“We need your help in the gnome village, Lou. Remember?”
I slap my forehead. I’d forgotten, what with stalking Connall like a creep and all.
Bellami climbs onto my knee and uses my shirt for leverage to pull himself up. After hopping onto my forearm, he uses it like a bridge to get close to the shelf. He crawls onto it and stands there, looking at me as I debate whether to remind him that it’s not all that polite to crawl up a girl’s boobs like a ladder.
“Can you help us tomorrow night?”
I snort. “I work here until eight, but then?—”
“Eight’s perfect,” he interrupts. “Our best work is done at night once the moon comes out. It helps us identify where to place all the toadstools and moss, et cetera. They prefer nighttime, as you know.”
I sigh. “Eight sounds fine. What exactly is it you need me to do? And why do you even need a new village?”
He grins. “Haul logs, move houses, dig holes. The heavy stuff, basically, as I previously mentioned. While we’re industrious, it’ll go a lot faster with your help. We’ve been living in thetree trunks, but we’ve outgrown them, so it’s time for a formal village. It’s a big deal for us.”
I glance down my nose at him. “You know, there are a million other monsters in this haven who could also help you.”
“Gotta be you,” Bellami says in a final tone. “We trust you, and we don’t allow most outsiders into the village.”
Cocking my head to the side, I absorb his words. “Why on earth would you trust me?”
Bellami’s usual scowl falls, replaced by the tiniest of smiles. “You have a beautiful aura, Lou, a gentle, loyal aura surrounded by a circle of fierce protectiveness. You’re basically a gnome at heart.”
“I don’t find you all that gentle,” I say with a laugh. “You think gnomes are gentle?”
He shrugs tiny shoulders. “Do we look that way to outsiders? Probably not. We have to be fierce and act big and loud, or else nobody pays us any attention. But that’s not who we really are. It’s just who we have to be because of the world we live in. You’ll see tomorrow when you help us.”
Something pangs in my heart at his words. I was always a nerdy kid, way more into plants and magic than people. And then I was a nerdy, witchy teenager far more interested in the occult than anything I learned in high school or college. And now I’m a grown-ass woman with three nieces who’re witches, trying to find my place in a monstery world that’s far too cool for me.
The front door bell dings, announcing a patron.
Bellami tips his hat at me before leaping onto my arm and army-crawling down it to my elbow, where he executes a dainty little flip onto the floor. “Eight p.m., Lou, don’t forget!”
“I won’t,” I return, standing to follow him out of the storage room.
I pick my way past chunky wooden tables piled high with specialty mosses and crystals and potions of every kind, and Iavoid looking at the new batch of sleeping potion Malik made when I couldn’t complete the recipe.
I’m not surprised to find Dirk standing at the front, leaning against the tall wooden checkout table with his elbows propped on it. His feet are crossed at the ankles, blue lightning moving over his chest and arms. I take it in like I always do. I’ve never told him because he’d be insufferable, but I find his lightning beautiful. Especially now that I touched it, and it came to me. That was so…cool.
“I like the way you stare at me, Louanna,” he rumbles, his voice going low, navy eyes hooded.
I cross my arms and stop next to him. “So you’ve said.”
His grin becomes a lascivious beam as he licks his lips, dark eyes traveling down my body and slowly back up. Lightning sparks across his chest, moving in fascinating rivulets over his smooth skin. If I tell him I’ve stared enough to notice he has tiny blue freckles, I’ll never hear the end of it.
“Louanna,” he draws my attention.
When I look up, he wears the most serious expression I’ve ever seen on him.
“Yesterday was an emotional rollercoaster, my sweet. Do you want to talk about it?”
A harsh chuckle leaves me. “Oh, you mean spying on Connall like creeps? Or how you blurted out that you wanted to pursue him? Or maybe how he looked totally horrified?”
“All of it.” He reaches out with his right hand, curls his fingers through mine and pulls me flush with his chest. When our bodies touch, he drops his hold on my hand and tucks my ever-wayward bangs behind my ears. Dark eyes scan mine, as if he can see how I’m feeling simply by looking. Perhaps he can. Despite his effusive charm, Dirk’s the most observant male I know.
He waits silently for me to answer. After a long moment, I sink into him. “I’m stressed.” It’s hard to admit it. I’ve tried so hard to be strong for the triplets with all the shit they’ve had to deal with. I don’t cry in front of them. I wait to get to my room before I fall apart. But sometimes, I wish I didn’t have to hold myself together quite so well.
Dirk says nothing but slides his warm hand up the back of my tee to stroke. Shivers of electricity kiss my skin everywhere he touches. It should be shocking, but somehow, it just feels good. Without allowing myself to overthink it, I turn my head sideways and press my cheek to his chest.
