“Ew. I am owed a bunch of leave that I haven’t taken.”
A treacherous thought slipped through,Plenty of time off to hunt dream monsters with a sexy magician who bakes.
Bridget stared at the treasure around her so she would stop looking at him. “And to be clear, I can come in here and read whatever I want?”
Bas nodded. “Absolutely. The guest wing is very private too, so you’ll have your own space.”
Bridget again looked around at the books and let out a sigh of longing. She was defeated. “But I don’t have any clothes.”
“I can drive you to go and pick things up. We will need to tell Marge. Maybe I should bring her cookies too?”
Bridget frowned. “Marge can get her own damn cookies. They are mine. You baked them for me,” she said, surprising herself at her own vehemence.
“I did. If you are feeling that possessive over cookies, I’ll have to make another batch because once Apollo smells them, he will be all over them,” Bas replied.
They hadn’t been introduced, but she remembered that he was the other brother. The blond from the bar.
Bridget tore her eyes from the books and back at Bas. “Okay. I’ll stay here until the dream creature is killed. But if I want to leave because I feel threatened or pissed off, you’ll let me.”
“You’re a guest, not a prisoner, Bridget. I’m glad you’ve agreed,” he said, that same irresistible smile on his face.
“You are way too happy about this,” she said, shaking her head.
“I like to know that you’re safe.”
Bridget blew out a breath. “You’re a bit intense, you know that, right? And I still want to know about the dragon thing.”
“Stay with me, Bridget, and I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.” Bas reached up to touch the corner of her mouth with his thumb. Bridget froze, her heart in her throat.
“You had some chocolate there,” he said and sucked the dark smear off his thumb.
Jesus fucking Christ.Lust punched Bridget in the guts, and she wanted to kiss him so badly, her bones hurt. His lips would taste of smoke and chocolate, she just knew it.
“Ah, thanks. I guess we should go get my stuff,” she managed to stammer out before she followed up on grabbing him and finding out just how good he kissed.
A fierce look of triumph and happiness flared in Bas’s eyes, and Bridget didn’t know if she was more in danger of him than any dream monster.
12
Bridget had been thinking of kissing him, and it took every ounce of Bas’s strength not to take advantage of that. It certainly didn’t stophimthinking about it as he drove her home through the tight Dublin streets and across the river. Bridget was chewing on her lips, her eyes unfocused and not saying anything.
“You okay?” Bas asked when they got stuck at traffic lights.
“Yeah, it’s going to sound silly, but I’m trying to remember how dirty my apartment is before I let you up there?” she replied.
Bas laughed. “That’s not going to bother me, and it shouldn’t bother you either. Magicians are all chaotic, and cleaning really isn’t high on their priorities list.”
“But your house is perfect…”
“And cleaned by magic. You really see Valentine running about with a feather duster anytime soon?”
Bridget stopped chewing her lips as laughter bubbled through them. “I don’t know about Valentine, but I think you’d look cute in a maid’s outfit.”
Bas pulled a face. “Don’t have the legs for it. Cleaning spells are easier. Honestly, I don’t know which relative set up the spells, but they have remained strong. The Greatdrakes have lived in that house for centuries.”
“Explains all the books,” Bridget said with a small sigh. “You might struggle to get me out of that library.”
“You can stay as long as you want,” Bas replied.
