“I didn’t get to go in the first place. We got waylaid by Lady Caith. And yes, I’m going. I’m good at sniffing out magical hoards, and I still need to find Casey and Harper. Just because Niall gave you an ultimatum doesn’t mean you have to give inright away. He wants your skin today? He can come and try to take it one second to midnight, and then I’ll fry his ass for the audacity.”
Wade was so incensed on Riordan’s behalf that the younger man’s protectiveness left him feeling warm. And if today was honestly going to be the last day of his freedom, he wasn’t going to regret any choices. So he left the surf behind for dry sand, crowding into Wade’s space and kissing him deeply. Wade made a sound that he quickly swallowed, licking his way into Wade’s mouth with a focus that made his lungs burn.
When they finally parted, Wade just stared at him, a flush to his cheeks that couldn’t be blamed on the rising sun. “That’s not going to distract me.”
“A pity,” Riordan murmured.
“Also, you’re wet and mostly naked. Get dressed. This isn’t a nudist beach. None of us need a ticket.”
Donal and Saoirse laughed at that, and Riordan chose to ignore his siblings.
“How’s that fixation going, boyo?” Donal asked innocently as he and Riordan started getting dressed.
“What fixation?” Wade asked.
“Nothing,” Riordan said hastily. “Come on, let’s get back to the house.”
“I’ll drive you all back.”
It was a couple blocks, but Riordan wasn’t going to argue, not when Wade had a stubborn set to his jaw. They all piled into his Audi, and he drove for barely a minute back home. They all got out, but Wade didn’t. Riordan paused in closing his door, peering at Wade. “Are you coming inside? I’ll make you breakfast.”
“As much as I really want to, I think I need to get to Beacon Hill,” Wade said.
“You’re actually saying no to food?”
“Iknow. Don’t tell my pack.” Wade cracked a smile, and Riordan tried to return it. “Don’t stay here today. Go back to my hotel room. I brought you an extra key card. Niall won’t know to look for you there.”
Wade flipped open the center console and pulled out a little envelope that held an electronic key card. Riordan didn’t know how to decline it—what use would he have for it after Niall took him?—but he couldn’t say no to Wade. Riordan accepted the key card and pocketed it, unsure how to tell Wade he wasn’t sure he’d get to use it.
“What are you going to do in Beacon Hill?”
Wade smiled, his teeth more fangs than anything else, brown eyes flashing gold for a split second. “Hunting.”
Riordan wanted to protest, to offer to go along, but he knew that would just put himself within Niall’s reach. For all that Wade was a dragon and bargains couldn’t work on him, Riordan wasn’t so lucky. “Call me when you’re done. I’ll worry if you don’t.”
“Sure. Just don’t give up your skin to Niall, or I’ll have to hunt you next.”
Riordan managed a smile before straightening and closing the car door. He waved goodbye to Wade and stepped up onto the sidewalk. Wade drove off, and Riordan watched him go until the car turned the corner.
“Maybe you should’ve gone with him,” Saoirse said.
“I’m not leaving you to Niall,” Riordan said.
“Will you go to the hotel?” Riordan didn’t answer her as he headed inside their home, making her poke him in the back. “That’s what I thought. If you’re going to be dumb about all this, then put your skin in the trunk while you handle clan stuff. It’ll buy us time if Niall comes back around.”
Riordan didn’t know if the trunk would be enough to stop Niall from stealing his skin. If Niall was truly a prayer-born godof some sort, he doubted their clan’s magic would be capable of keeping them safe. Certainly, he hadn’t been.
That fact galled him, and Riordan hated feeling like a failure.
“So what’s the plan?” Saoirse asked after Riordan and Donal had locked their skins away in the trunk upstairs. “And don’t say giving your skin to Niall in exchange for mine.”
“Thatisthe plan,” Riordan said with a shake of his head. “I won’t let him keep your skin.”
“Well, we won’t let him have the clan.”
“He won’t if I give leadership over to Donal.”
“I don’twantit,” Donal said stubbornly. “I never wanted to be chief, and certainly not like this. You’re not giving Wade or Ella enough trust to help us out, and I think you should.”
