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“Why wouldn’t your own ability show you something to protect you from being attacked?” Kinsley asked.
Lia shrugged. “I only see what I need to. What happens between one event and the next is just part of life.”
“Can you focus on other people to see more about them if you want?” Kinsley pressed.
“Not usually, but that doesn’t mean I don’t try when needed,” Lia answered, “but mostly, it’s intuition that guides me once I get the first vision.”
Kinsley was fully invested in the conversation, judging by the way she stayed twisted in her seat so she could stare right at Lia. “What else can you do?”
Lia patted her arm. “Let’s save that for later. I can’t share all my secrets just yet.”
I had a feeling she was waiting on me to share more about my demon past, but that wasn’t happening.
Not fucking ever.
That was a part of my life that had taken everything from me, and I had no desire to revisit those days. The only benefits of my darker half were being able to tell truth from lie, and my flames when needed in a fight.
They made my wolf nearly indestructible, and I was more than okay with giving him that advantage. Most people who’d heard the stories of my flaming wolf assumed I was half-warlock and I was glad to let them think that. Those who had personally felt the heat knew better, but they hadn’t lived long enough to dispute the rumors I’d carefully helped put into place.
As Lia continued to go on about her visions that had led her to finding Kinsley and subsequently me, I focused on driving, wondering if all the hard work I’d done over the last ten years to build the life I’d wanted was about to be set on fire.
Then I wondered if I actually gave a shit.
Chapter8
KINSLEY
The longer Lia talked, the more I felt as if I’d found a true friend. She was kind and forthcoming, and there was a sincerity in her voice that made me feel safe for the first time in my life.
Of course, I didn’t think I’d been in danger at the coven, but I’d never been settled. Something had always been missing, and maybe it’d been the fact that I wasn’t actually a witch, but I had a feeling that it had also been because nobody had ever taken the time to know me.
Lia, however, asked a million questions about the things I’d done while growing up and what I’d been doing with my adult life.
I told her about spending years trying to be something I never would be and then later transitioning to combat training. That was the only thing I’d ever felt part of within the coven. I’d always assumed it was because they got a thrill out of taking down the broken witch, but once I’d grown physically stronger than them, I couldn’t deny there’d been a level of respect that I’d finally felt I had.
All the while, Grayson acted as if he didn’t give a shit about our conversation, keeping his eyes focused on the road and his hands tight around the steering wheel, which was now slightly bent, but he couldn’t fool me. He might not have been watching me, but my eyes didn’t stray from him for too long.
I saw each time his knuckles turned white, like when Lia asked me about past boyfriends—a subject I avoided answering just yet—or the way his shoulders strained against his shirt when I talked about being on my own for the last eight years without anyone to have full conversations with.
When Grayson yawned for the third time, Lia placed a hand on his seat, less than an inch from his shoulder. “Do you want me to drive so you can rest?”
His jaw tensed. “No.”
“Then do you trust me to give you a zap of energy?” she asked. I tilted my chin, curious how that would work, because I was getting tired as fuck, but I didn’t want to sleep and miss anything.
“Ido,” I replied when Grayson didn’t, then I held out my hand.
Grayson’s fist blocked Lia from touching me. “No.”
I shoved him with my palm, enjoying the extra strength I already seemed to have from whatever Lia had done to me earlier. “You get no say in the matter.”
Our eyes locked in a challenge, and I waited for him to play the mate card, but he managed to refrain. That fucker could act as if he didn’t give a shit, but the fact that he was still around spoke so much louder than anything else.
Or so I kept telling myself, hoping my instincts weren’t wrong.
As we stared at each other, my chest heaved. Whatever bond was between us tightened around my core, awakening that part of me unlike any of the books I’d read ever had.
Without thinking, my tongue darted out to wet my lips, and I didn’t miss how his darkening eyes followed the movement. I leaned further over the center console, unsure of what I was doing but wanting to know what he might do if I were just close enough.
