Then the heat of him did fade and I was left smiling—despite the confirmation that he could read my thoughts.
The reaper had a sense of humor. Fancy that.
It was a close-run thing, but we made it home in time to stop both the roast being ruined and Ilianna from throwing curses our way. Although—given the scent in the air—she'd been in the process of preparing some nasty little potions as we walked in the door.
It seemed she had been pissed off enough to risk the threefold rule.
After the food was eaten, the wine consumed, and Tao's birthday appropriately celebrated, I went to bed and slept the sleep of the dead.
It was well after ten by the time I crawled out from underneath the blankets and staggered into the bathroom, but the shower did little to wash the fuzziness from my mind. I dragged on clothes with little thought, then headed out into the main living area.
"Well," Stane said, amusement evident as he studied me from the dining room table, "I take it you're planning to cause a riot in the near future."
I frowned in confusion, then glanced down. The shirt I'd grabbed was a striped black-and-white tee. The only trouble was, the white bits were actually sheer, revealing my flesh in teasing flashes. And I hadn't bothered putting on a bra.
I struck a pose. "I'm thinking persionary tactics here."
"Well, it's perting me. But I think it'll only work on the witch bitch if she's into women."
"Don't let Ilianna hear you call the bitch a witch," Tao said, coming out of the kitchen. "You won't be getting the old boy up for a year if she does."
Stane laughed, but Tao was actually serious. Ilianna could do something like that if she wished. I walked across to the table and studied the light screen. "Anything?"
He shook his head. "The company buying the land is the first in a long series of business fronts. As I've already said, backtracking through all the paperwork is taking time. But I think we're close."
I glanced at Tao. "Has Ilianna had a chance to create stronger wards?"
"She did it this morning, and they're active as we speak." He hesitated, then added, "I talked to her about the whole ley line thing, too. She said she'd mention it to her mother."