I could not bear to see him destroy or badly wound a man who had saved my life.
“Please,” I whispered, the bar dead silent, my words carrying.
A tense moment trickled past, adrenaline still coursing through me. I wasn’t sure what I’d do if he refused.
“Get. Him. Out. Of. Here,” Austin said at last, each word clipped as though it had cost him great effort. “Now.”
The dam burst, and I pushed my way out of the bar, shoving Damarion in front of me with my magic. As we left, I released the spell holding everyone else in the pool room. I needed them to rush back into the bar so Austin had something else to focus on. He wouldn’t lose his mind and chase after Damarion if his customers, his friends, needed his attention.
“There are rules here,” I yelled when we got outside, my anger and fear boiling over. I grabbed Damarion by the lapel and shoved him backward. Only my magic made it possible. “There are rules in this town. Is that why you took me somewhere else for dinner?”
His nose still bled, dripping blood down his lips. He didn’t speak.
“You may not like Austin, and I kind of get it based on how you two met, but he is incredibly effective at protecting this town. He’s done it for years. It is not hard to follow the rules. Do you know what they are?” I paused for a beat. “Don’t be a dick. That’s it. Those are the rules. Don’t start trouble. Well, guess what you did tonight?” I paused again. “That’s right, you broke the single rule of O’Briens. You were a dick to Sasquatch. He’s the worst, but he was right—he didn’t do anything wrong. You can’t just push people around because you’re stronger. That’s a bullshit thing to do, and that’s why Austin is here—to prevent that sort of posturing. His reaction was extreme, I’ll grant you that, but so was your counterreaction. This is on you. I had a nice time, thank you for dinner, but you need to leave for now. We need to cool things down here. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I couldn’t see his eyes in the dark. I had no idea which way the wind blew. After a beat, though, he took a deep breath, his large chest inflating and deflating.
“I’m from a place that does things differently. Please accept my apology. I acted out of turn.”
My eyebrows climbed toward my hairline. In as much as I’d expected anything from this near stranger, I’d thought he’d be stubborn and standoffish—two traits distinctive of gargoyles, or so Niamh had said. This was a nice surprise. I appreciated his apology, more so because I believed it. I felt the sincerity in it.
I nodded.
He pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket and wiped his face, which had already stopped bleeding.
“Your magic is coming along,” he said, cleaning up. “After just one afternoon, you’ve grown in power.”
“Thanks to you for taking my beatings.”
It was the first time I’d seen his smile, and it was a thing of beauty. “It was nothing.” He let out another breath and tucked his handkerchief back into his pocket. “You will dwarf the world with your power. It is my honor to have been summoned, my queen. You will make our species proud.” He took my hand gently and, connecting eyes with me, grazed his lips across my knuckles.
This didn’t feel like the night before, with his over-the-top double entendres. This time, the heat in his eyes sparked a similar heat deep in my core. It burned hot, searing me, making me ache for his touch. It had been a really long time since a man had looked at me like that. Since he’d let his lips linger on my flesh. Since I’d accepted the vulnerability of losing myself to the fire.
“I know you need to go back in there”—he nodded to the bar—“but I will wait up for you.” His other hand blazed a trail along my jaw before hooking around my neck. The pressure was subtle but firm, pulling me in slowly, his eyes hooded and head dipping.
I licked my lips, logic warring with desire. I knew I should take this slow, but part of me wanted to get in the boat, without oars, and let the river current take me where it would. All I could focus on were those lips, a little parted, his breathing speeding up to match mine. And his eyes, filled with desire.
His lips finally brushed mine, and dynamite exploded within me. His hand slid around my back, pulling me in a little tighter, his body now pressed against mine, his desire clearly evident in his hard heat. I rested my hands on his chest and angled my head, letting him take the lead. It felt so good to have his strength and power wrapped around me.
His kiss deepened and his tongue thrust in my mouth, swirling. His other hand left my jaw, and then his fingers splayed across my back, spreading tingles across my skin. He slid it down slowly as his kiss increased in fervency. That hand reached my lower back and still didn’t stop, not until it reached my butt, squeezing.
A moan escaped me, and I pushed my hands up his chest and hooked them around his neck. His hand was on the move again, though, down my side until he hit the bare skin of my thigh, and then back up, pressing, his fingers slipping underneath my hemline, heading for goal.
