All I could do was stare. He’d been on my property. He’d hand-delivered me mail!
“He’s playing games with me,” I said, something in my middle clenching. “This is all a game to him.”
“For now.” Austin’s voice was rough. “Nothing changes. We still need to prepare. Given his schedule so far, it seems like we’ve got a couple months before his next move. That’s enough time.” He put a hand on my shoulder. “I’ll be well underway with a pack by then, Jess, and you’ll have grown leaps and bounds again. In two months, we’ll be ready.”
I hoped he was right. Even if he wasn’t, Elliot Graves was clearly much too invested to walk away. He would come for me eventually, and when he did, I had no choice but to be ready.
“Best get some champagne,” I said, heading into the house. “It’ll dull the anxiety.”
Austin didn’t follow me inside, and I paused to say goodbye. He stared down the street for a beat, his body tense, as though indecisive. When I opened my mouth to speak, he sagged, as though defeated. He turned toward me.
“I’ll tell Mr. Tom to pour me a glass, too,” he said.
I started in surprise. “Oh. Are you sure— Wait.” I smiled, suddenly warm and fuzzy. “You’re using his made-up name!”
A grin worked at his lips. “A good friend asked me to. It’s hard to say no to her.”
I beamed at him. “He’ll be so happy. After the stress with my parents, he’ll really appreciate it.”
“Jess, listen.” He clasped my arm. “I don’t want to mess anything up with you. You are incredibly important to me. That’s all I meant earlier. I want to be the man you need me to be, not the mess that I am. A little bit of space will get my head back on straight, that’s all.”
My mother’s words echoed in my ear.
Well, that just sounds like fear, that’s what that sounds like.
I hugged him. “I know. And you’re right, a little space will go a long way. It’s good timing, too. I still need to make a show of sitting in the office so I can look over the house finances.”
A wave of tingles washed over me.
I’d asked Niamh about it like Austin had advised. When I sat at that desk, my first order of business would be to officially transfer the house to me. This wasn’t done by a deed, though. The transfer happened with a blood oath. The fate of Ivy House and my council would be magically tied to my life, and be my ultimate responsibility. If I failed in doing right by the house, I would die.
At least, that was what Niamh had said. I hadn’t asked any more about it. That had scared me right down to the ground. I’d need another moment to build up some courage to face that.
Clearly Austin wasn’t the only one afraid. Maybe we both just had to get over it.
Eventually.
I patted his chest as I pushed away. “Now let’s go welcome in the new people and hope the normal people of this house crew finally outweigh the strange.”
“That won’t ever happen.”
“One can dream.”
I barely heard him murmur, as though a thought to himself, “A guy certainly can.”
. ~ . ~ . ~ .
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Check out Sin & Chocolate, the first book of the Washington Post & Amazon Charts bestselling series Demigods of San Francisco…
Some people are ordained for greatness…
Those people usually have a lot of drama in their life. Drama I happily do without. I live in a forgotten corner of nowhere for a reason: there is safety in anonymity. I have enough problems just trying to get by.
But when Kieran, a sinfully sexy demigod at the pinnacle of power, crashes into my life, suddenly my whole world is turned upside down.
He’s harboring a deadly secret, one that could destroy all he holds dear. He thinks I’m the key to his salvation, and he wants me to help him claim vengeance.
He also wants me with a passion that burns my body from the inside out.
To ignore him is impossible, but to give in to my desires, even for a night, would thrust me into danger I might not survive.
Remember what I said about drama? Now I’m in it up to my eyeballs, and I’m not sure if I should run…or fight.
Try it here
Also by K.F. Breene
Leveling Up
Magical Midlife Madness
Magical Midlife Dating
Magical Midlife Invasion
Magical Midlife Love (coming 2021)
Demigods of San Francisco
Sin & Chocolate
Sin & Magic
Sin & Salvation
Sin & Spirit
Sin & Lightning
Sin & Surrender
Demon Days, Vampire Nights World
Born in Fire
Raised in Fire
Fused in Fire
Natural Witch
Natural Mage
Natural Dual-Mage
Warrior Fae Trapped
Warrior Fae Princess
Warrior Chronicles
Chosen
Hunted
Shadow Lands
Invasion
Siege
Overtaken
Darkness Series
Into the Darkness
Braving the Elements
On a Razor’s Edge
Demons
The Council
Shadow Watcher
Jonas
Charles
Jameson
Stand Alone
Secret of McKinley’s Mansion
Finding Paradise
Fate of Perfection
Fate of Devotion
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About the Author
K.F. Breene is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, Amazon Most Sold and #1 Kindle Store bestselling author of paranormal romance, urban fantasy and fantasy novels. With over three million books sold, when she's not penning stories about magic and what goes bump in the night, she's sipping wine and planning shenanigans. She lives in Northern California with her husband, two children, weird dog and out of work treadmill.
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