My thighs clenched, and to my shame, could feel wetness ruining my panties as my insides were set ablaze.
So, so dangerous.
“We’re here to work,” I hissed low.
“Mmhmm. I intend to work very hard.”
In any other circumstances I would have kicked his balls bloody but we both had a role to play. I knew he took his this seriously to get under my skin, and I’d get him back for that, damn him, but in the moment, I was completely incapable of resisting the flood of sensations he wrenched from me, his hands moving along my spine, my arms.
“Hé, mon pote?” someone said.
My eyes fluttered open to find a short guy in a red shirt tapping Cas’s shoulder.
“Tu veux quelque chose de sympa pour ta copine?”
My French was rusty, but he was asking if Cas wanted something nice for me.
Cas smiled, his accent absolutely perfect as he replied, “Ouai, qu’est-ce que t’as?”
The dealer chuckled. “Un peu de tout, hein.” He rattled off a long list that could have gotten him arrested ten times over in a country where even weed was illegal.
Cas seemed to hesitate before asking, “T’as quelque chose d’un peu plus magic?”
His eyes “Ah, je vois ce que tu veux.”
He stuck his hand in his pocket and produced one shining seaglass shard, Kleos’s sun and sea energy emanating from it, coated by something else—darker, vibrating with malice.
“Ça coute combien?”
Cas retrieved his wallet and paid the man the thirty euros he asked for without argument, before shaking his hand.
I sensed the vibration of magic as their skin touched, and waited until the man was busy with his next deal before whispering, “What did you do to him?”
“Tracking spell. We wouldn’t want to lose our new friend, huh?”
To my shock, I watched him tighten his fist and focus, activating the crystal. I sent him a wary glance.
He was reluctant to let Adrian even touch the crystal last time, let alone actually use it.
“We’re being watched,” he reminded me, with a quick nip at my earlobe.
He had a point, but I hated the thought of getting affected by the unknown entity that had changed the nature of Kleos’s magic.
“Go on. I’ll take care of you.”
I couldn’t even begin to explain what those words did to me. I knew he meant he’d be able to resist the influence and handle whatever it did to me, but after all the touching and flirting and biting my bloody ear, my mind made a U turn and ended in the gutter.
Frustrated about the effect he had on me, I decided enough was enough. I had to take control.
“All right. Take care of me.”
I turned on my heels and pressed back against him. He was so stupidly tall, my arse reached his thigh, and I had to get to my tiptoes to reach his crotch. When I did, I undulated softly, unapologetically. He’d started it, so fuck him.
I was gleefully satisfied to feel him freeze.
Delighted to have recovered a degree of control, I grabbed the hand he clutched the crystal in with mine, bringing it to my chest.
Energy pulsed from it, some of it familiar, the rest concerning but not immediately dangerous.
