Talented Books 1-3 Box Set, page 48
“I’ve already spoken to Sallaway,” I said. “She’s keeping an eye out for anything that comes across her desk. You thanked her for looking after you today I hope? I think she was worried you were going to strangle yourself with your tie.”
“I asked her how to make up for my bad mood. Luckily, my penance is a cask of that cheap wine she loves.” He rested his elbows in the counter and sipped his drink. “The meeting wasn’t as bad as I expected. Abnett seemed impressed with what we’ve managed so far. He knows we could do more if we had access to Talented help, but the sort of things we need don’t come cheap. In fact, when he told me what it’d cost to get the things I wanted, I nearly fell over. He said he can’t allocate those kinds of funds without a Council vote for a special allowance.” He slid a glance my way. “That’s what I need your help with.”
To Gibble’s amusement, Greyson’s stomach let out a loud growl.
“Detective be doing much work, and work makes Detective much hungry,” he chuckled. “You both be going to table. Gibble will be bringing the food to quiet the stomach-speaking in just a few moments. Be working later, after eating.”
Charlie blushed and I laughed. “He’s got a point. Come on.” I led him into the formal dining room and pulled some plates from the sideboard. Holding them out to him, I waited until he’d finished looking around with a stunned expression.
“This room is… how…”
“Yeah, it’s a bit odd,” I gave a cheeky grin to offset the giant understatement. The magic that had gone into rebuilding my house had made the inside several times larger than physics allowed for. “Fae architecture. You didn’t notice my floor space downstairs is three times the size it used to be?”
Greyson took the plates and set them on the table, turning back for the cutlery just as Gibble entered with a huge steaming bowl of pasta.
“I guess I did, but… Uh, what’s underneath us?” He sat at the table carefully, as though expecting the floor to collapse if he stomped on it hard enough.
“Oh, you not be worrying, Detective. It do be safe.”
The detective seemed to forget his concern as soon as he tucked into his food with a grunt of appreciation. Gibble swore there was no magic involved, but normal food didn’t taste this good.
“You not be eating enough, Detective.” Gibble wagged a stubby finger at Greyson. “There be much here and you be taking some for eating at your office in the day.”
“Can’t argue with that.” Greyson happily accepted Gibble’s offer of a second bowl and allowed me to top up his wine. “Gods, Gibble, where’d you learn to cook?”
“It be a thing of many years doing. Gibble be no winter chicken you know!”
I almost choked on my spaghetti and Gibble’s quizzical look only made me laugh harder. “Spring, Gibble. It’s a spring chicken,” I wheezed.
“Well, Gibble do not be one of those, either.”
After we finished eating, Gibble insisted on clearing the table. He poked his head into the sitting room where Greyson and I were settling down with coffee and paperwork, preparing to make a start on his Council proposal.
“Lady, if Detective be staying, Gibble would be going for a time. Will all be well?”
I felt a pang of guilt, knowing he’d essentially given up his freedom to live here. Though I wasn’t under any threat now, I’d gotten myself into one too many dangerous situations over the last year and Gibble took his oath of protection very seriously.
“Go, Gibble. We’ll be fine.”
“Thank you, Lady. You be having fun, little ones.” With a cheeky grin, something hard to pull off when your face looked like it was made of old rocks, Gibble departed.
Shuffling through the papers we would need to craft the proposal, I snuggled into the corner of the couch. While Greyson waited for me to read through them, he pulled my feet up onto his lap. His hands were warm and soft, massaging my ankles and moving up to my knee. My eyes closed for a moment, a small groan of pleasure escaping my lips.
“Do you have any idea how hard it is to concentrate while you’re doing that?” I asked.
“I could always stop.” Greyson looked at me bashfully, a hint of colour rising to his cheeks.
My stomach flip-flopped as I realised what he was asking. We had gone on a couple of dates and saw each other often. We were close, but so far every time we’d been alone for more than a few moments, we’d been interrupted. Greyson’s line of work was like that. I could accept it, but it had made it awfully hard to move our relationship to the next level.
“I don’t want you to stop.” I tried to keep my voice light but failed, breathing the words out roughly.
