Her smile grew even wider, and I swore time must have stopped. At least, I wanted it to. Because as seconds passed, so would my deal, and once it was completed, I’d never get to see her again.
“Okay, I think I can manage that,” she replied with a playful tone. I watched, completely enraptured, as she clumsily poured the amounts into a cocktail shaker, making twice as much as she needed to. She was clearly a novice, but I didn’t care. Every move she made was magic in and of itself.
Then she poured the mixed cocktails into two glasses, adding the garnish and handing one to me and taking the other for herself. “Figured I’d try it for myself, too, since I’ve never had one. Cheers!”
“Cheers…”
I couldn’t even take a sip, I just watched her as she tried my favorite cocktail for the first time. She swallowed, her eyes lighting up in surprise. “Oh, wow. That’s better than I thought it would be!”
I couldn’t contain it any longer, and my chest purred in response. Her head tilted at the sound, but she didn’t mention it. “Did I do it right?”
As far as I was concerned, she could do anything right, but I took a sip anyway.
I barely tasted it. “It’s perfect, thank you.”
A charming, toothy grin took over her whole face, and she bowed her head slightly before moving down the bar, cleaning and talking to the other customers. They gave me smug looks, happy to have her focus back on them.
Fuck those guys. I’d rip them apart if they dared keep her attention away from me.
She was mine.
“Briar?” I called. She looked up, and my dick felt like it might rip a hole straight through the crotch of my pants. “Is that your name?”
She nodded.
“I’m Ronan.”
She watched me expectantly, waiting for me to continue.
Wait… I hadn’t gotten this far yet in my mind. What should I even say?
Her glamour painted her as a werewolf, so I decided to go with that. “I’m thinking of moving to Fenmoor. Got any advice?”
She paused, clearly unsure of how to answer. Shit, I was trying to make small talk, not catch her in a lie. “I’ve only ever lived in Ignareth,” I added hastily. “Is it hard being a non-cit there?”
Her shoulders relaxed, and I instantly felt better. “Oh, I don’t know,” she said. She blew a piece of hair out of her eyes and looked up in thought.
My fingers itched with need to touch her. To make her feel so good she’d exhale like that again.
“It really depends on if you can find a good group of people. Having the support of friends makes all the difference.”
Her eyes then darkened, the smile on her face faltering.
Oh, fuck. I hadn’t meant to make her sad, either. To remind her of what the vampire Premier had taken from her. What was wrong with me?
And what was wrong with me that I cared so much?
“Good friends like us, right, Briar?” an old seraph alpha chuckled, tipping his drink towards her.
She blinked, her smile returning, but this one didn’t reach her eyes. “Exactly. Hey, do you mind keeping an eye on things, Ephraim? I need to check on something in the back.”
His wings fluttered with pride. “Of course, sweetheart.”
I could barely suppress the growl that threatened to rumble through my chest. How dare he call her “sweetheart?” Why didn’t these assholes realize yet that she wasmine?
She disappeared through the back to the kitchen, and I took another sip of my drink, finally coming down from my high of meeting her to register the taste.
It was… not good. Probably owing more to the quality of the vodka than her skill. But since she’d made it, I decided it was the best thing I’d ever tasted.
