Page 59 of The Dark Hiss of Magic
‘Thank you,’ Thane murmured. ‘Thank you so much.’
The woman giggled. I stared. When she returned to her house and closed her door, Thane turned to me and lifted an eyebrow. ‘You’re right,’ he said.
‘About what?’
‘Talking about the weather. There are far better ways to initiate conversation. It didn’t work for me in the bar the other night and now it didn’t work for you.’
‘Well, thank goodness you were here to flirt with her instead!’
Thane swept a bow. ‘I exist only to please,’ he purred. He leaned towards me. ‘But if you think that counts as flirting, Kit, you have a lot to learn.’
Yeah, yeah.
His eyes glinted and he tilted his head, although the effectwas lost given that his hair was shorn close to his skull and there were no lustrous locks to fall artlessly across his forehead. His tongue darted out and he slowly wet his lips.
‘Do you need a Chapstick?’ I enquired.
‘Your mouth is all the ChapStick I require,’ he said huskily.
I gave him a long look.
‘I like that outfit,’ Thane continued, oblivious to my amused irritation. ‘Did you buy it at a discount? Because it will be one hundred percent off at my house.’
I folded my arms. ‘Seriously?’
His mouth crooked up. ‘Alright, I admit I’m cheesy. But something about being in your presence makes my thoughts turn to mush.’
‘Is that because you know I could kill you in a heartbeat?’
He clasped his heart. ‘You’ve already killed me. I’ve died and gone to heaven.’
I covered his hand with both of mine. ‘That’s a shame. I’ve always preferred devils to angels.’
His face relaxed into a grin. ‘I think both our approaches could do with some work.’
As his familiar vetiver scent enveloped me, I was suddenly very aware of the heat of his skin beneath my fingers. ‘I wasn’t the one trying to flirt. When I do,’ I whispered, ‘you’ll know about it.’
‘When?’ he whispered back. ‘Not if?’
My mouth was painfully dry. A light flicked on in the front window of the neighbour’s house and the woman peered out at us. If we continued to linger, her suspicions would return. ‘That’s enough messing around.’ I pulled back, hoping I didn’t look too flustered. ‘At least we know Adrienne is okay.’
He sobered, too. ‘Yes – and with Fetch Jackson locked up for the night, she’ll be safe at work. We’ll have to tell her what’shappened to her friends, but I guess that’ll wait until tomorrow.’ He grimaced. ‘There’s no rush for bad news.’
No, there wasn’t. Poor Adrienne.
‘Let’s head back to yours,’ he said. ‘I’ll pick up Tiddles and leave you to get ready.’
I gazed at him, confused. ‘Get ready?’
‘It’s Friday night, Kit. You’ve got a date with Alexander MacTire.’
Oh. I’d forgotten all about that. Shit.
I had absolutelyno idea what to wear for dinner with one of the most powerful werewolf alphas in one of Coldstream’s most exclusive restaurants. My wardrobe wasn’t exactly packed with glitzy evening wear but I managed to find a slinky dark-red cocktail dress. I’d worn it when I’d been contracted to slip poison into the drink of a high-powered faun who had a habit of cheating his clients out of the contents of their bank accounts. It had looked good on me then and had helped me gain access to the exclusive party where he was holding court. Unfortunately that had been some years ago; while the dress was glamorous enough to pass the test of fashion time, I wasn’t quite the lean assassin that I used to be. I enjoyed my new curves because they made me look softer and feel sexier, but they didn’t quite fit into the dress even when I sucked in my stomach.
She Without An Ear miaowed at me from the door. ‘Alright,’ I muttered. ‘There’s no need for that sort of language.’ I peeled off the red dress, thrilled to be able to breathe normally again. Black trousers and a bland top then. If MacTire was disappointed by my outfit then we’d both know that this ‘date’ wasa terrible idea.
He Who Roams Wide had returned without giving any indication of where he’d been. Not that I could pass judgment, given my own roaming recently. I gave him a long cuddle then spent time with each of the other cats in turn, promising that I’d be home before midnight.
