I opened the door, flickering in the dimly lit room. Fresh roses in a vase sat on my little table by the window, which also held a bottle of wine and two glasses. Austin sat on the edge of my bed, bare-chested and godly, the top button on his jeans undone and his feet bare. His smile dwindled and his eyes took on a focused look to match the pulsing warmth radiating through the link.
Something about the way he was sitting there, dressed down and gorgeous, weakened my knees and made my heart swoon. This powerful, fearsome alpha had always let me see his softer side, the easygoing part of him with a little smile around his full lips. Both sides appealed to me—his power and strength, and his smiles and laughter. I’d been lucky to have him as a friend for all these months, and I was luckier still to have this new intimacy I couldn’t seem to get enough of. I hadn’t even totally given in to it yet, and it had still consumed part of my soul.
I’d need to figure all that out, eventually. Today, though, I just needed to chill. It had been a long day.
“Hey,” I said, closing the door after me.
“Hey.” He held out his arms, and I walked into them, dropping my hand to his shoulder, feeling the electricity zing between us.
He sat me down on his knee and ran his palm under my shirt and across my stomach.
“What do you think about a relaxing bath?” he asked. “You haven’t felt one of my massages.”
“Oh? Are they famous or something?”
“Probably not. I don’t give them often, but I’m pretty sure they help pass the time.”
I smiled and kissed his lips. “Sounds good.”
He waited for me to stand before joining me, grabbing the bottom of my shirt and readying to pull it off.
A foot I didn’t recognize stepped onto Ivy House soil. Austin paused. The intruder continued up the walk, the steps slow and clumsy, not in a straight line. A moment later, the person turned and ran off.
Mr. Tom approached the front door, and I waited to see what would happen, dread filtering through my middle. After every battle or magical hurdle, there was one person who’d always made his presence known. One person who’d always turned up.
The front door opened. Mr. Tom stepped out. Shock blasted through the link, and then sorrow, and then rage.
I was running before I’d made a conscious effort.
“Go get the miss,” Mr. Tom shouted, perhaps to Ivy House, because no one else was there.
“I’m here.” I took the stairs down two at a time, Austin right behind me. “I’m here. What is it?”
But he didn’t need to answer me. As soon as I reached the threshold, I saw.
Sebastian lay sprawled out on the grass, a knife in his heart pinning a note to his chest. His face was so bloody that it was almost hard to tell who he was, but those sightless gray eyes were looking up at the sky. I recognized the shape of his face, too, and the clothes he’d been wearing when he’d left. I hadn’t felt him on the grounds, so he must’ve been force-fed the potion to hide him from Ivy House. I’d put up a spell to unmask that potion, but it hadn’t bothered Sebastian, it seemed.
“Because he’s dead,” I breathed, anger and sadness welling up through me. “My spell to unmask people seeks out pent-up energy and danger. He no longer has either.”
The note read, This was my employee. Then he was your employee. Now he is no one’s employee. Want to come over for a drink next month? I’ll send a jet. Check yes or no.
Two square boxes were under that. He literally wanted me to check a box. He’d likely magically receive the answer. His name was at the bottom, no PS this time.
Tears clouded my vision. My hands balled at my sides. My gut twisted with guilt. I was the reason Sebastian was dead. He’d helped me, and I’d gotten him killed.
I couldn’t do this anymore. I couldn’t live with that nutcase dogging my every step, watching me from the shadows.
“Yes, I will meet him,” I said through clenched teeth. “I will meet him face to face, and I will kill him for everything he’s done to me. Someone get me a pen.”
“I have a confession,” Ivy House said.
I waited for more bad news, and for a pen, and for the sobs to come. There had