“Are you hungry?”
“Um. I figured I’d get room service when I got to the hotel.” She’d been in such a hurry after her last meeting with her sister, Helena, that she’d missed dinner, though she did eat a giant bag of M&M’S on the plane.
“Do you like steak or are you a vegetarian?”
He said
vegetarian
as if it were a suspect class.
“I like steak. Vegetables too.”
He hmmed, but it was laced with suspicion. “You’ll be staying in Meriel and Dominic’s old apartment.”
“I don’t want to intrude on them.” She liked Meriel, but that didn’t mean she wanted to stay with her. A hotel meant she could walk around in her underwear and eat ice cream from the carton. She had to be nice and polite and make small talk if she stayed with people.
“They don’t live there. They recently bought a house and had two months left on the lease.”
Well that was nice, actually. An apartment meant she’d have a kitchen and some room. Of course that meant she’d have to go grocery shopping. Though if she knew Meriel as well as she thought, that fridge was most likely well stocked already.
“Cool. Thanks for the ride. You’re not a shifter.”
He continued to look at the road but one of his brows rose.
“I’m sorry. I have a hard time telling the difference between blunt and rude.”
His mouth twitched.
“I’m Lycian.”
She leaned closer and breathed him in. “Oh! I’ve never met anyone from the other side of the Veil but a Fae warrior.”
Simon had no idea what to make of this woman. His wolf liked the way she smelled. Sharp like he did. Like a warrior did. But she had blue streaks in her hair. Hair she most likely cut herself. Maybe not even in front of a mirror.
She most likely listened to bands no one ever heard of and went to shows in clubs with sticky floors. Clearly she liked shopping in thrift stores and probably had gloves that were once someone’s sweater.
The smudge of her energy was bright and clear blue. Blue like her eyes. Earnest eyes, but the shadow of a warrior lived there. Even as she rattled on at random, her gaze roamed, keeping track of where they were and who was near.
“How long have you been here? And by the way, if I, you know, fall over the line into rude, please just poke me and say so. That’s what my family does.”
“I have been here for ten of your years.”
“I bet your house has very clean lines. Nothing fussy. You don’t have knickknacks and I bet you fold your shorts.”
“I don’t follow.”
She sighed. “You’re a very spare guy. I mean you don’t have any fuss about you. You don’t use four words when three will do. It’s an admirable trait. One I do not possess. I bet you don’t leave your clothes on your bedroom floor or have stacks of magazines anywhere.”
“Tell you what. I’ll make you a steak at my house. You can see for yourself.”
He caught her grin.
There was an odd sound and they both looked around. And then she cursed and dug into her coat pocket.
Hubba Hubba, Hubba Hubba.
That’s what it kept saying.
“Clever,” she said as she answered the call. “Oh yes, I’ll totally take you back now. What do you want?”
Much like a shifter, he had excellent hearing, so the other end of the call was audible.
“Why you gotta give me such a hard time?”
“I’m working. And hanging up now.”
“I forgot to tell you. I put a new grip on your Sig. I think the balance should be better. And you should take me back.”
“Thanks for the tip on the Sig.” She disconnected.
“What did he do?” Simon asked.
She laughed. “You assume he’s the one who messed up.”
“If it had been you, he wouldn’t be the one begging to be taken back.” He had enough experience with such events. Enough that he’d ceased having anything more than flings.
“I’ll tell you, but only if you have some vodka at your house to go with the steak.”
“I have whiskey and some tequila. Will that do? I own a bar; it’s not as if I can’t stop to get vodka.”
“You’re very accommodating for a guy who just met me less than an hour ago.”
He liked taking care of people. And he was intrigued by Lark Jaansen and her colorful contradictions. She pleased his senses. In an entirely platonic way, of course. He sure as hell wasn’t going to be nailing her, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t interesting to man and wolf.
“You’re one of Meriel’s. She’s the woman of a man who is like my own brother.”
He got off the freeway.
“To answer your question, whiskey is fine. Or tequila. Thank you.”
His phone rang this time and when he answered, Meriel’s voice sounded over the speaker.
“Is Lark with you?”
“Yes, of course.” He turned his attention to Lark as he took the steep turn on the drive up to his house. “I thought you said you called Meriel?”
“I texted her to say I had arrived and was with you.”
“Texting is not calling. She’s here with me, Meriel. I’m going to feed her. She’s a little thin. And give her a drink. I’ll be sure she gets back safely. Tomorrow all you witchy types will have your war talks and all that jazz. Let the girl have a good steak and a decent night’s sleep.”
“Gage is going to pick you up first thing, Lark,” Meriel said. “We’ll get you a car as well. Our old place is warded up tight. No worries at all on that front. No one will breach your security there.”
“Good to know about the warding. I expected nothing less. As for Gage, yes, I spoke with him before I left L.A. I’m good. I promise I can take care of myself, Meriel. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon. Appreciate the use of your place, by the way,”
“We’re climbing the hill to my place,” Simon interrupted. “Cell service is going to get sketchy. Talk to you later.” He hung up and Lark laughed again.
“World-class skills, Meriel Owen. I’ve yet to meet a cannier witch when it comes to politics. She constantly pisses people off and yet they always listen to her. Take her seriously. Clearly you’re like she is. Just because I’ve never met a Lycian before doesn’t mean I can’t see you’re clearly a superior specimen. I mean, top of the food chain in Lycian speak or whatever. Why aren’t you back home ruling the pack?”
