Page 42 of By the Pint

When Casey returned, he was smiling.Smiling. I almost gave a victorious laugh before I remembered the doors weren’t soundproof, only thought proof. He picked the tray up, took it into his suite, and kicked the door closed.

I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding, because I didn’t actually breathe, so it was, in fact, a big surprise for me.

Tom had already locked up the Jungle Frenzy course. I explained that we had no need for clubs or balls — we wouldn’t be playing tonight — but that I’d rather not have other guests interrupt. I’d slipped him twenty silvers and told him if Jean or any of the other staff enquired after my whereabouts, he was to tell them I was at the spa, getting my bi-weekly hot stone massage. Of course, if Celeste, my massage therapist asked where I was, we were all screwed. Though the likelihood of that happening was slim to … extremely slim.

I waited for Casey in full view under the lights. No hiding in the shadows this time.

Eight o’clock came and went. Eight o’five. Eight ten. We were playing by his rules now. Why did that make my heart ache in the strangest way? At eight twenty-seven, gravel crunched in the distance. His warm, leathery, buttery scent hit me before I saw him round the corner. He wore a grey suit, with a deep blue open-collared shirt.

Dressed for business.

I desperately tried to rein in my smile.

Don’t. Don’t do it. Keep things neutral. Fuck, Dima, take control of your face!I slapped a palm over it instead.

“Are you ever not grinning like an idiot?”

I shook my head. “Mm-mm. Not. Grinning,” I said through tightly clenched fingers.

Casey gave the briefest eye-roll, but a corner of his mouth twitched up. My undead heart skipped a beat.

“Thank you. For the food,” Casey said. “I’ve been craving fish tacos and cheesy chips for about a month now. Do you know how difficult it is to find decent cheesy chips in the City of the Undead?”

“I can imagine,” I said, my smile softening from crazed clown to something a little less terrifying. I would know. If I delved further into his mind, to his memories, but I couldn’t allow myself to go in anymore. I’d already seen too much, taken too much. Casey needed his privacy. I sat on my proverbial hands to stop the temptation.

“It’s closed tonight,” he said, motioning a hand towards the little shed where Tom had been. The shutters were pulled in, the lights off. “Now, that’s a shame.” He snapped his fingers. “So, what are we doing then, if we’re not playing?”

“I still want to give you lessons. If you’re happy with that.” I picked at a loose thread at the bottom of my sweater.

He looks cute in that jumper, he thought to himself.

My stupid brain wouldn’t let me leave it be.I went shopping for normalish clothes.

Casey nodded his confirmation. Whether it was for agreeing to the lessons or for our internal tangent, I wasn’t sure. I took it as both. “So, are we going to a classroom today?”

“No need. All we need is somewhere quiet.” I led him farther into the course. Pretty much following the same path he’d chased me down last night.

At least I remembered a jacket tonight.

Oh. Of course, human.Were you cold?

No, I have too much muscle mass to be cold.After a pause, he added,I was a little bit cold.

Sorry, I should have realised.

I thought you would have been able to read it in my thoughts.

I stopped in my tracks. Casey stopped two steps later. He backtracked.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Just an idea. I’ll explain when we start your lessons.” I started walking again. “Before that, I need to apologise. For lastnight. For all of it. I should have told you I was telepathic when I met you at the conference. Should have been honest with you. I could feel another mind reader in the building and then you rounded the corner, and … fuck … I just about lost all rational thought.”

That’s not a compliment,he told himself.

“It is, and it isn’t. You just looked so …” I shut my eyes and searched for the correct word. Handsome? Not enough. Edible? Maybe.

“Fuckable?” Casey offered.

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