He could see from the side of the bar that she wore jeans that hugged her ass, but he tried not to look there because he wasn’t that much of a lecher.
At least, he didn’t think so. He hadn’t thought so before this moment anyway.
She worked with an efficiency that told him that she had likely done this before, or perhaps was just a fast learner. But while she worked, her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. And her gaze constantly darted towards the door.
Maybe she wasn’t so proficient at this. Perhaps she was new but knew precisely what she was doing.
He couldn’t stop staring at her, and when Malik cleared his throat beside him, Jonah pulled his gaze from her, grateful that the woman hadn’t seen him staring. It was bad enough that he was staring at all. He didn’t want to be caught doing it.
“That’s Poppy,” Eliana whispered from Jonah’s other side.
Jonah looked towards her and shrugged. “New bartender, then?”
He hoped he sounded casual. But from the look that the mated pair gave each other and him, he knew he had been anything but.
“She’s a quick learner. Dante said she didn’t really have any experience before this.”
“That’s good. Good. Think she’s pulling our beers now,” Jonah said, having found his gaze right back on her. He couldn’t help it. But he truly needed to stop.
“You should go over there and ask her out,” Eliana said, and Malik snorted.
“Jonah? Ask out a woman? Well, I would say it’d be a cold day in hell, but I don’t actually know if hell has only hot seasons.”
“You are friends with a demon, as well as Lucifer’s son. I’m sure you could find out,” Jonah added wryly.
You know, I just might text them,” Malik said, narrowing his eyes at Jonah. “If you don’t ask her out, at least go over and say hi. You know, make an introduction.”
Jonah just shook his head. “I’m fine.
“You’re not,” Eliana said. This time, her voice was soft.
Jonah swallowed hard and then did his best to look like he was fine. “Seriously, Jonah. You rarely take days off, and even though I love that you are such a warrior for my daughter, you’re allowed to have time to yourself.”
“I’m here with you, aren’t I?”
“Because we dragged you out bodily,” Malik said.
“Yes, you did. Maybe it was because I didn’t really want to encroach on date night. You two rarely go out.”
“We go out,” Eliana said, shaking her head. “We go out often. You, however, are constantly back in our realm, being a loving nanny to our daughter.”
“I’m a caregiver, I don’t like being called a nanny.”
“You like it,” Malik said. “You’re the one who calls himself a nanny.”
“Fine, I don’t mind the word, I just don’t like it when you get that look in your eye whenever she calls me that,” Jonah said to Malik, and his friend just grinned.
“What? I find it hilarious. Mostly because I like to get under your skin. Nothing much gets under your skin these days, Jonah.”
“And if we’re going to continue getting all introspective about my life, I’m going to need that beer.”
As if Dante had been waiting for that exact moment, the dragon set down three pints of pumpkin ale, and Jonah’s mouth watered.
“You’re going to like it,” Dante warned.
“Was that a threat?” Malik asked, and Jonah just grinned before taking a sip. Flavor burst on his tongue, and he held back a moan.
“Told you,” Dante said before he went off to help another table.
“This is amazing,” Malik said, practically whispering into his beer so nobody could see.
“Oh, yes, I think this is my favorite.”
Eliana held the pint with both hands and smiled into it as she wiggled in her seat. “I think I could drink this whole thing.”
“Do so. Have as much as you want.” And then Malik whispered something into her ear that made her blush, and Jonah averted his gaze.
He didn’t mind being the third wheel. He was usually the odd man out when it came to them. He was Penelope’s guard, not just her nanny as they put it. And though he had the evening off, and she was surrounded by five of his most trusted soldiers, he still wanted to go back and make sure that she was safe. He couldn’t help it, he had lost too many people before, he wouldn’t let anything happen now.
“So, is Poppy human?” he asked, the question out of his lips before he could even fully think the words. Humans who worked at the bar didn’t tend to know the secrets of the paranormals, but sometimes, they did. They had to tread carefully. And even though they were all talking aloud about lions and dragons, the magic within the bar itself helped keep their secrets.
Malik just grinned like a cat in cream, and Eliana clapped her hands in front of her after she’d set her beer on the table. “She’s not, but I don’t know exactly what she is. You know it’s not nice to ask.”
“I can go over and see,” Malik said.
“Don’t use your little shifter senses to figure it out. I’m still new to the whole supernatural game, and I don’t even know if phoenixes are supposed to be able to sense what other paranormals are.”
“Phoenixes are a rare breed. I’m sure after a time, you’d be able to figure it out. And, no, none of us should go over there to uncover the mystery. That would be rude.” Jonah resisted looking over at Poppy again. But he could feel her, sense her. And that worried him. He had never felt like this before, and he didn’t want to know what it meant.
“You should still go over and talk to her,” Eliana said, pulling him out of his thoughts.
“No, I really shouldn’t.”
“She’s the first person I’ve seen you look at like that. Ever.”
He ignored Malik’s words.
“There are good reasons that I don’t.” But he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t even look at her again. At Poppy. Such a bright, happy name for a woman who didn’t smile.
As he forced himself to look away, he remembered the color of her eyes. A pure silver that had beckoned him. Because from his first look into those silver eyes, he had been lost. And he was damn worried that if he looked again, he wouldn’t be able to pull himself out like he had before.
This wasn’t something he needed. He had a job, a life, a ward. Penelope needed him. Eliana and Malik needed him. They had given him purpose after a life he had thought he’d lost. He didn’t want to risk that again. Didn’t want to risk what was deep inside of him. The haunted part that he had hidden for so long.
So, he wasn’t going to look.
Eliana and Malik seemed to have noticed the change in his mood, so they moved the subject to Penelope and the rest of the seven.
He liked the seven, the seven lightning-struck women who had become a core part of his life. He didn’t get to see all of them at the same time often, not when each of them lived within their own realm, either ruling it or working with the monarchies. But he liked them, liked the way that, no matter what, they were always there for each other.
They were some of the most powerful supernaturals in any of the worlds, and he was blessed to be a part of the outer circle.