I want to shake him. “That seer said the darkness would betray you, Des!”
“The seer is a little prick who got too big for his breeches.”
Why is he not listening? “He looked into your future!”
“Callie.” He takes my hand, rolling my engagement ring a little. (Always have to be wearing a piece of the Bargainer’s jewelry.) “It’s alright. I’m not discounting Collin’s words. What will come to pass will come to pass, but you need to trust in me. Can you do that?”
No. Ugh,yes.
“It feels like I just got you back.” I glance down at my feet before looking at the Bargainer again. “I can’t lose you twice.”
“Who said anything about losing me?” Des asks. “Don’t let your mind play tricks on you now, love. Betrayal is not the same as death.”
I take a deep breath. He’s right. Begrudgingly I nod.
“You good?” Des asks.
Nope. Not really.
“I want those body shots.”
Desmond found usa themed club after all. One that offers body shots.
Alchemy, a nightclub in London, is decked out to look like a sorcerer’s paradise, every last decoration tied into black magic and spellcasting.
“Cherub, this is a bad idea.” Des gazes up at me from where he lays, fake flickering candles encircling him. He looks like a sacrificial offering among it all, and I guess that’s the point.
“You love bad ideas,” I say. I hold a little vial of salt in one hand, and a lime in the other.
So fucking excited.
“Normally. This one I’m not so sure of.” Under his breath he says, “Would’ve been more fun if our roles were reversed.”
I lean in close, my mouth inches from his. “I’ll makesureyou enjoy yourself.” I punctuate the statement by running the lime wedge around the Bargainer’s navel. His eyes brighten, and through our bond I sense the barest hint of his excitement.
He is such a liar. He’s thrilled about the situation just as much as I am.
My attention moves from his face to his torso. I follow the lime wedge with a circle of salt.
Honestly, this is so sexy it should be illegal.
Des flashes me a wolfish smile. “Enjoying yourself, cherub?”
“Just a little.” I place the lime wedge in his mouth, and flag down the waiter.
A man dressed in sorcerer’s robes comes over with a handle of tequila. At my signal, he pours the amber liquid into Des’s navel.
Once he’s done, I lean in.
I smile at Des as I lick the salt off his abdomen.
A groan slips from between his teeth.
Pressing my lips to his navel, I swallow down the tequila.
Beneath my mouth, the Bargainer’s muscles flex. I place a hand against them as I rise, the alcohol burning down my throat.
I lean in again, pressing my lips against the Bargainer’s, then take the lime wedge between my teeth, the citrus cutting through the bite of the alcohol.