Page 55 of Warlocks Don't Win
“Stop that,” I hissed, trying to look pleasant.
He raised a brow. “Stop what?”
“You look like I’ve seduced you out of your mind. We’re selling happily married, not me draining the life and magic out of you before burying you in the back yard.”
“This is exactly how my father looked at my mother. They were very happily married.”
“It’s not how my father looks at my mother.”
He raised a brow and pulled me close. “Was your father actually Rasputin? It’s not possible.”
“I suppose it could be another dead Russian obsessed with vodka, but I doubt it.”
His lips were so close to mine. If I moved my head an inch, I’d be kissing him. “Did you ever dance with him?”
“Of course. He was a much better dancer than my mother. Didn’t you notice what an accomplished dancer I was?”
He sighed heavily. “I didn’t notice anything other than how good you felt in my arms. Now that you mention it, you are a very excellent dancer. We’ll have to thank your father.” He moved slightly out of the alignment, lips brushing mine.
The feel was electric satin running over all of my extremities like a lint brush. I gripped his shoulders and oozed into a puddle of green and purple sludge. ‘I’m melting,’ some distant part ofme cried while my heart thrummed and my spine turned into butter.
He pulled away, still supporting my weight because otherwise I would have become one with the excellent maple flooring.
He cleared his throat. “Clary, do you know the Dealer? His house is sensate. And of course Madame Mercury. It’s good to see you again.”
I straightened up, looking at the woman with the white hair who was so notoriously attractive, no dark sorcerer could possibly resist. She looked sweet, kind, and was trying not to blush.
Diabolical, clearly. I held out my hand and then when she took it, I shook and squeezed harder than necessary. “I’m Clary Sage, convicted murder and wife of Winston. It’s so good to meet friends of his.”
Her eyes widened and she shook her head rapidly. “I’m not friends with him. I mean, we’ve met once, that is, twice, but I don’t remember the first time. It was a busy week.”
The Dealer snorted and put his hand over ours, subtle magic numbing my fingers so I stopped gripping her and she could pull away easily. “Clary Sage. It’s a pleasure to meet the wife of the man so many find indecently attractive. It’s good to see that you’re going to keep him in line. If you touch my wife again, however, we will be spilling blood.” His smile was sharp, muddy eyes flickering silver.
I froze. Right. This wasn’t nice wife behavior. This was possessive, irrational, ‘everyone could see that she was on the brink of flying into a jealous rage and murdering him,’ vibe.
Oops.
I laughed, bared my teeth and leaned against Winston. “Oh, so funny. Don’t you love balls? So filled with respectable people. I just adore it. Anyway, your sensate house, has it ever cursedsomeone? Maybe with a…I don’t know…random death curse like, say, Moridia Fleur?”
The Dealer blinked those interesting eyes at me and then looked at Winston. “You could have come to my office instead of using the favor to bring me to this cursed place.”
Winston’s smile was serene. “But then my wife would have met you privately in your office. Your magic might prove a temptation to her.”
The Dealer raised a brow then glanced at me again. “I suppose my wife would prefer to meet publicly, although we could all have gotten together for tea.”
“But then I couldn’t question the others with sensate houses at the same time,” I said, fiddling with my ridiculously opulent engagement ring. “So, has it ever cursed anyone?”
He refocused on me. “No. My house hasn’t ever cursed anyone. Any other questions?”
I sighed heavily then perked up. “Have you ever heard of sensate houses cursing anyone?”
He blinked at me. “No. Are you certain the house cursed someone? Perhaps you did it while you weren’t paying attention.”
I snorted. “If I cast a Moridia Fleur, I would have noticed. I haven’t been to the house in years.”
“Maybe it was trying to get your attention.” He raised a brow in obvious mockery.
“Well,” Winston broke in, taking my arm and turning me away from the dark sorcerer. “It was so lovely to see you. I have some other friends who would love to meet you, my darling.” He gazed down at me so soft and sweet. I automatically gazed back at him while my heart twisted into a giant heart-shaped pretzel and the rest of the world faded away.
