Flare of Promise (Asylums for Magical Threats 3)

The only question was whether Petra could retain her new persona while talking with Will or not.

Get a grip, Brandt. You’ve taken down powerful men and women. Surely you can handle one random scientist.

Nodding to herself, Petra looked up at the sound of people entering the front door. At the front of the small crowd stood Will with his strong jaw and close-cut beard. When he finally met her eyes, Will blinked.

Hoping to fool the other patrons, Petra smiled and tilted her head in invitation. Millie had sworn earlier that the head tilt, when combined with a revealing shirt and a suggestive smile, always worked to bring a man over.

Since Petra lacked Millie’s confidence, she barely restrained herself from tucking her hair behind her ears. Will had known her originally with short hair. Would he like her hair longer?

Stop it. For both her safety and Will’s, they could never be together. The sooner Petra remembered that, the better.

Yet as Will walked toward her table, her heart pounded. She’d dreamed of the normalcy of going on a date with Will hundreds, if not thousands of times over the years. She may never be able to kiss him again, but she sure as hell could drink in his face and memorize it for the future.

Whether she liked it or not, Petra would probably love William Evans to the day she died. However, his life was more important than her desires. To save him, she would need to drive him away.

But, damn, it was going to hurt.

~~~

Will blinked at the sight of Leyna wearing a deep blue top that was cut low to reveal the tops of her breasts. Her light brown hair was longer than he’d ever seen it, but he loved the way it framed her face to make her green eyes pop. God, her eyes. He may have doubted the woman at first, but even from about six feet away, the eyes told him his beloved Leyna was still alive.

And he was determined to find out why.

He approached the table. Pulling out a chair, he slid in and kept his voice low. “Start talking.”

She raised an eyebrow. “So much for hello.”

Will glanced from the corner of his eyes, but all of his colleagues were busy talking amongst themselves. Since he’d told them he’d had a date with a new assistant, they wouldn’t question him having dinner with a beautiful woman.

Clenching his knee under the table, he pushed that thought aside and focused on the grief and pain he’d suffered. “At least you’re still smiling. We’re on a date, love. So keep up the facade.”

Leyna purred, “Oh, I can keep up an act as long as necessary.”

“So is that what I was, then? Part of an act?”

Regret flashed in Leyna’s eyes. But it was gone before he could blink. “Of course not. But I’m not here to talk about the past. I’m trying to give you a future.”

Will raised an eyebrow. “Why now? You had no problem keeping quiet for two years.”

She answered in a low whisper. “Because I couldn’t stand the thought of you being locked away and used as a guinea pig.”

He almost believed the sincerity in her voice. Then he remembered the days after her death, filled with crying, shouting out in anger at anyone who tried to console him, and the self-imposed isolation. It had been pure hell.

If Leyna had cared for him at all, she would’ve sought him out earlier. The woman he’d loved back then would’ve cared about easing his pain instead of causing it.

Yet despite the memories of hurt and betrayal, a small part of him still wanted the truth.

To ensure no one overheard, Will moved his chair next to Leyna’s. Yet as soon as he did, her soft, feminine scent filled his nose. Despite the years between them, Leyna still smelled lightly of vanilla. He’d always told her it made him want to eat her up. Back then, she’d even blushed whenever he’d said it.

However, eyeing the current, hard woman next to him, he doubted this version of Leyna ever blushed. Hell, he was surprised she still had a heart.

Leaning down to her ear, the vanilla scent was stronger and he battled the urge to take a deep inhalation. If that wasn’t a big enough temptation, her warm cheek was right in front of him. Her skin had been quite soft back in the day. He itched to trace her cheek and find out if it were the same.

He might be angry at her lies, but he’d be a fool to deny his lingering attraction.

Get control of yourself, Evans. Clearing his throat, he finally murmured, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Leyna turned her head to meet his eyes. She still had gold flecks around the pupils.