Chapter 14 #3
We circle the barn in silence, dodging visitors, and I glance toward the smithy, where the sound of Ewan’s hammer striking something in the forge rings out. The repetitive rhythm is oddly comforting.
“So you think I should, like, ask him on a date or something?”
“That’s an option,” Gabe agrees. “Or do something romantic. Something that shows you don’t just consider this to be casual, convenient fucking.” He pauses. “And then there’s the final option: talk to him.”
That last one sounds like hard work.
“Talk how?” It takes me a few steps to realize Gabe’s stopped walking. I turn back to see what the problem is, but he’s just staring at me and shaking his head.
“How are you considered smart?”
Ouch. “Why are we friends, again?”
He grins and opens his mouth—
“Connnnnnnnorrrrrr!”
We spin in the direction of the house just in time for Skye to slam bodily into me. It’s only my innate grace and awesome hunter reflexes that keep us from sprawling in the mud.
“Uh… hi?” I look down at the colorful hair as his arms squeeze me.
“Kieran told us what happened yesterday. Thank you for avenging Emma.” He lets me go and takes a step back, then lunges forward and hugs me again. “And thanks for not letting the demon eat Kieran.”
Whoa. “Kieran wasn’t in any danger,” I protest. Well, not much, anyway. There was maybe a one percent chance that the hydra could have killed me and broken the circle, but that’s why I gave him my dagger.
“He was in the same room as a demon. That counts,” Skye insists. “So thank you.”
“You’re welcome, I guess.” I wonder if Kieran told him the whole story, including the bit about me being overconfident.
“Hey, Skye,” Gabe says in a suspiciously conversational tone, “how do you think Kieran feels about Connor?”
Skye’s grin is pure evil. “Well, Gabe, I assume he likes him, since he invited him home to fuck.”
“He has a spare bed,” I protest—weakly, because said bed hasn’t been used. They both ignore me.
“So it’s just sex, then?” Gabe asks, and Skye’s face turns serious.
“Kieran’s one of my best friends and my boss,” he says solemnly. “I’m totally on his side.”
“There are no sides here.” My exasperation is plain. “It’s not a freaking battle.”
“But,” Skye continues, as though I haven’t spoken, “if you were wondering if he’s interested in more than just a few days of random sex, then I think it’s something he’d consider.”
I stare at him. Kieran would consider being interested in more than a few days of random sex? Random? Nothing about sex with me is random, thank you very much.
Gabe slaps me upside the head. “For fuck’s sake, Con, he’s telling you Kieran wants something more.”
Oh.
Oh!
“You have to go back to work,” I tell Skye.
“I need to borrow Kieran for a few minutes.” During the workday isn’t a good time to do this, but at least it’s Thursday and not Saturday.
And I can’t wait. Because if it turns out he’s not that interested, I’ll make plans to leave as soon as it’s safe for me to do so.
If he is… well, I’m sure I can dig up some weird stuff to keep me in the area a while longer.
Skye’s still laughing when we let ourselves in through the staff entrance, though he manages to calm down before we enter the guest space. Gabe goes back upstairs to babysit the gateway, and Skye and I go in search of Kieran.
He’s in the office, doing something on the computer while Josh mans reception. Skye sidles up to Josh, waits until he finishes directing a visitor down the hall to the museum, then whispers something in his ear.
Josh’s face lights up with a wide grin. “Kier,” he calls, heading into the office, “I’ll finish the stock order. You take a break.”
Kieran looks up in confusion. “A break? It’s not even ten.”
Josh jerks his head in my direction. “Take a break.”
I don’t embarrass easily, but if Kieran’s not that interested after all, I might need to change my name and go live under a rock.
His confusion softens to a smile when he sees me. “Thanks, Josh.” He abandons his desk and grabs my hand. “The library should be empty now—let’s go there.”
Does he know what I want to talk about? Have all our friends been conspiring to set this up? I follow him through the house to the library, trying to work out what’s going on. Maybe Gabe was right and I’m not that smart after all.
As soon as the library door closes, I’m pushed up against it with an armful of my sexy redhead, and I forget all about conspiracies and feelings and just drown in his kisses instead. This was an awesome idea.
“Gonna miss this when you go,” he mutters, his mouth on my neck, and reality crashes back in.
“Kier…” I manage to let him go, get my hands between us, and eke out a scant few inches of space. “We need to talk.” I wince. That sounds so serious and negative. And sure enough, his whole manner changes. “It’s not bad!” I add desperately. I’ve already fucked this up.
He takes a step back, and I immediately miss his closeness. “What’s up?”
I take a deep breath and wish I could face a demon instead.
At least with that, I know what I’m doing.
“I, uh, will have to go soon. I can maybe drag it out into next week if nothing else urgent comes up. But I can’t stay here indefinitely.
And that sucks, because I’m really, uh, enjoying this thing you and I have. ”
Did I just say I don’t want to leave because he’s a good lay?
“What I mean is,” I hurry on, “I like you. A lot. Not just the sex.” Honesty compels me to add, “Though the sex is phenomenal. But I like you. Talking to you. And making you mad. The way you think you can’t cope but manage everything perfectly anyway.
So I thought… I know it wouldn’t be easy, with me traveling most of the time and based in California, but I’d come here as much as I could, and—”
“Are you asking me to give a relationship a shot?” His face is oddly expressionless. “A relationship with you?”
I swallow. “No pressure. I get it if you’re not interested. But… yeah.”
He studies me for a moment longer. “I’m so glad you’re the one who brought it up first. If the subject turned Mr. Egotistical into a stammering mess, I would have been a disaster.”
He… what? “I am not egotistical.”
“You’re missing the point.”
I grin, finally relaxing. “You mean the point that you’re hot for me and don’t want to let me go?”
He scoffs, but he’s smiling. “Maybe I’ll change my mind.”
I grab his hand and close the distance between us, nuzzling the soft skin behind his ear and making him shiver. “Skye and Josh have got things under control. What do you say we—”
“Here you are!”
I curse and bury my face in Kieran’s shoulder as Uncle Norval and Maisie pop into the room.
“Go away,” I mutter. Kieran’s hand comes up to pet the back of my head.
“Ghosts?” he asks quietly. I nod, and a second later, he yelps. I guess that means they manifested.
Sighing, I lift my head. “What do you want?”
“There’s no need to take that tone, boy,” Uncle Norval chides. “We’re here because we’re fond of you and want the best for you.”
“And we love gossip,” Maisie adds.
Kieran laughs, damn him. “Here’s some gossip for you, then. Connor and I are going to give dating a shot.”
Maisie claps her hands, multiple bracelets jangling, while Uncle Norval eyes me.
“Does this mean we’ll be spending more time here?”
Sighing, I give in to the inevitable: a life surrounded by nosy ghosts. “Yes, Uncle Norval, it means we’ll be spending more time here.”