In the Company of Witches (27 page)

“A little service I provide,” he said, registering her puzzlement. “I don’t want you to get cold. Wait here.”

Her stomach did another little lurch at the romantic gesture, but she made an effort to hide it. “I’ll wait only because I want to. Not because you told me to do it,” she said.

“You keep telling yourself that. But you move off that chair, it won’t only be my magic warming that beautiful ass of yours.”

When he threw her one of those devastating stern looks, she retaliated by standing up, turning a circle and sitting down again, wiggling her very fine ass. She heard his chuckle as he crossed the street in those long, ground-eating strides, and it left her smiling. If someone had told her a Dark Guardian could give her screaming orgasms, she could roll with that. But that he could make her laugh, make her feel young and silly in all the good ways…

Dipping into his sundae, she tested the strawberry topping. When she saw him at the cash register paying for the nuts, she poked two eyes and a nose indentation into his ice cream with her finger, using one of the cut strawberries as a bow mouth. Then she sucked the stickiness off her fingertips.

As he returned, his glance fell on it, as well as her sitting with her hands primly folded, a smirk on her face. “I expect a bite of yours.”

“I don’t share.”

“Funny. Neither do I. Not certain things.” Pulling the bag of salted peanuts out of the small brown sack, he used the saltshaker to crush them up before tearing open the top and sprinkling a liberal amount over the top of the sundae. “There you go.”

It touched her, the expectant look he gave her, wanting to be sure she was pleased. So she closed her hand over his, still grasping the sundae to keep it steady, and caressed his fingers. “Thank you.”

He sat down next to her, pulling his chair close so they were shoulder to shoulder and could people-watch as they ate. She did give him a bite of hers, and he gave her the strawberry mouth she’d made. He put it on her tongue, then dipped his finger in the fudge, painting some on her lips so she could have the two tastes together. Then some of Mikhael, because he put his lips over hers, teasing her with his tongue until she put down her spoon and touched his jaw, ran her fingers through his hair and savored the kiss to the nth degree.

When he pulled back, he didn’t go far, their eyes still close. She didn’t want to say anything, didn’t feel like saying anything, and he didn’t seem to, either, for they just considered each other for a long moment before he settled back, his arm pressed against her shoulder blades. Occasionally he took bites of his sundae one-handed as she continued to eat hers. Though they took their time, the ice cream remained cold, either a function of the shop’s freezer and mix, or more of Mikhael’s touching form of kitchen magic.

“So what happened, last time you were in town?” he asked. “Li said it didn’t go well.”

Li really needed to have a lock put on his mouth. “I couldn’t hold the magic at the house and here. Too much distance between the two points.”

“And the house takes a lot of energy.”

“I was attracting too much attention in town, so when I pulled in more magic to camouflage myself, I had to weaken what was at the house. We had clients. The weak spot…One of them was killed. We made it look like a heart attack.” Her jaw tightened and she wouldn’t look at him. “No, I’m not going to tell you which one of them did it, because it wasn’t their fault; it was mine. If you want to haul anyone to Hell for it, that would be me.”

“Raina.” Her chair scraped as he turned her so her knee was pressed against his. Then he put pressure on that arm behind her back, slipping the other under her knees. Before she knew it, she was settled in his lap, her ice cream steadied by his brief touch over her fingers. He tilted his head. “You think I’m that kind of monster?”

“You don’t deny being a monster.” He was like sitting by a fire. A strong, steady flame, even warmer than the chair.

“No, I don’t. I fit two of the requirements—I’m terrifying and I kill. But I’m not indiscriminate about it.”

“The terrifying part or the killing part?”

“Both.”

Maybe the reason she didn’t fear that side of his nature was because her own kind had it, the killing part. Leaving it alone for now, she dipped her spoon in his sundae, offering him another bite of it, since she was blocking his access to it. He didn’t seem to mind, his foot braced on the table leg crosspiece to hold her so she was leaning comfortably against his chest as she fed him and herself. She even gave him another bite of her own sundae.

“So what happens if you don’t have your protection up around people like this?” He nodded to the passing foot traffic.

