Magical Midlife Love (Leveling Up #4) - K.F. Breene Page 0,127
close to his. “Yes. Some called it yours. Some called it mine. Some called it ours. I think ‘ours’ makes the most sense. Your interactions with the magical world will always spill out of this property. You need to have a say in how things are handled.” He kissed me softly.
“Is that allowed, though? Won’t your people be confused?”
“Nothing about our setup is normal. They won’t be any more confused than they are now.” He kissed me again as Sebastian approached the door. Then Austin rose, lifting me with him, and deposited me onto the couch. “I know you want to ask him about joining the council, so I’ll let you talk to him alone. When you’re done, I’ll meet you in your bedroom?”
A rush of heat stole through me and I nodded. Sebastian, just about to enter, hunched down and backed up, letting Austin pass.
“Hey,” Sebastian said, straightening up as he came in. He stalled by the door. “Open or closed?”
“Closed, please.”
He shut the door, and I closed my eyes and leaned back.
“Tired?” he asked. “I mean, I know you’re tired, but…”
“I am, yes. I’ve never done so much healing. Fighting with magic didn’t actually tire me out like it has in the past. Like…” I frowned. “Kind of at all. It felt…so much easier.”
“They were all so far below you. If we were to battle, it would be a different story. Or another mage of my caliber.”
“You’d kill me pretty easily.”
“In a one-on-one fight away from Ivy House, yes, I probably would. But only because I have more experience. Add in your alpha and his shifters, and I wouldn’t give myself great odds, even with a team. I might run, like Kinsella did.”
I frowned as my eyes met his pale gray gaze. “What do I do about that? Do I hunt him down, or assume he’s learned his lesson?”
“In the magical world, normally I’d say you’d have to hunt him down, but you’d need to take him out in a cunning way, in cold blood, and I don’t know that you are capable of that. Plus, your territory is not entirely established yet. Let him run in disgrace. If he resurfaces in any meaningful way, and he is a thorn in your side, then you take him out.”
I nodded, taking a deep breath. “Listen, I wondered… First, do you know how the setup works here? The link with the Ivy House crew?”
“Yes,” he said, and his eye color almost seemed to shift to the palest shade of blue, excitement sparking deep inside of them. In a moment, though, the effect was gone. My fatigue was getting to me. My desire to go upstairs and cuddle Austin was almost overwhelming.
“I wondered, would you like to join my crew? You’d get a room here and youthful vigor, though maybe you don’t need it, plus the other perks Ivy House has to offer.”
“I would, yes. But maybe…” He looked down at himself. “If I could shower…”
“Oh, totally.” I held up my hand. “Sorry, yes, we can do it some other time once we’ve all recovered.”
He nodded, and one of his weird, crooked smiles worked up his face. He looked out the window. “It feels good…to be asked.”
“You’re a valuable member of the team. It’s a no-brainer.”
His smile broadened. “Still feels good. That you think I’m good enough to join your team. That you don’t look down on me for my oddities or my flaws.”
I huffed out a laugh. “That would be something, wouldn’t it? If I looked down on someone else for being odd and having flaws?” I raised my hand. “Hello? Pot calling the kettle black. Besides, everyone in this house is unpardonably odd and has more flaws than normal qualities. You fit in just fine.”
Still smiling, still looking away from me, he nodded slowly. “I do fit in here. And maybe that’s why she believed in me.”
“Who?”
His eyebrows went up. “Oh. You. Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts. Well…if that’s all?” He partially stood. “I don’t want to keep you from your alpha. I might go home and shower now after all. I suddenly feel invigorated.”
I laughed and stood, wobbling a little. He stepped forward to steady me, backing off when I gave a thumbs-up. “Welcome, in advance. To the team.”
“Thank you.”
I trudged up to my bedroom, not sure how much fun I’d be with Austin, since I could barely lug myself around. He’d have to do all the work, not that he’d mind.