He was right, I could absolutely do with a night at Midnight and everything that usually entailed. But… and this was the killer. Since that day at Gabriel’s house, when Talis stood guard over me in his furious wolf form, I was finding it harder and harder to hook up.
Not that I lacked options.
Midnight continued to provide a wealth of willing participants like it always had. The problem was me and my lack of enthusiasm.
Especially if Talis was there.
Which was fucking ridiculous.
I couldn’t even blame it on him, because he did his level best to keep out of my way. But I knew he was there, and that seemed to be enough to put me off my game.
And it had to stop.
If we were ever going to get past this… this… weirdness between us, I needed to get back to living my life like I used to.BeforeTalis.
“Yeah, I think you’re right. Give me ten minutes to change and I’ll come with you.”
If my answer surprised Dathal, he didn’t show it. He took a seat on the arm of the chair and gestured for me to hurry up.
Fifteen minutes later, dressed in tight black jeans and an equally snug red T-shirt, we left on my motorbike, headed for Midnight.
A lone howl echoed through the trees as we sped down the long driveway leaving Rys’s pack territory, loud enough to cut through the rumble of my engine.
I focused on the road and pretended I didn’t know exactly who it belonged to.
* * *
“Axel,”Nick greeted me as Dathal and I sat at the end of the downstairs bar. “Haven’t seen you in here for a while.” He shot Dathal a wink. “Nice trousers.”
“Thank you,” Dathal purred, and his filthy smile had me groaning into my hands.
“At least wait until I’m out of earshot.”
“You never used to be so easily offended.” Unrepentant, Dathal glanced my way with a shrug before going back to watching Nick prepare our drinks.
He was right.
None of this would’ve bothered me before. What theChlah’alwas my problem?
You know what it is.
Who it is.
“By the way,” Dathal whispered, voice barely audible over the noise of the club. “I told Rys you were coming here tonight. He said he’d send someone over to escort you home later.”
My heart stopped. Missed a beat. Then set off like a train.
“Not Talis,” he added quickly. “He’s not on guard duty tonight.”
That wasn’t disappointment jabbing me in the ribs.
“Who then?” I asked, glancing towards the door.
Dathal shrugged. “He didn’t say, but they won’t be here for a while yet. I told Rys you needed to find someone to fuck first.”
I stared at him, wondering if he’d just said what I thought he had. Dathal had noticeably less tact than me, preferring blunt honesty most of the time. But he didn’t go out of his way to be cruel. And if he’d said that to Rys, there was a good chance Talis would have overheard or that whoever was coming here to collect me would tell him. “Did you really say that?”
“Would it be a problem if I did?” His gaze bored into mine, the hint of challenge hard to ignore.
