Page 14 of The Succubus's Song

“I may have said that,” Mara muttered without making eye contact. “I’m not sure why that involves you crashing my dinner. How did you even know I was here, anyway?”

“You’re always here,” Finley rolled his eyes, “and you talk about it all the time.”

“I do not.”

“Okay,” Finley agreed easily, “maybe you’ve only mentioned it once or twice.” He paused and waited until Mara looked him in the eye. His tone softened, and her heart stopped. “Maybe I was just paying attention.”

An uneasy feeling began building in Mara’s stomach. She hated doing this to Finley. She hated how attracted she was to him—she couldn’t get him out of her head.

But now is not the time.

“We can’t do this, Finn,” Mara whispered as her headache finally evolved to a migraine. She put her drink down and massaged her temples with her fingers. “We just can’t.”

“Hey, hey,” Finley reached across the table and grabbed her wrist, “if this is about what happened at Christmas—”

The moment Finley touched her, Mara’s skin was on fire. The heat keeping her a prisoner in her own body turned up to an inferno, and her vision condensed to small points. The only thing Mara could see was Finley.

She jerked away from him, knocking her whisky glass over, and it shattered on the floor. His scent flooded her nostrils, and every single thought was pushed from Mara’s mind—there was only Finley.

Mara used the last of her sanity to pull her sunglasses over her eyes as she wrestled with her own glamour magic.

“What did I do? Mara? Mara?” Finley pulled away from her, but his face was etched in concern. Mara buried her face in her elbow and took several long, deep breaths.

“Don’t move,” she murmured, her voice muffled. Luckily, most of the patrons were already a few drinks deep, and no one seemed to notice Mara’s outburst.

The waiter reappeared, set their plates in front of them, and replaced Mara’s whisky, then he disappeared back into the kitchen without a word or a second glance. Mara was grateful for the distraction and finally put her arm down, focusing on the scent of her meal.

Mara grabbed her silverware and began eating, savoring each bite and being grateful for the distraction. She could feel Finley staring at her, but he said nothing and picked up his silverware to copy her movements. The silence between them was awkward, and Mara wanted nothing more than to throw down her plate and run out of the restaurant.

He’ll only follow you, she reminded herself. Finley is nothing if not persistent.

“You haven’t fed yet, have you?” Finley finally broke the silence. Mara shook her head, feeling a strange sense of guilt wash over her. Finley looked like he was biting back a string of curses. “What the hell? Why not?”

“I’m eating right now,” Mara snapped, shoving another bite in her mouth to prove a point. Finley rolled his eyes at her.

“You know what I meant. You’re torturing yourself again, Mara, and it hurts me to see it.”

“What I do is none of your concern,” Mara clenched her teeth, feeling more guilty by the second. “I thought I made that very clear at Christmas.”

“No.” Finley pointed at her with his fork. “What you did was give me a lame excuse as to why we can’t be together and tried to invalidate my feelings.”

“I did not!”

I definitely did. Mara’s own thoughts contradicted her.

“You did,” Finley said easily, “but we can talk about that another time. What you do is none of my concern, but what I do matters to you?” He cut into his steak. “Explain that to me.”

Mara bristled, pressing a finger to her temple as she tried to push back the biting pain and fire that were spreading through her body.

“You’re a human, which in case you haven’t been paying attention, puts you at the bottom of the food chain. So, yes, if I’m going to keep this city safe from my family, that means keeping you safe too.”

“Hmm,” Finley mused, finishing the last sip of his Cosmo. “I don’t buy it.”

“You don’t ‘buy it’?” Mara scoffed. “It’s not up for debate.”

“Why did you tell Emmett that keeping me safe was your job, specifically?”

“Because Emmett doesn’t know what my family is like, and you two are friends. He probably thinks you’re safe whenever you’re with him.”

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