“Think sirens, sailors, sharp rocks. Only they turn on each other. Then, when I’m gone and they regain their senses, their wives are filing for divorce, the girlfriend is moving out, or they’re being hauled to jail for assault, or worse. As long as it’s masked, muted, they’re fine. I’m just distracting, like any other beautiful woman. I can dial it up or down at Sweet Dreams to make them feel more comfortable and relaxed, help them make their choices, but I’m safest there.”

“Does that ever make you feel trapped?”

“I like being able to do something like this, but really…no.” She meant it. “You’re right. It’s my sanctuary. My place. With my staff, and the variety of guests I entertain in the parlor, I never lack for stimulating company. And the grounds themselves…so much ancient life there…”

“You never get lonely?”

That was an entirely different subject, one that had nothing to do with location, and everything to do with…other things. “Do you?”

He touched the side of her face, brushed his knuckles over her cheek. A variety of expressions crossed his face, things that twisted low in her stomach. “Not today,” he said.

“Mikhael—”

“Funny running into you two kids.”

S
NAPPING OUT OF HER REACTION TO HIS RAW HONESTY
, Raina turned to see Derek Stormwind and Ruby, her best friend in the whole world, approaching the table. Obviously, Mikhael had seen them coming, because he showed no reaction to Derek’s sardonic intrusion. It was obvious, and expected, that Derek could see through the spellwork, which meant he’d enabled Ruby to do the same, or she was proficient enough to do it herself.

“Ramona,” she muttered. That was the last time she’d take her other best friend’s casual reaction to a not-so-casual situation at face value. She’d likely contacted Ruby the second she went into the shop. Raina should have stayed and spent more time reassuring her, but Ramona never paid attention to words—she read other things, and whatever she’d read off Mikhael and Raina had unsettled her enough to call in the cavalry.

Awkward was a descriptive understatement, since Raina sat on the lap of the guy who’d fucked Ruby twelve ways to Sunday, a male who Derek considered a borderline adversary on a lot of different levels. But Raina wasn’t one to get twisted up in knots over social faux pas.

“Care to join us?” She nodded at the unused chairs in front of them. When she squirmed to indicate she wanted to resume her seat next to Mikhael, she discovered a certain part of him was enjoying her exactly where she was. If she moved, she’d be making that public knowledge. A wicked thought, just the kind of thing that appealed to her.

He gave her a wry look but let her slide off. Fortunately, the fit of the jeans and his seated position helped cover it, though it would be noticeable if a woman took the lingering look she would. Ruby, no matter how tempted she might be, would likely refrain in deference to her husband. Raina was happy to look at both men, the privilege of being single. Though Derek could be a pain in the ass, he was a sexy one. There was nothing fattening about a two-man visual feast.

Derek held Ruby’s chair but declined to sit. “We need to talk,” he said to Mikhael.

“I’m not done with my ice cream. Why don’t you sit, unless that stick you carry in your ass isn’t bendy enough?”

“Mikhael,” Ruby said. “Please don’t goad him.” The woman who traveled with Derek to aid his magical work also ran the gun shop in town, Arcane Shot, so she wore the store T-shirt, snug black and red. Ruby was beautiful, but wiry and strong, with eyes that reflected the sharp intelligence that made her capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with Derek in his dangerous line of work. A year ago, she’d been into some messed-up shit, and Mikhael had been in the center of that. That history was reflected in her obvious trepidation over the two males who’d locked gazes like bulls about to charge.

“How about both of you stop goading each other?” Raina interjected. “Yes, yes, I get it. You’re both brimming with testosterone. He fucked Ruby, he fucked me, awkward, awkward, awkward, but now she’s married to Derek. Monogamous fucking until death do you part, and past is past.” She glanced at Ruby. “Unless you want me to fuck Derek so we can make it all neat and balanced.”

Ruby narrowed her eyes. “Over my dead body.”

“Good. So that’s resolved. Try this; it’s awesome.” Raina spooned up some more fudge, nuts and ice cream and fed them into Ruby’s mouth before expletives could spill out. Then watched her expression glaze.

“Oh, wow. That is awesome.”

“I told you. Go get yourself one. I have enough nuts left for it.” She nodded to the bag folded at her elbow.

“They don’t…?”

“Pansy-assed peanut-allergy generation,” Mikhael commented. “The whole lot of them, fodder for Darwin’s cannon.”

