Page 42 of Cocktails & Cauldrons

Eoin turned away from the terrace doors and from his standard pastime of watching Brenna to greet Damian. “Aye. What is it you wish to be speaking to me about?”

“Brenna.”

Clenching his jaw, he lifted his brows to encourage the Aether to continue.

“Whatever turmoil you are currently going through, I feel as a scratch under my skin. And I’m here to tell you, I’m committed to my wife. I don’t stray, Mr. O’Malley, whatever the temptation. Do you understand?”

“Are ya accusin’ me of being jealous, man?” Why he was belligerent when Damian was trying to put him at ease, Eoin couldn’t say.

“Yes.”

“Well, I’m not, all the same.”

“You are, but I’ve no intention of quibbling with you,all the same,” the Aether retorted with a soft snort, as if he intended to drive home the point but wasn’t trying to rile Eoin in the process. “Your Brenna has her power under control, which is pretty remarkable, considering she just came into her abilities within the last day.”

Having already met the man and his wife, Eoin knew Damian lived for and would die for his lovely family. But the ugly green-eyed monster inside of Eoin liked to poke and prod. “Sure, and she’s a remarkable woman. She’s already realized her power is in her voice.”

“As it is with all Sirens.” Damian gazed out the window. “Have you researched what she is?”

“No. But I do know it’s not safe to be with her in the physical sense of the word.”

He nodded and looked Eoin square in the eye. “She’ll have a difficult time restraining herself during intercourse. Especially in the beginning. Your magic will call to hers, and she’ll be tempted to give into that call.”

“Making her a Succubus, yeah?”

“Like most of the women in her line. Her mother included.”

“Her mother?” The odd churning in Eoin’s gut increased in intensity. “Are you sayin’ her mother gave in to the call?”

“Yes. The only female from her line who refrained was Doreen Sullivan. Brenna’s maternal grandmother.”

“And how do you know all this, man?”

Damian smiled. “I’m the Aether. I have the ability to see the future, hear the thoughts of those nearest to me, and give ortake magic as directed by the Authority. I’ve also spent over two hundred years on this earth and come in contact with a lot of our kind. Brenna’s grandmother included.”

“What was she like? Doreen Sullivan.”

“Stunning. Like your Brenna.” Damian’s expression softened as he recalled the past. “Kind and full of life, preferring a pint over expensive liquor. Her hair was as golden as her smile, which was twice as bright as sunshine.”

Eoin jerked at the realization the other man had deeply admired Doreen. “You were lovers?”

“A long time ago.”

“You’re not… uh…” Words failed him. How did he ask a man like Damian Dethridge if he was related to Brenna?

“No. I’m not her grandfather. But I knew him. Doreen met him one night in a pub as she waited for me to show, which I didn’t.”

“Because you had a vision of the other man, yeah?”

Damian smiled his approval at Eoin’s guess. “I did. I knew he’d make her very happy for a time.”

“A time?” Eoin swallowed hard. “Is that all Brenna and any man she chooses will have?”

“I can’t tell you that, Mr. O’Malley.”

“You can’t or won’t?”

“Both.” Damian frowned as he watched Brenna and Alastair walk toward the French doors. “Even if I knew what your future held—”

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