“Whoa, whoa,” I said, leaning back and pushing his hand away. His labored breathing matched mine, merging as he lingered near my lips. “Let’s… That’s… We’re in public.”
“Let’s go home, then,” he murmured, and kissed me again. “Let me coax those screams out of you.”
16
My body was on fire, pounding, and desperate to be touched. I wanted to know the feeling of being desired again—not for the sake of a release but because a man wanted to relish in my body. The way Damarion was moving his hands across me, thrusting his tongue into my mouth, it frazzled my mind.
But not enough for me to forget that I wasn’t ready yet. I had a hard enough time wearing nice dresses that showed off my figure—I wasn’t sure I could comfortably be naked around someone. My body was revved up, but my mind wouldn’t stay in it once clothes hit the floor. Insecurity would come raging in, and I’d make it awkward, which would make things weird. I didn’t want the first time back to be weird.
“You’re right. I do need to go in there. I have to exchange information with Austin,” I murmured, backing off. “My safety is on the line. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? We can have another flying lesson—you’ll get another opportunity to make me scream.” I belatedly realized how that had sounded. It was like the whole “Netflix and chill” debacle all over again. “I mean—”
“I’ll take great pleasure in it,” he said softly, his voice the equivalent of liquid sex.
I shivered from my head to my toes, about-faced, and walked back into the bar. Best to just abandon ship. I’d climb into that boat another day, when I was feeling a little braver. Maybe it would help if he’d take things slower. The man was stuck on full speed ahead, that was for sure.
Only when I was separated from him could I take a deep, desperately needed breath.
“I take back the whole wanting-to-date thing,” I muttered as I threaded through the people standing around, making my way to Niamh. “I’m too old for this.”
“Too old for what?” Niamh asked, two full bottles of cider in front of her and a third in her glass. An empty wine glass and a bottle of wine waited at the top of the bar in front of my usual place.
“Has this turned into a self-service bar, or…” I looked down the way, catching Austin’s eyes as he looked toward me. His gaze dipped, hitting my lips, before rage and then frustration flashed through his expression. The look was there and then gone, and when he looked away, his face was a flat mask of disinterest.
“This place is wedged!” Niamh gestured around us. “They heard about the attack and everyone wants the gossip.”
Fancy that. I hadn’t even noticed anyone entering the bar.
“So yeah, help yourself,” Niamh continued. “Austin is mostly keeping up, but poor Paul is run ragged. He’s useless when it’s busy like this.”
“Austin seems pissed at me. How was I supposed to know Damarion would throw his weight around?”
“You’ve got lipstick all over your face. Got a snog off that hot gargoyle, did ye?” She grinned at me as I grabbed a bar napkin and started wiping. “No, Austin’s not mad at you. He’s struggling with having another alpha in his territory without being able to force submission.”
A wave of uncomfortable fear washed through me. Their fight had been so brutal…the violence of it uncontrolled.
“They would’ve ruined this bar. I wouldn’t have thought Austin would jeopardize his place of business.”
“Allowing Damarion to treat the patrons badly, without recourse, would’ve been jeopardizing this place. It was bound to happen. If the circumstances had been different, they would’ve rumbled right when they met. Instead, they had to do their jobs and make sure you were safe and your people were secure. Ye pulled rank then, and ye did it again now.” She smiled with pride. “The best bit? They are both happy to let ye do so. They are happy to let a Jane with new magic push them around. I regret ever having thought about retiring. This is a good laugh. I am absolutely tickled, so I am. I bet Austin never, in a hundred million years, thought he’d end up in this situation. He says he wants to leave town, so he does, but I bet you he’s also desperate to stay. I got a tenner on it with Edgar.”
My mood darkened for the second time that night, dragging me low. “It doesn’t sound like a good laugh. The last thing I want to do is create upheaval.”
“Ah, you’re grand. ’Tis good for him, you’ll see. Anyway, what were ye mumbling on about just now? What are ye too old for? Sex on the first date? Because I’d beg to differ. You’ve been on the merry-go-round and ridden enough horses by now to do as you please. Don’t even go on a date. They’re a load of bollocks anyway. Just fashion yerself a cowboy, grab a ride, and see how hard he bucks, eh?”
I smiled through my mood. “He’s young. Damarion, I mean.”