Page 66 of Pints & Potions

His hands came down on her shoulders and he drew her back against his chest. He held her tight, and she allowed it, absorbing some of his strength. She only had to get through tomorrow without making a complete cake of herself by throwing herself at him and begging him to love her. Then she’d be able to go off and lick her wounds.

“Good night, Cian,” she choked out.

He groaned low and long. “I can see this can’t wait.”

He swept her up into his arms, and she released a meep as she grabbed his shoulders for support.

“What are you doing?”

“You’ll see soon enough.” He kicked her door closed with his heel and carried her to her bed. He didn’t dump her in the middle of the mattress like she half expected, but set her down on the edge as if she were made of the finest porcelain. Squatting in front of her, he caressed her lips with the pad of his thumb.

“I made a discovery tonight, Piper.” His voice was tender and caused her heart to flip in her chest. “Right before I saw Meg, I’d intended to lay myself bare to you. To tell you that you’ve wormed your way into my heart. To tell you thatyouarethe Mighty Thornewho pierced this old frozen heart of mine.”

The pounding pulse in her ears almost drowned him out, and she needed to clarify what he’d said. “You’re trying to say you c-care about me?”

“Nah. Not just care.” He grinned, and her whole world seemed right. “I love you, Piper Kelly Thorne.”

An explosion rocked the room.

Cian dove for her and they both tumbled onto the mattress, his body over hers to protect her from whatever the latest unknown threat was. When nothing more happened, he lifted his head and frantically looked around the room. His attention was caught by a flicker out the window, and he ran for the door.

“Stay here!” he called over his shoulder.

Piper scrambled up and over to the window. The whole landscape seemed to be on fire, and a two-story wall of flame blocked her view of Carrick’s house. Her desire to ensure Cian’s family was safe overruled any concern for her own safety, and she teleported into the side yard. She arrived mere seconds before him, and he swore under his breath when he saw her.

“I told you to stay behind, Piper!” he hollered, giving her a small shake. “I’ll not risk your life.”

“You aren’t risking it, I am. And we don’t have time to waste arguing. We’re under attack,” she snapped.

A single thought as she touched the ring Alastair had designed for her, alerted him of the newest strike. Within seconds, he was there and had summed up the situation. “Who’s in the house next door?”

“Carrick,” she said. “Please stop him—” she gestured to Cian. “—he’s trying to find a break in the fire wall and he’ll get hurt.”

For all intents and purposes, Cian was still a mortal, and Piper knew without a doubt that if he tried to fight those roaring flames, he’d be injured.

Alastair spared a single glance for the people approaching behind her, then gave her a short nod and ran to where Cian was preparing to jump through the blaze.

“Never a dull moment in this family,” Hoyt said grimly. “I see Alastair has this taken care of.” He addressed GiGi and Ryker. “From what I can tell, the fire is surrounding all the buildings belonging to the O’Malleys’. You two take Bridget and secure the pub. Piper and I will check this area.”

“On it,” Ryker said. “Be careful. This strikes me as another thought-out attack.”

“Me, too.”

Ryker’s words froze the blood in Piper’s veins. She sought out Cian and was relieved to see Alastair had used his power to create a break in the wall for Cian to run through. However, when he used his water elemental to pull water from the atmosphere and douse the flames, they flared higher and spread toward him at a blinding speed.

“Greek fire!”she screamed. “Alastair, get out of there!”

He must’ve realized what he was dealing with at the exact second she’d shouted, and he teleported, barely managing to save himself from becoming a human torch.

Horror choked off Piper’s ability to reason, and as she stared at Carrick’s house, panic set in. “They won’t know what this is! They’ll try to fight it on their own and get incinerated!”

“No. That won’t happen. Look.” Alastair gripped her face between his hands and forced her to turn toward the inn. “The building is untouched. The fire can’t get to it.”

“The wards are too strong,” Hoyt agreed with a nod. “This is a distraction, with an added bonus of destroying a witch, should any try to put it out with water.”

“Another attempt on the only one who might be around to use her power against it,” Alastair said grimly with a nod to Piper. “This was meant to hurt her.”

“Whoever is out to get me, is doing a mighty fine job,” she choked out. “But why? I’ve never done anything to anyone.”

---