“Not in the least,” I assured him.
Smiling, he lowered his head and brushed a soft kiss to the corner of my mouth before dipping lower to my throat. When his fangs touched the hollow point right above my pulse, I gasped and gripped his arms hard enough to bruise. Not from fear, but instant desire. It flooded my body until I could barely think straight. The only coherent thought left in my brain was: Please bite me.
I was overcome by so many different wants and needs that I didn’t even know where to begin. I wanted him to sink his fangs into me. I wanted him to mark me. But I needed him to erase Trystan’s touch from my body and my memory. The need was so overpowering, I nearly begged Lucien to bite me. Hell, I was so desperate for it, I practically squirmed in his arms.
I’d never felt anything so powerful before.
Lucien’s fangs brushed across my throat but never broke the surface. He teased me with the idea of it, until a sound slipped out of me—soft and breathless—and he chuckled, low and deep.
Smug bastard. He knew exactly what he was doing to me, and he enjoyed it. I couldn’t fault him. I had some plans of my own, to make him squirm beneath me.
“Hey! Lovebirds!” Thorne’s shout echoed up the stairs, shattering the moment. “Wrap it up, towel off, stop whatever you’re doing up there—because your witch is here.”
Lucien exhaled heavily against my throat.
“And I swear on every cursed garden gnome in our yard, if I have to climb those stairs and see even one nipple, I will sue.”
I let out a strangled laugh and covered my burning face with one hand. “We’re coming!”
“No, we aren’t,” Lucien deadpanned.
I snorted, half-laughing as I gave his chest a light smack. Before I could pull my hand back, he caught it and pressed a light kiss against my fingertips, his gaze never leaving mine.
His eyes had that look again—dark and full of desire—but instead of acting on it, he climbed off me, then helped me up. We took a moment to fix ourselves. He smoothed my hair. I straightened his collar and handed him his jacket. There was a quiet intimacy to it, like we’d done this before.
We headed toward the stairs and Lucien placed his hand low on my back. Not pushy or possessive. Just there.
Together, we descended the stairs, and a strange scent rose to my nose. Guess Thorne’s satchels were starting to lose potency, not that I minded. It smelled like…patchouli? Something rich and earthy. Whatever it was, it grew stronger with every step. As did the sense of magic. I didn’t need Lucien to tell me we’d just stepped into the orbit of someone immensely powerful—I felt it in my bones.
We reached the bottom of the stairs, and there she was.
Selene Ravenspell.
She stood barefoot in the center of the bar, covered in thick gold bangles and rings, and a gauzy dress that looked like moonlight.
The second she spotted me, she stepped forward with a bundle of what looked like smoldering herbs—oh goody, more sage—and began circling me. Me, not Lucien. She lifted the bundle and wafted the smoke toward my face. Then my chest. Then lower. I blinked. Was this how a Ravenspell said hello?
“Uh,” I said, voice caught between confusion and concern. “Is this…necessary?”
Selene didn’t answer. She just shook the herbs harder, casting more smoke at my sternum like she was trying to banish a demon from my cleavage.
“This is really nice of you,” I said, “but the demon we want you to exorcise is actually upstairs. In the toilet, if you remember?”
Selene stopped in front of me, her eyes slightly narrowed, and took one last, slow pass over my heart. After, she exhaled a satisfied sigh.
“There,” she announced in a high-pitched voice. “That should clear out any residual toxins.”
My brows crept upward. “Of what?”
She cut Lucien a scathing look. “You’ve been touching a St. Germain. That kind of energy leaves a soul-deep stain.”
I pressed my lips together to keep from bursting out laughing.
“We were kissing,” I told her in what I hoped was a serious voice. “Not summoning Cthulhu.”
Selene didn’t so much as crack a smile. “Same difference, sweetheart.”
Thorne coughed into her fist to hide a laugh.
