Page 6 of Witch Unbound
His eyes flinched in a do-I-know-you way, and then he smiled and nodded and stepped off the stage into the crowd, away from me.
An empty pit opened inside me and I remained rooted to the spot, breathing shallow and fast.
The noise level picked up as patrons rekindled their conversation and reclaimed seats, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. But it had…Something momentous had happened. Rune, my Rune, had stared at me like I was a stranger.
He had no clue who I was.
* * *
I’d never beenone to admit defeat. Defeat was for suckers, and Loke had said this wouldn’t be easy. But I still had my connection to Rune. I could feel the thread binding us, even if he couldn’t. It meant my Rune, complete with his memories of me and our world, was still in there somewhere. I just needed to break him free.
I found him perched at the bar alone, but a quick survey of the terrain showed me that he was being watched like a hawk by several women seated or standing at a respectable distance. There was hair flipping, tinkling laughter, and plenty of posturing as they attempted to get his attention, but no one approached.
Weird, but also good, because if any of them touched my man, I wouldn’t be responsible for what I’d do to their itty-bitty fingers.
Rune sat with his head bent over a paperback, a beer at his side, seemingly oblivious to the attention he was getting.
Okay, showtime. I cut past the preening women and walked right up to him. “Hi.”
He didn’t look up from his book, but a slight frown marred his forehead. “I’m reading.”
In other words,fuck off.
“I can see that. What are you reading?”
He sighed. “A book.”
I needed him to look at me. Toseeme. “What book?”
He finally glanced up. “I don’t…” His gaze roved over my face and the tension in his features melted away. “Hi…”
I smiled. “Hi.”
Tendrils of hair had come loose from his tie to kiss his cheeks, and I ached to tuck them behind his ears, to cup his face and claim his mouth.
His hazel eyes went from cool to warm, as if sensing my thoughts. “Can I…Can I buy you a drink?”
I was peripherally aware of the women around us, the whispers and the wave of confusion and irritation.
I smiled. “I’d love that.”
Rune kept his attention on my face. “Barney, can I get a…” He gave me a questioning look.
“Whiskey. Neat.”
A smile tugged at his lips. “Whiskey. Neat.”
The barman slid a drink my way.
“I saw you by the stage,” Rune said.
“I know.”
“I haven’t seen you in here before, but…” He chuckled softly. “For a moment, I thought I knew you.”
“Maybe you do.”
He arched a brow. “I think I’d remember that.”
