“This week. It’s new.” Torin slid me a glance and gave me a sultry smile that had enough heat in it to send my insides twisting into knots.
“Nice. That’s always the fun time, isn’t it?”
I shook my head at the two men and went off to greet the new customers, and then I didn’t have much time for anything else. I couldn’t believe that Graham had been handling the dinner shift all on his own. The Tipsy Thistle did more than a steady business for dinner, it was fully packed. I barely had time to stop and ask Torin how his day had been before I was needed at another table again.
But, by the time my shift had ended, I’d padded my apron pocket with a few tips, and I’d made strides in reintroducing myself to some of Loren Brae’s long-time locals. I noted a few curious looks between Torin and me, but otherwise, nobody said anything untoward about us.
“That’s me off, then,” I told Graham, ready to be off my feet for the day. “Honestly, I can’t believe you’ve been doing this shift on your own.”
“I’ve had some help, here and there, but nothing regular. It makes a difference. Nicely done, Liora. I think you’ll be a grand addition to The Tipsy Thistle.”
“Thanks.” I beamed at him and then looked at Torin as he rose from his stool. “Are you leaving too?”
“Of course, I’m giving you a ride home.” Torin looked at me like I was speaking a different language.
“You are?” I asked, incredulous, and Torin put his hand at the small of my back and ushered me toward the door. It was a clear signal to the pub, and a part of me wondered how much he was doing this to keep up the ruse, and how much was because he genuinely wanted to be with me. Once we were outside, the crisp night air causing our breath to come in small wafts, I paused in front of where he’d parked his lorry next to my car and turned to him. “Torin. You don’t have to drive me home, you know. I’ve lived in a big city for a long time. I know how to take care of myself.”
“Aye, I don’t doubt it.” Torin shrugged and looked around.
“And it doesn’t make sense for you to sit through every one of my shifts and wait for me. In fact, it reads a little possessive.”
“It does?” Torin looked at me, surprise on his handsome face. “It’s just…I don’t know. What you said about the Kelpies the other day…and having to fight them and all that. It’s in my head, all right? I’d be gutted if something were to happen and I wasn’t here to help.”
At that, some of my annoyance with him eased. Pressing my lips together, I stepped forward and patted his cheek.
“You’re an incredibly thoughtful man, aren’t you?” I asked, peering up at him. Standing on my tiptoes, I went to place a kisson his cheek, but he turned at the last second, capturing my lips with his own.
Heat speared through me, and as much as I wanted to remind myself that this was just fake, it certainly felt real.
A shriek split the night and Torin lifted me in one movement, turning to press my back against the wall of the pub, covering my body with his. My heart hammered in my chest, as my thoughts scrambled.
“Is that the Kelpies?” I hissed. I hadn’t heard them yet, and the hair lifted at the back of my neck.
“Aye,” Torin said, looking over his shoulder as he protected me. “Get in the car.”
“No, I should do something.”
“Do you know what to do?”
I blanched and then shook my head. I couldn’t move, he had me so thoroughly pinned against the wall of the pub, and it was both soothing and incredibly maddening at the same time.
“Let’s just wait a moment and see if we hear them again. Sometimes they just scream in warning.”
“They do?” How did he know that?
“Aye, I’ve heard them enough.”
The moment drew out and when another shriek didn’t come on the icy evening air, Torin’s body relaxed. Finally, he turned his head and looked down at me, the light from the streetlamp reflecting in his eyes.
“We’re probably okay, no?” I asked, my body on fire from being pressed against his. It was like being smushed between two rock-hard walls, and despite the very real fear I had from hearing the Kelpies for the first time, my body, traitorous bitch, seemed to have other ideas.
I rocked my hips subtly, and desire flared in Torin’s face.
“Careful, darling.” Torin bent his head and nipped lightly at my lower lip. “Though I’d dearly love to see your face when yourlegs are wrapped around my hips, now is not the time or the place.”
Of course it wasn’t. I was literally plastered to the wall of my place of employment. What was I even doing? Shaking my head, I put a hand to his chest and shoved lightly, until he moved back and I could breathe normally again.
This was … getting out of control. I needed to keep in mind the end goal. Get my life together. Undo the truth spell that made Torin say things likethatto me and help Loren Brae with the whole pesky Kelpie problem.Although, there was no way the truth spell affected him physically, right?His kisses left me breathless and if he kept pinning my body with his, I would not survive that sort of heat.