would make you happy. She’s not on this planet to please you, ye donkey. Ye gotta try a new tactic besides drooling all over her and calling it kissing.”
“You should watch yourself, old woman.”
She laughed. “Don’t challenge me, kid. You don’t want to know the nightmare you’ll wake up.”
18
“You know how to freeze air and sound now, huh?” Austin asked, rolling his shoulders.
I grimaced at the blood still dribbling down his back and soaking into his sweats. “We should probably wash this off before we go into a confined space with Edgar.”
“I’m not worried about that vampire.”
We stepped out of a hidden side door, having gone through the secret tunnels to exit the house. I didn’t want to chance another encounter with Damarion or the others. “You’re not worried about a distracted vampire talking nonsense while he stares at you longingly, imagining sucking that blood off your back?”
Austin stopped walking. “You have a hose around here, don’t you?”
I laughed, leading him to the right. “It appears so. About the freezing air and sound thing, I mean. Also about the hose.”
“You hadn’t done that before?”
“No. Regardless of my advancement lately, I still do most things on the fly. That’s why it’s going fine with Damarion.” I ignored him stiffening. “He’s rough, yes, but trying not to get pummeled opens up my mind for creative evasions.”
“Look, this needs to be said.” He paused as we reached the green hose wrapped around the black spindle. He grabbed the metallic tip and tugged. The hose gave a little and then caught. He sighed. “I hate these kinds of hose holders. I always end up breaking them in a frustrated rage.”
Wincing, he gripped both sides of the black roller and pulled, turning it enough to get another foot of hose free. He gritted his teeth as he repeated the movement, his muscles flaring, probably from the strain of not ripping the whole thing away from the wall and throwing it.
I laughed, braced a hand to his arm, and waited until he stepped out of the way.
“I got this. You just focus on not bleeding out.”
“Thanks.” He looked out over the trees at the edge of the yard. “I’m not going to apologize for losing my cool earlier.”
“I didn’t expect you to.”
“I don’t like seeing you hurt in a way that I don’t think is necessary because—”
He gritted his teeth, biting back what he was about to say. I knew what it was, though—because Damarion couldn’t control his reaction to pain.
But he shifted gears. “Because Ivy House thinks you can take it. Even I started slow, Jess. Slower than I would have liked. But the whole pack worked as one to train each of us, at a pace that made sense for that person, and they did it right. I’m a bad example of their training, but I did learn what works, even if I didn’t apply it in my own situation.”
“You’re apparently known throughout all of the magical community. I don’t think that’s a bad example of anything…”
I yanked on the wheel of the hose roller, only getting another foot.
“What the hell is the point of this thing? To make sure no one uses the hose?” I yanked again, using all my strength. It wouldn’t budge. “Screw this thing. Rip it out and toss it.”
Austin laughed and bent, bumping me to the side with his big shoulder. “Lemme try again.” His yank cracked the plastic, breaking it from the base. He ripped the hose off the side, tearing it from around the spindle, and got enough out to reach his back. “There. See? Nothing to it.”
“If Edgar asks, we have no idea how this thing got broken.”
“Agreed.” He pushed down his sweats, and I ripped my gaze away, my face heating and my heart quickening. I breathed through the heat worming through my core. Wrong guy for this reaction. I had a willing partner upstairs. Hell, I had a whole host of willing partners. This guy was off-limits.
I just wished my mind and my body would get in sync for once. I was still hesitating with Damarion, although I had no idea why. He was hot and nice and a gentleman and insistent—boy was he insistent—but I never got further than the roaming hands before I freaked out and pushed back. I wanted to close the deal while at the same time wanted a longer ramp leading up to it.
The poor guy was probably frustrated, though he didn’t show it. I just didn’t know what