13. Ben

13

BEN

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” I ask.

“Of course I’m okay. This is part of my job.” But Stella frowns. Her eyes scan the rest of the patrons of the restaurant who are working very hard at seeming like they are ignoring her presence. I would have asked for more security help when she requested for me to set up this meeting, but we are still in the Firefly which has general security positioned at the front doors.

The restaurant is off to the side of the lobby and continues the copper and black design aesthetic that I’m sure is the reason for the building’s name.

“Certainly. I’m sure you always showed up for work twenty minutes early,” I prod. She’s been distracted all morning, and I don’t know if it’s from something she learned during the morning meeting I wasn’t invited to or from last night.

I swallow at the memory of Stoneheart scenting me with his knowing smirk.

“You seem unsettled.” I know I am. My thoughts and suspicions of what the gargoyle is planning caused me to toss and turn in bed. The dreams they inspired were…complicated and not something I can think about around a bunch of shifters who may pick up how my body would respond.

If it was only Stoneheart’s appearance or confidence, it would be easy to ignore my reaction, but the dark undercurrent when he speaks to me, the danger of him, forces my survival instincts to take notice. There’s always the possibility that if I don’t give him the attention he’s seeking, that he’d take me by the throat and force the issue…and a traitorous part of my soul wants that.

Which is an unforgivable distraction.

I focus on the present. Stella is why I’m here, and she relies on me. If I can’t perform my function of caring for her, we’ll be separated, and that’s very quickly becoming an unacceptable option.

Even as it is an inevitable one.

Stella sighs. “I don’t know what to expect from my aunt.”

That douses my cycling worries about last night. Before I let myself get embarrassed, I get to work. “Oh, of course. I can help with that.”

I pull up the information I have on Ariel Leonid and skim it quickly. “Well, she’s fifty-four and runs various nonprofits in the territory. No children or mate. She publicly supports your reign of the territory.”

I’m aware of how little I’m offering her, and I curse my distraction. I should have done a full write-up before this, but Stella only asked me to set up this meeting this morning.

Stella nods. “I guess that’s all good to know. Thank you.”

“Those aren’t the details you’re looking for,” I say, and her smile is soft but appreciative. Ariel Leonid was around when Stella’s mother, Elena Elderflower, was thrown from this territory in disgrace. Did she have a hand in the events?

“Thanks for looking, though,” she says. “I think I’m just going to have to meet her to answer what I really want to know.”

She continues to fidget and cast me looks out of the corner of her eye as if looking for a change in topic while we wait.

“Is that all you’re worried about?” I ask.

“We can’t necessarily speak about certain tabs a demon does or doesn’t have at the moment.” Her cheeks are a pretty pink when she lowers her voice.

Ah. So last night is on her mind. My cheeks burn. “That’s a shame because I’m dying to hear your input on the topic.”

Stella turns to me, and her lips part. She wants to talk about it. I cast my gaze around again. The booth we were given would be well within the realm of privacy if it were surrounded by humans, but for shifters, not so much.

I keep my words careful. “If there’s some way to clear the air so you can focus on your meeting, it may make it easier for you.”

And I’m definitely not advising that so I can get more answers.

“He expressed interest.” Her eyes rest on me. Interest in me.

My mouth dries and brows lift. “I thought maybe I was misreading things.”

“He wants your abilities for the territory.”

I bark a laugh in relief. Oh . “Of course he does.”

Suddenly, the concerns that twined around me since parting Stella and Stoneheart last night loosen. My next breath is a full one. He wants me in a professional sense and thinks that sex is the way to accomplish that. Gods, if he actually were pursing me because of an interest in me as a person, that would be more threatening.

Stella’s brows crease in concern, and I pat her thigh under the table, pulling away before I give into the desire to grip it.

“It’s okay,” I say. “This isn’t the first time that someone has tried to tempt me away from Kalos, and it won’t be the last.”

This isn’t even the first time someone has tried to use sex to this end. No matter how beautiful or enticing the people were, I’ve never been tempted to dally. No one has the pull on me that Stella does…or even the dark current Stoneheart provides.

Her mouth snaps shut, and the fire of jealousy on her face sends a zing down my spine. I like her jealous.

Stella smooths the tablecloth. “You’d also be welcome to comfort me.”

That’s a sucker punch.

“How?” I ask, my mouth already watering at the thought of what types of comfort I’d be giving Stella. I’m too hungry for this witch.

She glares at me. I suppose that’s a hard question to answer in public.

“My husband and I have shared interests,” she answers primly. I try not to wince at his title, but my reaction is stemmed when the meaning becomes clear.

Stoneheart is willing to share this vibrant witch at my side. He’s a fool.

But he’s not. He’s too exacting for this to be a casual strategy, which makes this something to be wary of. But unless I’m misreading our code talking, I’d get to be with Stella.

I’d just have to deal with the Devil.

Even if I weren’t intrigued by the gargoyle, that offer would be difficult to turn down. I’m aware of the risks. Remy Stoneheart will make it difficult to reject an offer of employment when he plays his hand. He won’t hurt Stella, that’s not his style. But he’s trying to entangle me with his territory and is an underhanded bastard.

Even knowing that, doesn’t make the idea of having the permission to touch Stella less tempting.

I’m getting ahead of myself.

“And how do you feel about that?” I ask, trying to keep my face unaffected by our conversation. She could very well hate the idea. She’d just been jealous of my mention of people going after me for my abilities.

But Stella’s flush darkens, and she bites her lip in a way that has my body responding, shifters surrounding us be damned. She wants me .

“Sorry if I’m late.”

We both snap to attention as a woman in a powder blue pantsuit and a blonde bob takes a seat across from Stella.

I think the surprise in the air is from us being interrupted until Stella’s face morphs into anger.

“You!” she cries.