“Gotcha, boss. Will hold the fort,” he said, staring at her.
Ely hastily checked, making sure her angelic allure was tamped down. She pulled her slouchy beanie over her ears and low bun and followed Shadow through the back entrance into a room used as storage for the shop. Aba opened the inner door and stepped into a more homey space, shutting the heavy door behind them.
“Here.” Shadow handed him the Tupperware. “Cookies and muffins.”
“Thank you, child.”
Shadow trailed Aba into the small kitchen. Ely didn’t follow, her attention drawn to the flurry of noise and activities in the workshop opposite. Two Otium demons worked on the vehicles there, but beneath it all, a faint scent of anise and sandalwood teased her nose. Her heart pounded a tad too hard. Darn, this was his neighborhood,histerritory, as he’d pointed out. Of course, he’d mark the place however he could. She rolled her eyes.
But watching the demons work on the car, a smile started. Man, she could seriously get Týr fired up if she left the Corvette here for a bit like she was giving it a do-over. She grinned evilly at the thought.
“Fuck!” a low, familiar voice distracted her, followed by a whiff of blood.
Without thought, Ely moved in a preternatural blur to an SUV with the hood popped. Rounded it—
Crap! It was him!
Nate looked up from examining his wrist, then gaped at her like she was his…worst nightmare? Yeah, he’d likely think so.
Ugh, he was irritatingly sexy, even clad in old, faded jeans with fraying pockets and a threadbare gray t-shirt that stretched over his muscular torso. And with his hair tied back, revealing the hard lines of his intractable jaw and the tiny black hoops he wore in his ears, yeah, she couldn’t help but stare.
His casual get-up did nothing to mute his dangerously dark magnetism, and it wrapped around her, tugging her closer.
Then one corner of his sensual mouth kicked up in a smirk, putting the brakes on her careening thoughts. “Come to see if I’m still breathing,laika?”
“You’re a mechanic?” she blurted.
Ugh, great save, Ely.
“There are vehicles, popped hoods, grease, oil…” He waved a hand at the place. “You figure it out, angel.”
Damn male. But the sight of blood on his inner wrist distracted her. “Why aren’t you healing?”
“Seems you hindered that ability,” he said drily.
When she’d hurt him?
Guilt constricting her lungs, Ely grasped his hand and licked the small gash on his inner wrist—the coppery taste of blood flooded her tongue, along with the sensation of his powerful, warm wrist against her mouth, sending her thoughts spinning. At his sharp inhale, her head snapped up, her gaze clashing with his burning stare.
Crap! Ely scrambled around for an explanation. “My saliva heals,” she said, fighting for a calm that had deserted her, so sure her thrashing heart would escape and run away. “Since it’s my fault…” She lifted a shoulder in a careless shrug. “It’s something my kind can do, so get over yourself.”
Drawn as she was to him, she’d healed him without thinking, using the more intimate method, something she’d never done with anyone before. But she would never divulgethatinfo to him.
His expression morphed to stony. “Why are you here?”
Oh, he was pissed now? Good, better than him tormenting her. “It’s a workshop, open to the public, I believe,” she said airily. “I have a Corvette, and I want the color changed.”
“No.” The nerve on his jaw pulsed as if it would pop. He rubbed his wrist down his jean-clad thigh. Wiping her touch away?
“Too late,” she taunted, then lied through her teeth. “Aba already gave me the yes—”
“Nate?” Shadow’s voice hauled Ely from yet another disaster she’d created like a slingshot.
Wait— “What?” she croaked, head snapping to her friend. “Who?”
“This is Nate,” Shadow said, too distracted to notice Ely gaping like she’d been clocked in the head. “Remember, he saved me?” To Ely’s nemesis, she said, “You wanted to see me?”
He watched Ely, his pissy mood gone. Amusement tinged his eyes, apparently enjoying her shock.