“I’m the third son. My oldest brother already leads the pack in my father’s name. My next youngest brother is his right-hand man.”
“Ah, so like you have the heir, and then the spare, and what about you?”
“There are corollaries. I’ve got eleven brothers and four sisters. We each found our place and path. Mine led me here.”
She leaned forward, gripping the dashboard, getting her fingerprints everywhere, he was sure. “Holy crap. Simon, is that your house?”
Pride warmed him as she gawked at the grounds and the edifice of the house through the windshield.
“They’ve been building it for three years. Just finished everything a month ago.”
“You could totally play basketball in here.” She got out once he’d closed the garage door.
“I have a basketball court. Do you play?” He motioned toward the doors that led to the breezeway between the house and garage.
“Of course you do. Oh, my weapons are in my suitcase. I shouldn’t leave them out here. They’re kitted for taking down things far worse than a deer.”
The wolf inside him responded to Lark immediately because she was like him. A warrior to her essence.
“We can talk weapons while I get the steaks started.” He grabbed her bags from the trunk. “Come on.” He indicated the door to the breezeway. “Rest assured that this ground is safe.” He bowed his head and she realized he meant it. He took it as a matter of pride and responsibility that anyone on his land would receive safe passage. It was old-school honor.
“Thank you. This place is amazing. I’d like to be outside for a little while. Would you mind?”
“Let’s drop this in the house and I’ll take you to the gardens.”
As she let him lead her to the main house, she couldn’t help but admire everything she saw. The house sat on a large lot with a view from every window.
And she understood why he wanted to let her be in the gardens. He took her to the heart of his house and she felt the deep well of his connection to the land beneath them.
He put her bags down in an entryway.
“She likes you here. The earth,” she added, following her senses through his house, looking up at the soaring ceilings and walls of glass. It was just as clean and elegant as she’d imagined it would be. But with a surprising warmth and masculinity.
“Meriel says this too. It’s reassuring to hear it from another person I suppose. Welcome to my home, Lark Jaansen.” He bowed courtly.
“Thank you for having me here. This is beautiful.” She turned in a circle when he took her to his living space. “I was right.” She smiled at him.
“Should I be flattered?” He flipped a switch and the walls of windows opened up to a deck with a view that had her moving outside before she’d known to do it.
“Yes. It’s not serial-killer scary-neat. It’s clean and simple. You’ve created a place where nature is totally inherent to the overall design of the house.”
Three levels of decking and entertainment areas sprawled down the slope of the land.
“I wanted to occupy the land and still respect the shape and sense of wildness.”
Her breath caught as she stepped from her shoes and pulled her socks off. The intensity of connection to the well of magick at her feet shocked through her system. The font clicked into place as it accepted her, as the land at her feet recognized her as Owen through her connection to Gennessee. Their foremothers were the same and their magick still flowed strong here.
She breathed in deep, simply letting the energy hum through her system. “This is stunning, Simon. Truly.” She continued to meander and he steered her around one path and directed her back up toward the house.
“You’re not wearing shoes; that path is for shoes. Would you like a drink?”
“Yes, thank you.” She looked out over the mountainside and to the world below. “It’s crazy to me when I visit. Such a riot of nature here in this place. And yet just ten minutes down this mountain and you’re back into the buttoned-up control of a city. At home it’s different. My magick isn’t stronger or weaker, really, it’s just that the ways I access my magick are different. So much light, the salt of the ocean, the energy of all that humanity hums through the concrete.”
She followed him back inside and toward the large, open kitchen that shared the heart of the house.
“And here it’s as if I breathe the magick in through my pores.”
“Would you permit me to choose the drink?”
She shrugged. “Sure, why not?”
He went to a bar and studied it for long moments before he pulled a bottle out. She leaned against the counter and watched as he pulled two black stones from the freezer and put them in glasses. He poured the amber liquid—scotch; she could scent the oak of it—over the stones and then once again with the second glass.
“One of my brothers has a boutique whiskey distillery. Try.”
She breathed in the scent of the whiskey before she took a sip. The smoke of it danced across her tongue.
He didn’t pester her to ask what she thought. Instead he moved to the sink to roll up his sleeves and wash his hands.
“I like it. I’m not normally a whiskey drinker. But for this I’d make an exception. Can I help?”
He paused to look her over. “There are tomatoes over there on the counter. Fresh mozzarella in the fridge.”
She moved to wash her hands. “Do you have balsamic and olive oil?”
He snorted at her audacity. “Do I look like a man who wouldn’t have olive oil and balsamic?”
“I notice you’re less terse. Is it the whiskey?”
He laughed, putting the steaks on the grill on his center island as she cored and seeded tomatoes.
“I’ll let you know after the next glass.”
Chapter 2
“SO
we’ve seen a distinct reduction in overall crime in our community since we’ve instituted this system of tactical units.”
Edwina Owen looked Lark over, one brow up. “Your hunters use human firearms and weaponry. That’s a complicated matter and raises the chances of discovery by human authorities when we obtain the necessary licenses.”
“It does indeed bring us into more contact with the human authorities. But Clan Gennessee can’t afford to lag behind what criminals of all sorts use to commit crimes. We have a higher concentration of incursion into our community by outside groups. Drugs and organized crime are on the rise. I can use magick, of course, and I do. But everyone gets depleted and a bullet does the trick in a pinch.”
Lark addressed the full governance council of Clan Owen. Nell and Gage were there as well, representing the hunter corps.