Page 8 of Hers to Keep

He placed coffee mugs in front of both of them, along with two glasses and a pitcher of water.“At least as much water as coffee.”When she didn’t respond, he narrowed his eyes at her.“I mean it.”

“Yes, sir,” she laughed.“Thank you for taking care of me.”

He tucked the now-empty tray under his arm.“It’s a full-time job.”

“Are you angling for a raise?”She grinned.

His face fell as he looked away from her eyes.“No…I…”

She rushed to reassure him.“I was teasing.”Fuck, what had she even said that had upset him?She had no idea.“We’ll talk about it later?”

“Yeah.”He forced a smile and left the room without saying anything else.

Mari tapped her fingers on her desk.“You want to give me advice on whatever that was?”

“Nope,” Pricilla said, shaking her head.“Not getting anywhere near that one.”

“I figured.”Mari sighed.“Okay, what we were talking about?”

“The mysterious timeless dragon who is definitely not going to destroy the city in a fit of anger anymore.”

“Right.”Mari cleared her throat.She took a long sip of coffee, and then guiltily took another one of water.“He’s very invested in protecting me from what he thinks is coming, so I’m fairly certain that whatever he’s done to the wards is with that in mind.”

Pricilla nodded.“If you trust him, then I do too.What is it he thinks is coming?”

“Have you ever heard of something called the Old One?”

The other witch’s eyebrows drew down.“I don’t think so?”

“He says that’s what my father was trying to keep out of Las Vegas all these years.”

“Okay.”Pricilla took a breath.“I’ll do some research.Anything else to go on?”

“He said it was the genesis of all paranormals on Earth.”

Pricilla frowned.“Kind of scary to imagine something like that is still walking around.”

“Yeah, I know.I’ll try to get more details from him.Can we keep this close until we know more about what’s going on?”

“Absolutely.You, your gentlemen, and Willow, I assume?”

Mari inclined her head.“Willow might be the best avenue for research on this one.Do you have any idea how old they are?”

“Not a clue.Older than anyone I know, for sure.”She shrugged.“Probably not as old as Dohal.”

“I honestly have no idea how old he is.He said he was trapped here before humans descended from trees, but I don’t know if that was true or just hyperbole.Sometimes it’s hard to tell with him.”Another question to add to the pile.She was going to have to start a list.

Her head was starting to throb again by the time she left her office and went to find Dante.She knocked lightly on his door, unsure if he would be in.

A few seconds later, he answered with damp hair and a towel wrapped around his waist.“Right on time.I was about to go looking for you.”He pulled open the door and gestured her in.

She hadn’t been in his room before, so she took a moment to glance around.He was tidy.All of his clothes tucked away rather than spread around the room.On one dresser, there was a tray with neatly wrapped sandwiches she recognized as Giselle’s handiwork.

“I grabbed lunch so we wouldn’t have to sleep on empty stomachs.”

She watched him as he walked toward the bathroom.Saints, he smelled glorious.“That was thoughtful.”

He came back in a few seconds wearing some pajama pants with ducks on them.“I don’t want to work for you anymore.”

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