“That maggot the other day had it coming.” Niamh shook her head. “Talking about that sorry excuse for an alpha taking you and being quick about knocking you up? You should’ve let Austin finish him.”
Kingsley stiffened. “Tell the story.”
“Say please,” Niamh replied.
He didn’t, and she didn’t push.
After she was done, he reverted to staring at me. “You pulled him back?”
“Yes,” I said. “He doesn’t want to go to that place. I caused it, so I figured I should fix it.”
“But you did. You did.”
“Well, yeah. I made everyone else leave the bar.”
“You forced everyone out like you did today?” Kingsley asked.
I nodded.
“And you were obviously the one who trapped me in.” The growl riding his words was evident. He was not amused.
“Yes. I didn’t know whether it was okay for everyone to see Austin…do his thing. The last time he was glad people hadn’t witnessed him lose control.”
“Tell me about Ivy House,” Kingsley said, and I didn’t even mind that it was a command. I was not an accomplished storyteller, which meant I had a ready excuse to get up and grab Ulric, since Austin hadn’t made it to him yet. Within seconds, Ulric had Kingsley captivated with what hopefully would be a long and drawn-out version of Ivy House history.
I turned back toward the bar, hoping to catch Austin as he walked past, but he was already down at the opposite end, speaking to Kace and the others.
“Is this how it’s going to be going forward?” I asked Niamh, doing a quick check of all the magical links, re-muting all of them but my connection to Austin. “All this drama?”
“Nah.” Niamh poured cider into her glass, the sparkling liquid rushing through the ice. “After the territory is in full swing, it’ll be mostly like before, just with more powerful people who hopefully talk a little less.”
“Kingsley originally said mage magic wasn’t allowed in here.”
Just for kicks, I tried to completely cut off the link between Austin and me, both the input and output.
His head snapped toward me, his eyes hard. Reinstating the link, I felt his confusion and wariness.
“Ack.” Niamh leaned her elbow against the bar. “He was trying to get a rise outta ya. See what you’d do. Yer not supposed to use magic in a social place like this, where people are trying to let off a little steam, but it doesn’t need to be said. He was just throwing his weight around to see if you’d push back.”
“I did. I threatened him.”
“Good girl, yerself. Right bold of ’im to walk into someone else’s home and start barking orders.”
“That’s what I was thinking. Also, I’m just in a piss-poor mood.”
“Yeah. These shifters are laying it on a little thick, so they are, with all the brooding and strutting around. Bunch o’ donkeys.”
I amplified the sensitivity of my link with Austin now, experimenting with him because I could see him, and also because he wouldn’t get annoyed and give me a box, as Niamh would say (and do). It wasn’t just his emotions I could feel now, but his senses—the whiffs of identifying scents, the cool glass under his fingers, the dried sweat clinging to his body from hard work earlier.
His eyes drifted back toward me, having looked away after I’d reinstated the link. Arousal licked up my middle, and I couldn’t tell if that was from him or me. Memories of our late-night activities crowded my mind. We still hadn’t talked about our new…pastime, but we also hadn’t stopped it. I wondered if he’d be around tonight, or if he’d be too busy with pack business.
He braced his hands against the bar, ignoring those in front of him. I felt a little bad about that. He clearly knew Kace and the others. He obviously wanted to catch up.
Just one more experiment, and I’d let him get back to his night. Maybe it would encourage him to take a much-needed break later.
Breath coming a little heavier, the arousal fanning higher, I ran my fingertips up the inside of my thigh, spreading my legs a little as I did so.
His eyes were cobalt fire. His fingertips dug into the wood. I slipped my other hand under my shirt and felt along my stomach, focusing on my soft skin, drifting upward…
“That’s goin’ta get awkward real fast,” Niamh drawled.
A zing of embarrassment and I pulled my hands away and clasped them primly in my lap. I yanked my focus away from Austin. “You didn’t feel that, did you?”
“Through the link? No. You’re starting to be very handy with muffling it. Earl won’t like that one bit. But Austin Steele is about to combust, and I can see that yer the reason. Unless ye want to get nailed in the bar’s office, I’d stop.”
Heat such as I’d never known washed through me, burning me alive.