Page 42 of Kiss of Magic

“Nor can I, remember?” She shook the dampener at him. “You know, we could have saved those people back there if you’d just taken the damn thing off.”

His face darkened. He didn’t need reminding of his failures. They drove in silence for a while.

“Thanks for grabbing me when I fell,” he said eventually.

“Don’t get excited. It was purely for selfish reasons. I didn’t want my head to explode.”

“The binding spell still works if I’m dead?”

She cast him a scornful glance.

“Of course. Otherwise what’s to stop the bindee killing the binder? If it was that easy, I’d have let your butt drop without even blinking.”

“I’ll count myself lucky, then.”

Dusk was falling as they pulled into a quiet side-street. The old clapboard house looked non-descript in every way, except for its state-of-the-art entry system. Blake keyed in a code andlet it scan his eyeball. There was the sound of multiple locks being released. The door opened.

Inside wasn’t quite so high-tech. Dani wandered through the lounge, noting the dust on the shelves and the torn cushions on the old sofa.

“Who does the cleaning?” she asked. “Because you need to fire them.”

“Safe-houses only get used when a hunter’s in town. We tend not to worry about creature comforts.”

She eyed the moth-eaten rug.

“So I see. Is there at least some hot water and a change of clothing?”

“Help yourself. Bedroom’s through there.”

The bedroom at least was clean. And miracle of miracles, the wardrobe held some clothes that didn’t look too rumpled and second-hand.

She took a shower, rinsing off the sweat and grime of the past few hours. Standing in front of the mirror, her mind wandered back to the plan she’d started to hatch before the warlocks had shown up. Could she seduce Blake?

She let her towel drop as she examined her reflection. She’d never had any trouble getting guys in the past. She was attractive, she knew that. And she also knew that half the time it wasn’t even a question of attractiveness, but availability. You could look like the back end of a horse but if you were willing to have sex, most guys weren’t picky.

Yet Blake seemed impervious to her charms. He only saw her as a contract. She’d have to change that.

There was a sound behind her. She whirled round and found Blake standing in the doorway, wearing nothing but his jeans. Blushing furiously, she grabbed her towel off the floor and held it in front of her.

“What the fuck?” she demanded, eyes blazing. “Spying on me?”

“Can’t say I wasn’t enjoying the view,” he drawled. “But I only came in for a clean shirt. Do you mind?”

He strolled past her to the wardrobe. Dani tried not to notice the hard ridges of his abs. He sifted through some hangers and she let her eyes linger on his torso.

His skin was marked with the remnants of old wounds, she noticed. A braille map of scars. She wondered what they’d feel like under her fingers.

He picked out a white linen shirt and pulled it on, turning towards her as he buttoned it.

“I’ll order some take-out. What do you prefer? There’s a decent Chinese down the street.”

He was standing very close and Dani was suddenly conscious of her nakedness under the towel. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach.

Get a grip,she admonished herself. Maybe she could work this to her advantage? She let the towel slip just a little and was gratified to see his eyes flicker to her cleavage. It was only for a nanosecond, but it meant he wasn’t as immune as she thought.

“I’d prefer to go out,” she said. “Itismy last night.”

“I told you, Blue. No going out.”

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