Page 71 of Magical Midlife Conclave

He pulled his gaze away lest he keep staring, mesmerized by the beauty of her movements and magic. By her.

Images of their night together flashed through his mind. Memories of her touch and her soft moans. The serenity of waking up curled around her, feeling her heartbeat against his palm and her breath warming his neck…

“Tristan?”

“Huh?” He snapped his focus back into the present, meeting Sebastian’s troubled gaze. “What’s the matter? Do you have trouble?”

“I think Nessa is overdoing it. Usually, she could work a crowd like this all night, but she’s never used magic before. I don’t think she realized how much it would sap her energy. She’s never practiced for long periods. She’s fading, but she’s like me.”

“How?”

“You know how I sometimes need Mr. Tom to drug me to sleep?” Sebastian’s gaze was imploring. “She needs to be pulled out of there, but I don’t know how to do it without causing a problem. She’ll want to keep going to help Jessie. I doubt she’ll listen to reason. At this rate, she’s going to faint.”

Tristan handed his glass to Sebastian. “Tell Sue or Aljoe what’s going on. Or Niamh. Have them tell Jessie in a way that doesn’t seem odd. We don’t need the shifters to know we are human. They take that sort of thing as a green light to cause a problem.”

“What a crazy breed, man,” Gerard said, running his fingers through his hair. “Do you need help?”

“No. I got it.”

“Thank you, Tristan,” Sebastian said, his voice infused with sincerity and gratitude.

Tristan started off across the grass, his pace casual. He couldn’t posture and strut with all these hostile shifters. He didn’t want to set one of them off and get drop-kicked off the edge of the property.

Nessa had moved on to another man, this one with a slimmer stature than a lot of others here and a somewhat looser bearing. He would be lower on the hierarchy. Her body language said she was trying to pass by; he was clearly not a target. He had stars in his eyes, though. He’d probably stopped her.

Tristan let his shadowy magic leak into the air around him, drawing the notice of several basajaunak. He inclined his head at them, hoping they read that he was in control.

The shifter looked up at him with widened eyes, freezing in fear.

Nessa turned in confusion as he reached her. Their eyes met and a slew of emotions crossed her face. All he could decipher, before she put back up her guard, was relief.

“Time to go,” he said gruffly. “I’ve shared you long enough.”

He scooped her up in his arms. She didn’t resist even though she said, “It’ll look bad if I leave right now.”

“No one is going to think twice about a handsome gargoyle skipping out early with the belle of the ball.”

“Handsome gargoyle?” She arched an eyebrow at him as he walked her toward the building. “My, what a big ego you have.” She put her hand on his cheek. “I should probably play along, hmm?”

She applied pressure, turning his face more toward hers. He slowed as her lips pressed against his. She opened her mouth, and he growled as he swiped his tongue against hers. He nibbled her bottom lip before speeding up again, pulling away so he could see where he was going. All he needed was to bump into an alpha and cause major offense.

Her hot lips trailed along his jaw. He held her tighter, his body pounding.

“Hurry,” she whispered.

A thrill raced through his blood.

He walked around the corner of the building into the secluded darkness.

“I have to set you down to shift.” He did so, but she didn’t step away.

Breathing heavily, she yanked his neck down so she could claim his lips again. That done, she reached down between them for his belt. This was going to happen right here.

So be it.

He palmed her breast with one hand and reached under the hem of her skirt with the other. He traced along the edge of her panty line before dipping his fingers in.

“Mmm, angel, you’re soaked,” he murmured against her lips.