Incantations and Inmates - Helen Scott

1

Nasima

Bane was possibly the stupidest man alive.

“He’ll talk to you when he’s ready,” Ambrose growled as the two of us watched Bane.

The big, sexy bounty hunter sauntered through the cafeteria line as if all eyes weren’t on him. Some of those gazes were admiring. Some of the supes seemed to think Bane had superpowers.

And some of those gazes were murderous.

I chewed my lower lip. I was sitting with Ambrose and some of his shifters--Christian and his vamps rarely came into the cafeteria for long, preferring to spirit their blood away somewhere else. I thought that was for the best, really; I didn’t need to watch Christian sipping blood.

“Nas,” Ambrose said, his voice low and firm.

My gaze jerked to his in surprise. He was looking at me with worry in his eyes, and it took me a second to realize that the shifters at his table were watching me, not Bane.

As if they were curious why their alpha’s lover was so obsessed with another man.

I was starting to realize I’d signed up for more than I bargained for when I fell for Christian and Ambrose. Both were the alphas for their different breeds of supes, which meant both had expectations to live up to.

And now I had expectations to face, too.

I ignored Bane as he carried his tray past the table, but I could’ve sworn I felt his gaze on me, even though I didn’t look his way. Somehow just the sense he was watching me made me shift on the seat, my nipples pebbling against the soft fabric of my dress. I tried to make small talk, but Ambrose’s nostrils flared, as if he’d scented my desire. It’s really hard to talk about the weather with a werewolf.

And if Ambrose knew, then most likely the other shifters at the table knew, too. Lara and Alexandria, two shifter girls, were whispering together and I was pretty sure they were talking about me. I ignored them as I locked eyes with Ambrose.

“See you back at the cell?” I murmured, letting my voice go husky, before standing from my seat.

He frowned, and I knew he still hated for me to be alone for a few minutes, still worried that someone else would attack me.

I didn’t want to deal with an argument in front of his people. “I won’t be alone. I’m walking down the hallway, Ambrose. No one’s going to kidnap me.”

He snorted at that. “You should be safe. No one else should want to deal with your pain-in-the-ass ways.”

“So grouchy,” I said, then leaned over the table to peck his lips.

But Ambrose was incapable of a quick kiss, apparently. His arm looped my waist, pulling me closer, and he kissed me so hard he took my breath away. My lips parted against his, his tongue stroking into my mouth. My hips swayed forward against his body, wanting to get even closer to him.

He broke away, then finally gave me the quick peck on the lips I’d been aiming for originally--now that my lips were beestung, my hair wild, and my inner thighs throbbing.

“Go on then,” he said, even though heat flared in his eyes. “I’ve got pack business to attend, but I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“You can tell me all about it tonight,” I said. I didn’t like the idea that he had so many secrets from me. Christian too. I knew they had other responsibilities, but I’d had to reveal my biggest, darkest secrets to them.

In response, he just smacked my ass as I walked away. I mock-glared at him over my shoulder, but his attention was already fixed on the two burly shifters who had eaten dinner with us. They spoke quietly, glancing around to make sure they wouldn’t be overheard.

“I’ll be going too,” Tisha said. She was by my side in a second, reaching to take the tray from me. She gave me a long look as I tried to hang onto it. “Y’know the alpha’s woman doesn’t need to worry about little things like clearing her tray.”

Well, at least she didn’t say the alpha’s bitch like his crazy old stalker who had been desperate to hold that august title. This conversation was bad enough, but I couldn’t have dealt with that.

“Thanks, Tisha, but I can do it myself.” I had no intention of turning into a spoiled brat just because Ambrose’s pack was apparently eager to do things for me now.

She gripped the tray firmly, apparently ready to fight me for it. When she eyed me