Page 55 of Dark Embers

“Imen toot,” I whispered behind my falling hair that was shielding my face from his view. Before my eyes, the magic turned the birth year on the card back four years.

Thank you, grimoire.

Smirking triumphantly, I handed the magically altered card to the bartender. He accepted it, looking back and forth between me and the card several times before relenting. With an irritated frown, he slapped the I.D. onto the bar top, then turned around to fill my beer.

I wasn’t thrilled that he was using the very mug he’d been wiping with the questionably stained rag, but beggars can’t be choosers. He set the frothy mug in front of me with a grunt and then walked away down the bar to an apparently far more interesting task.

With a giant grin on my face, I picked up the mug and put it to my lips.

“I saw that,” said a thrillingly familiar voice down the bar, making me jolt so suddenly that beer spilled down my arms and onto the bar top. “And you thought you needed entrance to my school to hone your skills.”

“Fucking shit!” I gasped, gently setting down my beer to keep from spilling any more. “Why are you always sneaking up on me?”

The hot-as-hell gryphon came toward me with a handful of cheap napkins and started sopping up the beer puddle as he sat beside me.

“Um, you’re the one who came intomybar,” he said with a handsome smirk framed by that sexy stubble. “I was just sittinghere minding my own business when you came in—illegally, I might add.”

“Shh!” I hissed, waving my hands at him in the universal gesture of “shut the hell up.” But a glance around the bar told me no one was paying us any attention.

Caesar chuckled. “What? Don’t want me to blow your cover?” he whispered.

I glared at him, ignoring how gorgeous he looked with that damned smirk. “You won’t let me into your school, so the least you could do is let me enjoy my ill-gotten beer in peace.”

He shrugged. “Only if you let me join you.”

I shrugged back. “I thought witches weren’t to be trusted.”

“Pretty much, but you seem harmless enough.”

“Ass,” I gritted out before taking a big swig of my beer.

It was a little flat after being shaken around a second ago, and not as cold as I’d like, but it still tasted like liquid gold, with a hint of orange.

I savored the mature taste as it slid down my throat, then gave Caesar a sideways glance. “So, what’s an esteemed professor like yourself doing at a pub at”—I checked the time on my phone—“four o’clock in the afternoon? Or were you just stopping by after a long day of stalking me again?”

He frowned. “Like I already told you, I wasn’t stalking you that night. I just happened to be in the area and saw that you were in trouble. Next time, I’ll let you get mugged to death.”

I snickered at the defensiveness in his tone, enjoying riling him up. “Thank you, that would be much appreciated. Although, I sure didn’t mind your outfit.”

I winked at him, and holy crap, was that actual blush coloring his cheeks?

He cleared his throat and recovered quickly with the same smirk. “Not unlike your outfit when we met at the school. Although, I think you wore it much better than me.”

He winked at me then, making my cheeks burn instantly and my thighs clench tight together. But I wasn’t going down that easily.

“Professor, are you flirting with me?” I asked coyly.

His eyes didn’t break from mine when he said darkly, “Of course not. That would be entirely inappropriate.”

“Entirely,” I replied, meeting the challenge in his heated gaze.

I glanced at his empty mug, wondering just how much he’d already had to drink if he was being this bold and playful. And how much farther could I push him? Perhaps this would be a good opportunity to butter him up and get into that school.

“You look a little empty,” I said, then waved at the bartender. “Another beer for my friend here.”

The bartender rolled his eyes but filled a new mug anyway and set it in front of Caesar.

“Miss Le Fey, are you trying to get me drunk?” he asked, arching a sexy, thick eyebrow.

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