Oddly, Nyte didn’t dislike the suggestion. This had beensurprisingly enjoyable. Maggie and Levi seemed to be kind, warm people, and they’d readily accepted him. They’d made him feel like part of their little group, like they’d been his friends for as long as Starling had.
Nyte didn’t intend to say the words aloud, but they came from his mouth anyway. “I would like that.”
Chapter Twelve
Ember and Maggie stuck their lower lips out in exaggerated pouts as they looked at one another.
“I miss you already,” Maggie said.
“I miss you too.” Ember hadn’t wanted this night to end. Seeing her friends, spending time with them, and laughing with them had been wonderful. She’d missed such carefree moments.
It had been even more special with Nyte sitting beside her.
He’d opened up with Levi and Maggie. There had been no animosity, no antagonism, no air of superiority. His smiles and laughter had come easily as he’d conversed with them, and Ember was sure he’d enjoyed himself as much as she had.
No one had suspected there was a demon in their midst.
But she’d known. She’d been hyperaware of Nyte all evening. The heat of his thigh against hers, the way his tail stroked her calf beneath her skirt, sending tingles through her, the wicked intensity in his eyes as he stared at her mouth, and the way he bit on his bottom lip with a fang. She’d noticed it all.
After they paid the check, Levi helped Maggie out of the booth.
She stumbled against him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you so much.”
Levi held her close. “And I love you. Now let’s get you home.”
Heart squeezing with a pang of longing, Ember subconsciously rubbed at her chest. She was in no way jealous of Maggie. She was and always had been happy that her friend had found a loving and adoring partner, but she couldn’t deny that watching them hurt sometimes. They proved to her that love like that did exist.
But that didn’t mean it existed for Ember.
Maggie waved as Levi guided her toward the exit. “Goodbye, lovely!”
Ember wiggled her fingers. “Bye!”
Nyte stood, straightened his coat, and offered a hand to Ember. “Shall we then, witch?”
Blinking, she looked at that gray, star-speckled hand with its long, claw-tipped fingers before slowly lifting her gaze to his. Nyte’s cosmic irises were a pair of violet-blue stars blazing in the abyss, unwavering as they held her gaze.
Her heart thumped, and her belly fluttered.
Maybe it was her mind playing tricks on her, or maybe it was the alcohol, but she could’ve sworn there was a gleam of lust in his unearthly stare.
Smiling, she scooted toward him and slipped her hand into his. “Let’s.”
His fingers closed around hers, and with his aid, she rose, wobbling slightly. He didn’t let go of her hand until she was steady enough to walk, and she noticed his hesitance before he withdrew.
When they stepped outside the restaurant, the wind wasblowing, carrying a chilly bite and the scent of rain. Ember’s skirt whipped against her legs as they strolled along the sidewalk, and hair flew about her head in a tangle, making her laugh as she tried to pull the strands out of her face.
Nyte chuckled.
Ember peered up at him as she gathered her hair in one hand and held it to the side. “What?”
There was a small smile on his lips. “Maggie was right.”
“About what?”
“You’re lovely.”
Warmth suffused her cheeks, chasing away some of the cold. She ducked her head and tried to hide her own smile.
