And then he was gone, striding away from her and the bar before she could get her bearings. He felt the eyes of the women following him as he left. He glanced back at Natasha, disheveled and breathing heavily. She hadn’t seduced him,he’dchosenher, and everyone in the bar knew it. He’d been in control. There would be no denying his affections and desires. He had a woman, and she’d captured his whole focus.
He’d kissed her out of necessity, but he had to admit it was a new and exciting facet of their game. With each new situation they spun closer together. Eventually, she would be unable to deny that she felt what he did. That she wanted more than physical intimacy.
Eventually, she would beg, and he would take it to the next level.
Jessie
“I can’t decidewhat style to go for.” I looked between a red satin dress with a plunging neckline and a navy power suit with a cream silk blouse to go underneath. “Where’s Tristan?” I was addressing Mr. Tom, currently in the en suite bathroom organizing my makeup. “Or better yet, where’s Patty?”
“Here!” Patty walked in with a smile, her lipstick matching the color of her pink clothes and nails. “Jessie! It’s so good to see you again!” She stopped in front of me and gave me air kisses. “The red, definitely! Oh, how pretty. I just love it! Evan is going to be wearing a suit and a tie. Tristan is wearing something similar, as is Unfixable Sue.”
I paused in picking up the dress. “Unfixable Sue?”
Patty laughed. “Sue went to check on the bar delegation. They’d switched to another one a few streets over and Sue wanted to make sure they weren’t causing any problems. I was already on the job, and don’t you worry, Jessie. They were conducting themselves like any gargoyles would. Not a problem.Except a little animosity, of course, but that’s usual with Guardians. They always clash and then they take it out in the sky.”
Patty wrestled the clothes off me so she could slip the dress over my head.
“Oh, Jessie,yes! That is perfect.” Patty ushered me to the standing mirror. “Mr. Tom, we will be needing some very fancy jewelry for this. I hope you brought some.”
“Of course I brought some, what do you take me for?” Mr. Tom sniffed.
“Well, Niamh and Sue did the thing they always do—one picks on the other and the other sends warning glances and visual threats. You know how it is. Niamh called him Unfixable Sue, and I thought that was hilarious.Unfixable Sue! You know, because he was Broken Sue, and he’s finally finding his footing again, bless his heart. The poor dear has had a hard history. But thelookhe gave her... Well, it was priceless. It’ll probably stick, I’m warning you.”
Mr. Tom brought over two jewelry boxes. Patty hesitated in taking them.
“Why do you carry them?” she asked.
“Ihidethem so that insufferable old woman won’t steal them from the miss’s bags or mine and wear them around town. She has no respect for the house jewels. She uses them to lure criminals, and thinks it is perfectly fine and legal to then kill those criminals. ThenI’mleft to do damage control so she won’t be killed by the town alpha or go to Dick jail, and then I have to fetch the jewels from wherever she may have left them. It is a huge hassle.”
“Ah. Yes, I see.” And it seemed like she really did.
She opened each box, gushed, and chose a ruby and diamond necklace with a dripping spiderweb sort of design that was probably worth a fortune and had been in Ivy House for a greatmany years. It was absolutely gorgeous. I sincerely hoped it wouldn’t lure those criminals Niamh was so fond of, because I’d be afraid of breaking it by accident while warding off an attack.
“How about a simple diamond stud for earrings?” Patty stepped back to survey me. “Big ones, though. Do you have big ones?”
Mr. Tom’s annoyed look said that was a silly question.
“And a sparkly mage watch, I think.” Patty patted her chin, assessing me. “We need Sebastian in his mage attire.” She nodded in decision. “I’m going to ask Tristan if that could be arranged. We have Unfixable Sue and Austin as the shifter component, Phil threw a prominent Guardian out of a bar earlier, so they know what the basajaunak are about?—“
“He didwhat?”
“We need the mage component.” She snapped her fingers. “Yes! He needs to see mage culture and see that Gerard is comfortable with that culture. It’ll further show that he doesn’t have his footing in this new world.”
She spun and headed for the door. Patty and Tristan were dancing around gargoyles politics.
I took a deep breath and headed for the bathroom and some makeup.
I hadn’t been at it long when there was a soft knock at the bedroom door.
“In here,” I called, finishing a smokey eye.
Sebastian filled the bathroom doorway. His hair was standing up all over, like he’d been repeatedly running his hands through it, his clothes were wrinkled and an ill-fitting, crooked cape hung off his right shoulder.
I slowly pulled the brush away from my eye. “What’s with the cape?”
He sagged against the doorframe. “You would not believe how many times I have heard that exact phrase. It was Niamh’sidea. The gargoyles are not amused. I’m pretty sure they’re headed home to find brass knuckles and take the cape by force while they pound me. It doesn’t help that Edgar is now showing everyone his cape and smiling as he says, ‘Twinning!’”
I opened my mouth and closed it again, not sure what to say.