“His looks are only surpassed by his compassion,” Raina noted. “Here, my treat.” Since Mikhael hadn’t let her use any money, she pushed bills into Ruby’s hand, pointed to the storefront with the meaningful glance that said,
Go get ice cream with Derek to defuse this. Guys don’t fight while eating ice cream.

However, while playing peacemaker, she was noticing other things. Like how Ruby and Mikhael were studiously avoiding eye contact. She’d expected it of Ruby, what with Derek here and all, but Mikhael’s reaction surprised her. A man looked away only if the woman had meant something to him. If he had regrets. Which made her recall how he’d reacted to her poking at him about Ruby on the night he’d arrived.

She understood the dynamics between lovers quite well. Regrets didn’t mean a desire to hook back up. However, there were plenty of women who’d become sloppy seconds when a male’s first interest became unavailable. Being married to Derek Stormwind, Ruby was as unavailable as a pile of gold at the back of a dragon’s lair—guarded by a dragon who never slept.

When Derek and Ruby went into the shop to get a sundae for Ruby and probably a twenty-four-scoop banana split for Derek’s enormous magic-induced appetite, she took another bite of her own treat, found it wasn’t as good as it had been. She put the spoon down. “Okay, what exactly is it you want to say to her? I can get Derek to take a stroll if you need some alone time.”

Mikhael snorted. “Your powers of persuasion are considerable, but if you could get him to leave her alone with me, you’d probably surpass the angels.”

She nodded. He was leaning on the chair’s two back legs, his boot braced on the table. Putting her foot against the chair’s axis, she gave it a vicious shove.

His battle reflexes showed, because he didn’t try to grab the table. He was out of the chair, letting it hit the sill of the ice cream shop window and leaving him balanced on the balls of his feet, facing her. For one weighted moment, she glared at him; then he bent, righted the chair and sat back down, this time with a foot more space between them.

“I was wondering how long you were going to pretend it didn’t bother you that she was sitting close enough I could recognize her scent.”

This time she went for electrical current, pulled from the air and targeted on the metal chair, dissembling spells be damned. He was back on his feet again. Even though he could take a wealth of pain, she expected it was hard to look suave when vibrating like a coke junkie. She was smart enough to be on her own feet this time, fists clenched, the chairs between them.

“As ironic as it may sound, I’m not a whore, Mikhael. Don’t treat me like one.”

“Then don’t act like one. If it matters, say it matters. Be honest.”

“Oh, yes. Because you’re in the honesty business.”

“When have I lied to you, Raina?”

She hoped he’d lied about a great many things, specifically the things that made her feel…wanted. Special to him. Because if he meant those things, she really didn’t know what to think. And, of course, that made no sense at all.

“A diversion to avoid the truth is still a lie. Tell me how you feel about her.”

“If you sit down.”

She kept standing, lifted her chin. She thought he’d try to make her, but he changed tactics. Sitting down himself, he slid out her seat and waited.

She perched stiffly on the edge. She was glad the ice cream store’s business had picked up, because she really didn’t want Derek and Ruby to come back out in the middle of this.

“I have regrets for how I had to treat her,” he said. “I couldn’t have done it any differently, given the dangerous magic she was using. However, I saw the core of her. I knew the shape of her soul, as I said.” He held her gaze. “If I’d been a man like Derek, I wouldn’t have let him have her back so easily. But I’m not a man like Derek.”

Though it hadn’t been easy at all for Derek to get her back, she let that go, because that had more to do with Ruby than Mikhael. “But for a few moments, you wanted to be a man like Derek. Because of her.”

She got it; she did. She saw the same thing in Ruby. She had no claim on Mikhael, which was why she couldn’t understand why it hurt.

Oh, hell, yes, she did. The vagaries of female nature. This had been her moment, all about her and him, and now there was this other thing, this other woman who was part of it. Maybe she
was
a lot like him. She might not have a claim on him before or after, but during? She wanted 120 percent of his fucking attention, no other woman in his head, regretted or no.

“I imagined it,” he admitted. “The way you imagine being an astronaut or a postman or a ditchdigger. In the end, I am who I am. With no desire to be anything different. It was the regret that I had to be so cruel to her that goaded it, not a true desire to be with her, to possess her utterly, the way Derek has.”