Page 51 of Power Shift
Fourteen
Simone, usually so unflappable, gaped like a fish. “I—uh. Lord, with your leave, I’ll head back to the Keep, to start damage control.”
He waved a hand at her, not bothering to respond.
With a final wide-eyed look at me, Simone spun on her heel and hurried away, leaving me and the Shifter Lord in the street.
“No one saw Finn leave,” I said quietly. “The street went empty after you broke Finn’s nose.”
“Would you like to talk here or in your office?” Caelan said in a toneless voice.
His eyes still glowed that perfect, golden hue, telling me I was in deep shit.
“Um. Let’s go…elsewhere.”
“Lead the way,” Caelan said.
I poked my head into the shop to tell them I’d be back in a little while, but everyone waved me away the instant they spotted Caelan looming behind me.
“Be careful,” Moira mouthed before tossing me my purse.
I dug out my car keys and was about to click the lock when Caelan snatched them from my fingers.
“I’ll drive. Your house?”
“Sure.”
We drove the entire way in silence, Caelan’s eyes glowing the entire time. He unlocked the door, held it open, and didn’t slam it shut.
Even when furious, Caelan was a gentleman.
I, on the other hand, felt like I had four feet and five arms. I tripped on the steps going inside my house, dropped a coffee mug on the kitchen floor, shattering it into a hundred pieces, sliced my finger on one of the glass shards, and was about to slice another when Caelan gripped my hand firmly in his own and crouched down beside me.
“Evie.” Quiet words laced with tension. “Go sit down.”
“But I have to clean it,” I protested.
“Sit. I’ll make the coffee.” He reached up for the roll of paper towels and tore one off, pressing it to my bleeding finger. “Hold pressure there.”
He helped me up and took me over to the couch where he sat me down.
I stared at him open mouthed. “You don’t have to?—”
Caelan’s shoulders stiffened. “Can’t you stop arguing with me for one second, please?”
“I—” Shit. He was right. “Fine,” I said with a sigh.
His chuckle was soft, almost silent.
Why was I always an idiot around him?
“You need a better coffee pot,” Caelan grumbled as he filled the cheap glass carafe. “With all the money you charge me, you could afford to buy a damn coffee shop, and yet you keep this cheap monstrosity and drink whatever terrible swill it produces.”
“It works,” I said simply.
“Lead pipes work inside old homes, yet the water still poisons you.”
“That’s a massive leap from cheap coffee to lead poisoning.”
