The woman behind the counter choked a little as she handed the change back. Meriel laughed. “Yes, he’s really like this all the time. It’s why I keep him around.”

Dominic laughed at that, hugging her closer to his side. “As if you could get rid of me.”

They sat in his car and shared the gelato. It pleased her that he’d liked it so much. It was such a sweet, normal moment. Still, in the air between them their chemistry sizzled and she couldn’t help but imagine him naked. Ha, as if she wanted to stop that.

“I can’t believe I’ve never had this before and it’s only a few blocks from my club.” He leaned in and licked her spoon, making her all dizzy and dry mouthed.

He turned enough to meet her gaze and the smirk on his lips told her he knew just exactly what he was doing to her and her hormones.

She had to swallow hard, but she did find her words enough to say, “You’re very naughty.”

He sat back in his seat and turned the car back on and took them to his club. “I’m trying to show you just how much, but you keep making me work for it.”

She snorted. “Please. When’s the last time you had to work to get a woman into bed?”

Ignoring the line of cars, he drove straight to the front, got out after giving her a look daring her to open her door on her own. He opened it and helped her out, tossing the keys to the valet. “But you’re not some woman,” he murmured as he escorted her through a side entrance. The same one they’d gone out the night before.

She paused in front of his office door.

“What?” He put himself in between her and the door. Good gracious, when he did stuff like that it made her all trembly and swoony.

“The warding here is off. Can I fix it?”

He opened the door and ushered her in. “Only if I can watch and you’ll go slow enough so I can learn.”

Dominic never failed to surprise her. Bold. Arrogant. Totally alpha-male material. But he wasn’t afraid to ask questions or to learn new things.

So she walked him through the wards, showing him how to amp up the energy with some mini-feedback spells within it. “These little steps mean you won’t have to use nearly as much from the font. The spell perpetuates its own strength this way.”

“Can’t believe I never thought of that.”

Warmed by his praise, she moved through the rest of the ward, pointing out thin spots and minute errors in execution, which left the overall spell weaker and easier to pull apart.

Despite that, she had to give him credit, the work was very, very good, and she told him so.

“Thank you.”

“Can I …” She wanted to show him how to use his othersight; it was clear he didn’t really access it very well, but she didn’t want to embarrass him either.

He stood very close, taking her cheeks in his hands and tipping her face up to see it better. “You can. Anything. Just say it.”

She swallowed, hard. “Can I give you some tips on how to open yourself up more fully to your othersight?”

He paused and it made her nervous.

“It’s just that you do it, but you’re not using it to its full potential. It’s a very powerful tool.”

“This will make my spellwork stronger?”

“Yes. Part of the way magick works when you spellcast is you use energy to form intent. If you use your othersight better, you can manipulate and direct the energy flow more efficiently. Then your spellwork is stronger. Plus, it’s a good tool in general.”

“You use it all the time?”

“Yes. Most witches do. I can show you how to blend it better with your regular consciousness so it’s not distracting.”

“Show me. Tell me.”

So she took his hands. “My mother’s bond-mate was my first real magickal teacher, but it’s really my father who taught me how to use my othersight effectively. He relates to his magick like it’s math. And since I hate math it took him a while to get to me. But I’m thickheaded.”

Dominic grinned and ducked in to give her a quick kiss.

“Essentially, your othersight is like radar. You open yourself to it, yes, but really it’s about using your magick to relate to all you see around you. If you use it while you do your spellwork, you’ll be better able to see the thin spots, where things are weak or the knot with another part of the spell needs to be tighter.”

“But clearly you can work magick without it. I rarely use it.”

“Sure you can. But an enterprising witch with a better handle on her othersight than the originator of the spell can spot all the weak points in a spell and unravel them.”

“Oh. Good point.”

“Your othersight is there, always. You don’t have to make it, or manage it. You just need to make opening yourself up to it part of how you work your magick until it’s second nature.”

She walked him through it, pleased at his quick progress, delighted by his reaction to learning something new. The more he practiced, the better he’d be until it was second nature.

When they finished, he pulled her into his arms, slowly, as if they were dancing. The kiss warmed up slowly. A brush of his lips and then another quick one.

“Thank you for that. I can see exactly what you mean.”

Dizzy with him, she managed a goofy smile, swallowing hard as she looked at that face of his. His eyes were her favorite feature. Thick, dark lashes framed the color, a very pale green, like spring. They were beautiful eyes. His nose was strong, not quite straight. She brushed her thumb from brow to tip.

“Broken. Three times.”

She smiled and shook her head. “I’m not surprised. It suits you. Being totally perfect might offend the gods.”

The sweet confused pleasure on his face made her weak in the knees.

And then his mouth was on hers again, his taste back where it belonged. Rough hands hauled her close as she opened to his tongue, groaning as he nipped her bottom lip.

The music from outside thumped against the walls, the bass line throbbing deep in her belly.

His hands were on her hips and sliding upward to cup her breasts.

Hers were on his belt, yanking at it when someone banged on the door and he broke the kiss with a snarl.

“We’ll pick up where we left off later. I’m sorry.” He touched his forehead to hers before easing away, but keeping her hand in his.

Simon came in and looked between the two of them. “Evening, Meriel. You look beautiful. Dom, we need to move some cash to the safe. We’re at capacity. Bar’s been full all night long.”

“Of course.” He turned to Meriel. “I need to sign some paperwork. Would you like a drink while I do this? I’ll set you up at my table; no, not the one with all the women in it from last night.”

“Am I that obvious?”

He kissed her again, hard. “Bloodthirsty.”

It was rather exciting to know a man like that thought her bloodthirsty.

“Let’s get you settled and then I’ll make very quick work out of this business to get back to you.”

True to his word, he escorted her to a table in a far corner. It was tucked back into an alcove of sorts, but offered great views of the entire club. She liked to watch him change from her date into a business owner. He lost all that roguish charm and hardened his features while keeping them polite.

“Now lookie here.”

She turned in her seat to take Gage in as he slid into the booth beside her a few minutes later.

“What on earth is Meriel Owen doing right here in a box that looks a little like something the owner would use?” His smirk made her laugh.

“I’m here on a date with Dominic. This is his table. He had to go sign something or whatever.”

“Is this why you sounded so sad this morning?”

“This is such a long story I honestly don’t have the energy to recount it all to you now.”

“Nell’s back tomorrow. If I can see how different your magick looks, you think she’s going to miss it?”

“If I tell you, it’s as my friend, not as a member of council staff.”

“I would never betray your confidences, Meriel.”