Gifted Thief (Highland Magic #1)(25)

Something poked me in my ribs. There was a muffled protest coming from my bag: Bob. I jabbed him back and began to count, crossing my fingers as I did so. One. Two. Into the lobby. Three. Four. Five. Shite. This was taking too long. Past the table with the elaborate flowers. Six. Seven. Up to the doorman. Arse. I’d misjudged the situation.

‘Integrity!’

I allowed myself a tiny smile. No, I’d got it right after all. I turned slowly, reluctantly.

‘Byron,’ I said with a sigh. ‘I think my quiet evening has been ruined. It’s time to head home.’

He regarded me seriously. ‘I can’t let you do that.’

He would have to do better than that. Come on, Golden Boy. Give me something to work with. ‘I don’t think it’s up to you.’

‘But it is. How can I possibly let you go with what happened there as the only story for your grandchildren? It’ll hurt my reputation immeasurably. You need to give me another chance so that they’ll think better of me.’

Better. I gave a silent round of applause. ‘I promise I’ll paint you in a very favourable light, my liege.’

He winced. ‘Don’t call me that. My father might be Steward but that doesn’t mean I will be.’

‘Byron.’ I softened my voice and looked at him up through my eyelashes, noting his reaction. Yep. He might be a pretty face but he was also pretty dumb. ‘I can’t go back in there,’ I told him, gesturing towards the bar. ‘It really is better if I go home.’

He tilted his head, a bronzed curl falling across his eyes. ‘We were getting along very well, Integrity,’ he murmured. ‘Let’s not ruin things. I have the penthouse suite. I can get Timothy to send up the champagne. No one else is going to drink it and it would be a shame to let it go to waste.’

I did an imaginary dance. I am a sexual goddess. At least for tonight anyway. ‘I don’t know… I’ve got work tomorrow and…’

‘Please. Just one drink.’

I met his eyes and something inexplicable flared between us. What the hell was that? ‘Okay,’ I said finally. ‘Just one. But only because you’ve paid for that champagne and it’s so expensive.’

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth and he held out his arm. ‘One drink,’ he breathed. ‘I promise.’





Chapter Six




We stepped into the lift. As the doors glided to a smooth close, I turned to Byron. ‘So that’s your Gift, is it? Telekinesis? Throwing things around with the power of your mind?’

‘It’s one of them.’

Surprised, I asked, ‘You have more than one?’ That was unusual.

He gave a dismissive shrug. ‘Comes with the family. I only have two though. Not as many as my father unfortunately.’ He paused. ‘What’s yours?’

‘Not worth mentioning,’ I demurred. I didn’t have any. I’d left the Sidhe lands before I could receive either my true name or my Gift. Like I cared. I got along quite well without either of them. It wasn’t too much of a big deal – plenty of lower-level Sidhe didn’t have much zap behind their Gifts.

To avoid further interrogation, I kept the focus on him. People love talking about themselves. ‘Your Gifts must be very strong,’ I purred. ‘What’s it like?’

Byron grimaced. ‘It’s easy to push out lots of strength like I did in the bar. It was actually a dick move. What’s far harder is being delicate and targeted.’

‘Oh yes?’ I asked innocently. ‘Like what?’

Mischief danced in his emerald-green eyes. ‘I’ll show you.’ He blinked languorously like a cat. That’s when I felt it. The zip at the back of my dress tugged. What the hell? I jumped and he chuckled – but he didn’t stop. Without touching me, he continued to lower my zip. My fingers scrabbled at my back.

‘Stop that!’

He smiled. ‘Okay.’ The strap on my shoulder began to slip down instead, exposing my bra. ‘Mm. Hot pink underwear to match your hot pink dress. You do like that colour.’

I squeaked, ‘That’s enough!’

‘If you insist.’

‘I do!’ I wagged my finger. ‘One drink, remember? Nothing else.’

‘As if I could forget,’ he murmured. ‘Come on, turn around. I’ll fix you back up.’

I didn’t ask why he wasn’t using his Gift to return my clothing to its appropriate state. I already knew. His fingers brushed against my skin, lingering as he gently pulled my shoulder strap back up. Then he slowly pulled up the zip. ‘I can’t believe our paths haven’t crossed before,’ he said in a low voice.

Oh, he knew all the right things to say and all the right moves to make. I reminded myself that he was a playboy. I knew that, even though I avoided reading the tabloids and gossip sheets whenever the Sidhe were involved.

Control, Integrity. You’re in control.

‘Just our bad luck,’ I whispered.

A bell sounded as the lift arrived at its designated floor. Both Byron and I flinched then I turned round to catch his eye and laughed nervously. He stared at me for a moment before smiling. ‘Here we are,’ he said. ‘Home sweet home. At least for the next three nights anyway.’