He slid out and moved toward the bar, snagging the woman’s awareness immediately.
“Hm. He likes touching you.”
She turned to Dominic and laughed right in his face. “He likes touching me? And the eleven thousand woman who’ve given you an arm or chest full of mammaries as you’ve walked around here being all bossy and stuff? What’s their excuse? Have you known them their entire lives like I have Gage?”
“No. They’re meaningless and also, I never claimed to be rational when the subject is you.”
Disarmed and flattered, she snorted. “You are aware that I’d never let anyone
but
you get away with this sort of thing, right?”
Grinning, he pulled her close. “Yeah. It gets me hot.” He kissed her long and slow there in the dark, the music around them, the heat of all the bodies, the scent of magick and sex everywhere.