Her icy, cold glare slid to me. “I wasn’t finished.”
“I’m finished,” his tone could have cut through glass.
She glared at me as she slid from her perch and exited the room. I ran my trembling hands down the front of my skirt again and began rethinking everything I’d set out to do. Babette was sexy, and I was over here looking like I played dress up. Her top showed off all of her cleavage, and her pencil skirt hugged her curves and left little to the imagination. What the hell was I doing here?
“Close the door behind you, Babette.”
I jumped as it slammed shut. Rune let out a sigh and tipped his head back in his chair. He seemed more stressed than anything else. Maybe it wasn’t like that between them.
“What can I do for you, Maple?”
So formal.
“Um,” I hated how uncertain I felt and sounded. “I was wondering if you needed any help with preparing for the upcoming full moon.”
His expression softened, and I felt myself drawn to him all over again, the tension with Babette dissolving between us. I felt like I could breathe again. “What are you thinking?”
I blinked.Oh, ancestors,I’d come in here without a plan. Tension coiled tighter in my gut. “Anything you need,” I said, swallowing my nerves. “I want to be here for you.”
Rune straightened in his chair, the edge in his posture softening. He leaned forward and rifled through one of the drawers before pulling out a folded sheet of paper. “This is a list of everything we’ll need for the full moon,” he said, handing it to me. “If you could get this to Maggie, she’ll know what to do.”
I took the list, scanning the neat handwriting.
Herbs.
Spices.
Cow tongue?
Before I could recover, he slid another paper across the desk. “And this one’s for my mother. She’ll be working on the ancestral altar and warding candles.”
Needles. Incense. Silks. More candles than seemed reasonable.
“I can do that,” I said quickly—maybe too quickly.
Then, before I could talk myself out of it, “Would you like to go to dinner tonight?”
The words hung there like magic, shimmering and impossible to take back.
Rune’s head lifted slowly. His eyes locked on mine—and then he smiled. Not the tight, controlled curve of his usual smirk. A real one. A dangerous one.
My heart soared—and stuttered at the same time.
“I’d like that,” he said, voice low and sure. “What time should I pick you up?”
Tonight was a real date.Which felt nice considering everything Babette was putting me through. It wasn’t enough that I was putting together my father’s funeral, but I now had to deal with all of her issues, as well. She said she wanted closure, but the way she was leaning across my desk hinted more at seduction, and the only reason she would be doing that was if she was out for information. I was sure she was out to get information on why Maple was here, and that was not her business. The only reason she would want that information was to make Maple feel less than. No one had that right.
I adjusted my button-down in the mirror and tucked it into my slacks… then tugged it free again. There was a breeze in the Quarter tonight, but the humidity always crept back like it had unfinished business. I didn’t want to be drenched in sweat before dinner was even served.
I was taking her to the best Creole restaurant in all of New Orleans. I promised her good food, experiencing all of the magic this city had to offer, and that’s what I was going to do. I also knew that if we ate to our hearts content tonight, the night would end early. Babette was watching me, and I couldn’t risk getting tangled up with Maple—at least not yet. I wanted to formally announce our arrangement before the coven, but only after we’d been seen casually together. Leaving her room in the morning was not casual. I wanted a slow courtship, not a scandal. So I would do this right, no matter how much I wanted to touch and taste her.
As quickly as I could, without looking desperate, I walked across the coven house to find Maple’s room. I knocked twice, and when she pulled the door open, it was enough to knock me out. Her hair was still in the half up and half-down style she’d sported earlier in the day, but the skin-tight black dress that stopped above her knees was enough to make my mouth water.
The last thing I would be thinking about was dinner.
“You look…” I found myself at a loss for words. “Incredible.”
Pink stained her cheeks as she blinked down at the floor. “Thank you! I’ve been needing an occasion to wear this dress.”
