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Belinda’s eyes lit up. “You’ll take them all?”
“Yes, every single one.”
“Even the probing ones?”
“Especiallythe probing ones.” She opened the sides of her denim jacket to show off the shirt beneath. “See? I’m wearing mine right now.”
Ethan grinned.
Belinda rolled her eyes and walked away. “Not just no, buthellno. You almost had me; I’ll give you that.”
Kimber’s shoulders sagged. “Can I at least have a beer? You can pour it right into that glass you didn’t hit me with.”
Ethan couldn’t help but overhear their banter, and it piqued his curiosity. Why did Kimber need a buffer between herself and Pel Cappa?
Moving into her line of sight, his chest swelled as she smiled at him. Her face lit up as if she were truly happy to see him. Sidling up to her at the bar, he drew in her scent and frowned. A male scent was mixed with her sweetness. Forcing down a rise of possessiveness, he accepted a drink from Belinda and handed Kimber hers.
“Bad day?”
“Have you ever spent the night in a castle? I’m imagining it to be cold and uncomfortable. Probably haunted.”
The palace on Luxxor was also a fortress, giving it solid castle vibes. Her eyes lingered on his face, and he wished she’d let it stay a little longer. But she turned to her drink and ran a finger around the rim, obviously lost in thought.
“People believe ghosts haunt all the castles around here.” Humans and their ghost theories. They’d never be able to handle the truth.
“I really can’t say no. Anything for a story, right?”
Ethan pulled up a stool and sat. Even though he’d overheard most of her conversation with Belinda, he wanted to hear it from Kimber. “Say no to what?”
The pub hadn’t gotten busy yet and they could talk at a reasonable level. He was much more aware of her tonight, as if seeing her for the first time while also feeling as if he’d known her a while. Her heart-shaped face sported high cheekbones and a full mouth, pretty eyes with long lashes. His chest ached when she looked at him, and he had the strongest desire to touch her.
“Mr. Cappa has invited me to an overnight dinner party at his castle.”
Belinda plopped a beer in front of each of them and made a disgusted sound. “Oh, geez, Pel Cappa and his bloody castle. You’d think he was the honest to God king by the way he spouts off about that crumbling pile of rubble. You’d better bring a hardhat and a shovel.”
“Great,” Kimber sighed.
“And some sage. That place is haunted as fuck.”
Spearing Ethan with a smile, she shook her head. “Told you.”
He caught the light sarcasm in her tone but couldn’t stop focusing on what Pel had up his sleeve.
Kimber tried to get Belinda to accompany her, likely because she didn’t feel comfortable going alone. He assessed the male scent radiating off her and the protectiveness sprouting toward her came in full bloom. She shouldn’t feel obligated to do anything with a male she wasn’t comfortable with. He didn’t want her going with any male, period, but that was a realization for another time. Right now, he had to ease her fears.
“I’ll go with you.”
Turning to fully face her, Ethan slid a hand across the bar until it bumped hers. At the surprised widening of her eyes, he figured he’d better cover up his need to protect her. Human females didn’t take well to men who came on too strong. They wanted to be independent and free to make their own choices, even if they might also secretly want a male to watch over them and make them feel safe, though they didn’t want to admit it. All the magazines talked about it.
He had to be supportive and give her room to decide—and prepared to do whatever was necessary to protect her if she said no.
When she didn’t respond, he decided to plead his case. “Like I mentioned yesterday, I’ve been curious about Pel’s UFO work for a while. Maybe he’ll talk about it. I’d like to hear what he has to say.”
Belinda stalled behind the bar, watching him with open surprise. Kimber clearly didn’t know how to respond. But then her hand moved alongside his, their pinky fingers crossing over each other. The pulse of his endtax went wild. It felt like it might fly out of his chest.
Just then, the door to the pub opened and a small crowd pushed their way in, laughing and hollering as if they’d already visited every other pub on the block. The group sidled up to the bar.
Ethan jetted a thumb over his shoulder to a table by the windows. “Join me over there?”
