Page 29 of Hunting Grounds
And from the way Deirdre giggled, she knew exactly what I meant.
My cheeks burned more and I turned away, patting at my hair as I tried to smooth it down into some kind of order. “Um, we were going to practice. Weren’t we? Was that what we were doing here?”
Henry grumbled and squeezed my hand. “I don’t want you to stay here while Nola is around. She was never this…extreme. I’m not sure what changed her. You should go back to the house until she’s out of the city.”
Deirdre arched an eyebrow, then tilted her head at the car we’d driven from the other side of the city. “I need to speak with Miles anyway about this…incident. You have some explaining to do, young man, if you abandoned a pack and a mate to show up here.”
Henry’s face reddened. “I didn’t—” He cut himself off and abruptly pulled me in for a hug. His chin rested on top of my head and he exhaled a gusty sigh before burying his face in my hair. “Thank you for helping me.”
I didn’t know what to do. My heart pounded against my ribs and I desperately wanted to lean into him, to slide my arms around him, to take shelter in his embrace. For the first time in a long time, it felt like everything would be okay. My heart cracked. No one had thanked me for anything in just as long, it seemed like.
He was dangerous. He was very dangerous. I could like him. I felt safe with him. I felt like there was potential, a future, some kind of resolution and life to look forward to, if only he were in it.
And all of that could be snatched away. Would be snatched away. He wouldn’t stay when he knew how terrible I was. He thought he knew—he’d heard a bit of it but didn’t believe it—but that was different from seeing the reality of Ophelia and her broken magic.
I cleared my throat and patted his back, trying to stand on my own. “You’re welcome.”
It wouldn’t last. His sister would leave, hopefully sooner rather than later, and then we would go back to being... whatever we were before. I forced a smile as Henry peered at my expression, and turned to face Deirdre. “So perhaps we practice another day.”
Her attention remained on Henry, and she tapped her nails against her front teeth as she studied him. “Actually, I might need to stick around here and make sure that woman doesn’t kick up more trouble. I’ll call Miles and see if he can meet me over here, but I’m not sure I want him to deal with her directly just yet. I need to plan before we make a decision. In the meantime... Henry, you’ve got a meeting downtown, I take it? Why don’t you take Ophelia with you, then you two can get lunch before heading home?”
My stomach turned somersaults as I glared at her, suspecting her change of plans had more to do with match-making than wanting to deal with Henry’s sister. “Really. You’re going to stay here.”
Henry checked his watch and cursed under his breath, adjusting his satchel before tilting his head at a dark sedan next to the car Deirdre drove. “The meeting won’t take long, but Todd will kick my ass if I miss it. I can take Ophelia back to the house after.”
My eyes narrowed as I looked at him, irritation at being ignored rearing up. “Or you could ask Ophelia what she wants to do?”
“Uh...” Henry glanced between Deirdre and me, as if gauging who might pose more danger, and finally settled his attention on me. Some spark of desire still lingered in his gaze as he studied me, and an answering warmth kindled low in my stomach. “I would like to buy you lunch, if you’re willing to sit through a boring business meeting first.”
It was somehow both a request and a plea at the same time. If it hadn’t been for Deirdre’s triumphant grin, I would have agreed right away. But part of me wanted to be contrary just to wipe that look off her face. I sighed and folded my arms over my chest. “You’re not worried about bringing a dangerous witch out in public?”
He frowned, head tilted. “Deirdre isn’t going with us.”
It took me a second to catch the joke, though Henry broke into a grin and Deirdre snorted a laugh and smacked his shoulder. She muttered, “You haven’t seen dangerous witch yet, bucko,” then turned on her heel and strode toward the warehouse, her cell phone pressed to her ear.
Which left me staring at Henry and measuring the real danger: staying close to him and maybe getting even more attached than I already was.
I took a deep breath and tried to ignore the warning my instincts sang out, and nodded. “Okay. Lunch would be good.”
Henry smiled and even opened my door for me, and I tried to resurrect my walls to resist the very real charm of being around him. I didn’t know how long my resistance would last, not with that boyish smile and the easy confidence as he drove through the city and the sharp cut of his sport coat making him look even more serious and business-y. Moon as my witness, I was in real trouble.
