Last Wish (Highland Magic #4)(34)

I ran my hands down his arms, resting them briefly on his biceps. My mouth was insistent and continued to press against his. I trailed one hand down his body and he groaned suddenly, his lips parting. My tongue darted inside his mouth and the catcalls and whoops faded into background noise. It was just me and Byron. A moment later, he gave in and began kissing me back. He raised his arms, looping them over my head, and pulled me closer to him. Blood roared in my ears. God, he tasted good. I moaned slightly ? and then I was blinking as something wet splattered my face.

Drawing back, I saw Jamie looking overly contrite, holding a glass and apologising. ‘I’m so sorry! I tripped!’

Byron yanked his arms back and stared at me, confusion clouding his gaze. His eyes swept across my features and for a moment I was assailed with panic that the Illusion was fading. Then he shook himself slightly. ‘Get up,’ he muttered.

I paused, unsure whether to obey or not but my body was lifted as his Gift pushed me to my feet. Byron got up as well, swaying from side to side. ‘Thish lovely policewoman wantsh to take me in for questioning,’ he said aloud. I tilted my head. He should be careful, he was overdoing the slurring. And what on earth was he up to? ‘We’re going to go upshtairsh to a more private room.’

His friends’ response was a mixture of disappointed boos and encouraging shouts. Byron jerked his head at Jamie who nodded and led the way. ‘I’ll show you where you can go,’ he said, half smiling. Close up, there was no denying that he was worried.

Jamie led the way as the yells behind us got louder. Someone muttered that they should have hired more than one stripper. I tried not to shudder and allowed myself a sneaky look at Aifric. He wasn’t watching me; he grinned in amusement at his son then turned away to talk to an older man.

The three of us tripped up the stairs and into a room on the left. Jamie closed the door behind us and locked it, while I told myself I wasn’t nervous.

Byron dropped the act immediately. He flicked his magic towards his bound wrists and the handcuffs fell off and clattered to the floor. He ran a hand through his hair. ‘Who are you?’ he hissed.

I smiled. ‘Who would you like me to be?’

He snarled and whirled away. ‘Pay her,’ he snapped at Jamie.

‘We can’t just let her walk away,’ Jamie answered. ‘Not now you’re supposed to be up here and…’

Jeez. Even with everything else that was going on, I really hadn’t thought that Byron was this sleazy. He cursed under his breath.

I found my voice, only just remembering in time to alter it so I didn’t sound like myself. ‘I’m a stripper,’ I said, ‘not a hooker.’

‘Relax. Nothing’s going to happen.’ Byron looked at Jamie. ‘This could work in our favour. She’s the perfect diversion.’ He bunched his fists. He seemed unable to look me directly in the eye. Was that because I’d ignited his desire and he was embarrassed about it? If only I’d not set my own lust alight at the same time. ‘We’ll pay you triple,’ he said, ‘if you stay up here and don’t tell anyone.’

‘I think everyone already knows,’ I said, forcing myself to smirk.

He glared. ‘We’re leaving.’ He pointed at Jamie. ‘Me and him.’ He ran a hand through his hair and I watched as it flopped down against his forehead, one golden curl standing out against his perfect skin. ‘You will stay here until morning. If you keep quiet and don’t answer the door, you’ll get three times your usual fee.’

What the hell was going on here? What were they up to? ‘I guess I can do that,’ I said hesitantly.

All business now, Byron nodded. ‘Jamie, we’ll stick to the rest of the plan. You stay downstairs in case anyone gets suspicious. If you need to, you can come up here and pretend to check on me from time to time.’

‘Where are you going?’ I asked.

‘None of your business,’ Byron said sharply.

Jamie touched my arm. ‘He’s sneaking off to see his fiancée,’ he said. Well, I knew that was a lie even without my Truth-Seeking Gift. ‘It’s nothing against you. He’s just not that into the whole stag night thing.’

‘Yeah,’ Byron muttered unconvincingly.

I moved past him and perched on a sofa. ‘Sounds like easy money to me.’

‘Do up your shirt.’

‘Huh?’ I glanced down and realised I was still proudly displaying my – or rather Chardonnay’s ? rather bounteous assets to the world. I licked my lips. ‘Don’t you like what you see?’

‘I’m not interested,’ Byron growled. There was an edge of anger in his words that I’d ever heard before, not even when he’d discovered I could steal magic.

If Jamie hadn’t been present, I might have played around some more. Instead, I nodded and fastened the buttons. ‘So where is your lovely bride?’ I asked casually.

He ignored me. ‘I’ll be back before dawn.’

‘See that you are,’ Jamie said. ‘You know what could happen if this gets screwed up.’

Byron’s answer was flat. ‘I’d better not screw up then.’ With that, he walked to the sash window, yanked it up and disappeared into the night.

Jamie looked at me. I held up my hands. ‘I’ll be good.’