He stepped back and glanced around the restaurant before shaking his head in disgust when he saw how many people were watching us. “Fine. Let’s go.”
I followed the difficult and frustrating man out of the diner to his truck, hopping back into the passenger seat. When he sat in the driver’s seat, I asked, “You taking me home now?”
“Don’t really want to, naw. You wanna go home?”
“Not really. Where to then?”
He ran a hand down his face and shook his head. “I honestly dunno.”
Since he wasn’t offering up his house, I figured that was a no go, and since I knew there was no way Ailin would let him on coven land yet, I couldn’t take him to mine. “Um… what about the curve? We can hang out there for a little while?”
“Sure, okay. What time do you have to be home?”
“Doesn’t matter. I have off work today.”
He nodded. “I haveta be home in about two hours to relieve the babysitter.”
“Okay… how old is your daughter?”
He paused with his keys halfway to the ignition and stared at me. “We’re not talking about her.”
I jerked back, then sighed and turned away from him. He didn’t even trust me enough to tell me his daughter’s age. What the fucking fuck?
“Motherfucker,” he said under his breath. “She’s eight, okay?”
She was eight? She was so tiny. I’d thought she was six at the oldest. “Okay.” Deciding to drop it for now, I asked, “How old are you?”
He turned on the truck and put it in drive. “Thirty-seven, you?”
“You’re seriously thirty-seven?”
He glanced at me with a furrowed brow. “Yeah, why?”
“Didn’t think you were that much older than me.”
“How old are you?” He glanced at me with a worried expression, so I smirked at him.
“Twenty-four.”
He relaxed a fraction. “Good.”
“Good?”
“Good that you’re not younger than that.” He chuckled. “Freaked me out for a second.”
“There’s no possible way you thought I was a teenager.”
“I didn’t until you called me old!”
I snorted. “What’s your favorite color?”
“Uh… gray.”
I wrinkled my nose. “What the hell kind of favorite color is that?”
He sighed and shook his head, but didn’t answer. “What’s yours?”
“Pink.”
His head jerked toward me as he let out a bark of laughter. “Liar.”
I snorted. “Everyone assumes I hate pink for some reason, but I actually really like it. I wouldn’t want to wear it, but… in Faela, pink sorta… made me feel safe… home, I guess.”
He reached over and took my hand again, giving it a squeeze. “I know I’m being a dick, but I’m trying.”
“I know. I’m trying, too.”
He squeezed my hand tighter. We were quiet again, which was kinda nice since he kept holding my hand until he turned into the curve and parked the car. Then we sat there and looked out at a group of teenagers goofing off—pretty sure they were humans—and a couple having a picnic. I couldn’t tell what kind of supe they were, but I knew they had magic, I could feel it.
“Two shifters. Huh.”
I tilted my head at him and asked, “You can tell they’re shifters all the way from here?” As far as I knew, many hunters could do that, but no one really knew why since they were human.
“Yeah, can’t you?”
I shook my head. “Not from here. I sense their magic, but I can’t tell what type of magic it is.”
“Really?”
“Are you… sure you’re only human? You’re not like half shifter or something?”
He snorted. “I’m human.”
“Then how can you sense other creatures so easily?”
He sighed and released my hand. At first, I thought he was angry at me, but then he took off his hooded cloak, threw it in the back seat, and began rolling up his long-sleeved Henley.
“Hot?” I asked even though it wasn’t hot in the car with the AC running.
“Nah, I’m showing you somethin’.”
I stared at the skin he was exposing on his forearm, and my eyes widened. His arm was just as covered in tiny runes as his hand. Holy shit balls.
He chuckled. “Holy shit balls?”
My eyes jerked up to his and widened. “You read my mind.”
“Nah. You whispered it.”
I blinked at him. “I did?”
He chuckled again. “Yeah.” He ran his gloved finger down his arm, pointing out what looked like words, but I didn’t recognize them, which was unusual considering I spoke like six languages and was pretty good in a few others. Grabbing his arm, I moved it closer to my face to get a better look. As I ran my finger over the words, he sucked in a breath, and I felt the power, the magic, in his skin.
I licked my lips because now that his skin was like right in my face, I really wanted to lick him, but I refrained and asked, “What’s it do?” It was obviously a spell.
“It’s a spell from the ancient cynocephalys. It helps identify other creatures and magic.” He shrugged, and my eyes widened. There wasn’t a lot known about the cynocephalys since they’d been extinct for centuries. I didn’t think any of their culture had been saved, let alone a spell still being used. “It used to only work when I touched someone, but with practice, it’s grown more powerful. It’s… it was the first tattoo I ever got. My dad put it on me. It’s a rite of passage for hunters.” He sighed.
“I didn’t think any of the cynocephaly spells survived their fall?”
“This isn’t a known spell. It was passed down in my family, and many other hunter families, for generations. We… it helps to know who you’re surrounded by in case they attack you… you’ll know how to fight them.”
“That’s really amazing, Hiro. Thank you for showing me.” I sent him a small smile.
He only shrugged and turned to stare out the window like my gratefulness was embarrassing him. Whatever.
Not wanting him to cover his skin up quite yet, I moved closer still, and all it did was make me want to lick him more… and it made me wish I could see the rest of his skin, see how much of him was covered in tattoos. On his forearm alone, he probably had fifteen spells and runes on him. I recognized a lot of them, and even had a few of the same ones on my body, but mine were larger than his. I’d have to ask Ailin if that would affect its potency or not.
Before I had a thought of what I was doing, I closed that final distance and pressed my lips to his skin. I didn’t lick him, but it was a close thing. I did however linger there because I liked the way he sucked in a breath from such a simple and innocent, all things considered, kiss. His warmth felt good under my lips, and I smiled before pulling back and sitting up.
When I made eye contact with him, I licked my lips to catch any small flavor of him, and I hummed when his smoky sandalwood flavor hit my tongue.
His eyes widened for a moment. Out of nowhere, he reached over, grabbed the back of my head, and pulled me into a kiss. This one wasn’t the sweet one he’d given me earlier, but it wasn’t the punishing one of last night either. This kiss was somewhere in between. It was demanding and intense. He controlled the kiss, deepening it further, and I moaned in the back of my throat and let him take control. My hands fisted his shirt, holding on for dear life as he kissed the hell out of me, sending tingles of pleasure all throughout my body.