Lucian waved a hand in the stranger's direction. "Risa Jones, Lauren Macintyre."
"Evening." Lauren's voice was mellow and soft, the opposite of what I'd been expecting. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Jones."
She held out her hand. My pause was brief, but nevertheless there, and something flickered through her eyes. Not amusement. Something deeper. Darker.
The fingers that wrapped around mine were long and warm, her grip strong. But there was nothing untoward in her touch, no dark shimmer or foul feel, despite that flicker in her eyes and the vibrations that continued to roll off her.
"Would you like a drink?" Lucian walked around the bar. "We have wine, beer, and champagne."
"Champers, please." I propped on a barstool and returned Lauren's gaze steadily. "I'm gathering Lucian has told you the reason I wished to see you?"
A small smile touched her lips, though little amusement reached her ice-colored eyes. "A woman who gets straight down to business. I like that."
"I told you she was a no-nonsense person." Lucian slid a glass of bubbly toward me, then leaned on the bar.
Desire slithered through me, quick and hungry. I took a drink and tried to keep my attention on the sorcerer, not the lover.
And wondered, even as I did so, why the hell he affected me so strongly. He might be Aedh, and able to ensnare lovers with just a kiss, but this was something else. Something that was almost darker.
And that was worrying.
"Indeed," Lauren said. "So tell me, what do you think of dark sorcerers?"
"My personal opinion is that you should all be dumped in the deepest, darkest hole in hell and forgotten about." My shrug was casual, but tension rode me. I couldn't be anything less than honest, even though she was obviously ready to walk, given the slightest reason, and being honest might well give her that reason. "I'm afraid I've seen too much pain and catastrophe caused by your kind to want anything else."
"And yet here you are, wanting my help."
"Just because I hate what you do doesn't mean I won't use you if I need to."