My heart sped up as he reached over, then plucked the papers I still clutched from my hands.
“Damn the proposal, I can do it in the morning.” He let the papers drop to the floor. “Em, I’ve wanted to get you alone for… oh, forever.” His hands pulled at mine, drawing me closer to him.
Swallowing, I leaned in. “So, what are you waiting for?” I whispered, and kissed him.
He leaned over me, fingers trailing up my calf. His touch was electric, sending goosebumps over my skin as my hair stood on end. My hand drifted to his face, fingers grazing against the rough stubble of a few days growth.
He pulled back slightly and let out a small gasp. The sound shot through me and I pulled him down, kissing him deeply. He smelled of faint traces of cologne mixed with sweat and nutmeg, the heady combination tugging on my desire.
He slid his palm back down my leg, pressing his body against mine as I leaned back to let him nuzzle behind my ear. His whiskers scratched me, sending tingles of delight shooting across my skin and making me whimper.
When he moaned in response, tilting his head back with eyes closed, the last of my hesitation vanished.
Charlie shifted me slightly, reaching around to unzip my dress. I lifted up to make it easier for him, but it tipped him sideways. He toppled off the couch, tangled legs bringing me with him. He landed on the floor with a thump and grunted as I followed.
“Are you okay?” I asked, laughing down at him.
“I seem to be at a disadvantage,” he replied as I pinned his arms and lightly ran my tongue over the base of his throat.
With an expert movement, he flipped me over and buried his face against my neck. Goosebumps dotted my arms as he kissed me down to my collar bone, then slipped a strap off my shoulder.
“Oh, Emma.” He mumbled the words into my chest as he worked his hands over flesh chilled by the cool air. As he reached down my back I arched against him, body aching.
“Please,” I gasped, reaching for his belt.
“You don’t have to ask me twice.”
Chapter Six
The mattress beside me shifted ever so slightly.
“Don’t you dare.” I didn’t have to open my eyes to know Greyson was staring at me with a chagrined look on his face.
“Sorry.” He cleared his throat roughly. “I… it’s been a while since I spent the night with anyone. Didn’t want to cause a fuss, is all.”
Rolling over, I levelled a glare at him. He stood by the bed, mostly naked, staring like a deer caught in the headlights. “Emma, look, I—”
“Charlie, I know. You’re a cop. You’re married to the job, you have to be. There are too many people that rely on you; I’m one of them, remember?”
Breathing out a sigh, he sat back on the bed, looking down at me. “It’s not that I don’t want it, Em. To settle down, have something real? It’s just not something I can do. The department has to come first, it has to be my life right now.”
“I know.” Sitting up, I reached a hand out and touched his face. “I get it, Charlie, and I’m okay with it. Lately, I don’t even know where I’m at myself. All this stuff with the Fae is messing with my head and Abnett keeps pushing these jobs on me. It gets lonely, though. It’s been years since I’ve had something like this.”
“So, what is this?” He flashed a hesitant look at me.
“What it’s always been. Friendship. Dinner. Rushing off to urgent phone calls and bailing on dates at the last minute.” I smiled, knowing I’d been responsible for my share of those. “Just… this.”
He leaned forward and kissed my nose, then cursed when his phone vibrated. Diving under the bed covers to find it, he cursed again when he checked it.
“Go,” I said.
He pulled on his pants, looking around for his shirt as I slipped a dress over my head.
“It’s by the couch,” I reminded him. He blushed and darted outside.
“Best morning, Detective!”
A happy, booming voice sent me scrambling out of the bedroom to find a shirtless Greyson face to face with Gibble. The boggart held out a crinkled shirt and a paper bag.
“Uhh, good morning, Gibble?” Greyson looked horrified. I tried not to giggle as I watched from the doorway.
“Gibble did be thinking that you do be having to leave early. Not be good to be working on empty stomach. Here, Gibble be making your breakfast to eat in car and there do be a pot of the pasta for the time of lunch, too.”
Bright red, Greyson gingerly took his shirt and the bag and mumbled his thanks.
“You do not be looking well, Detective. Did dinner not be agreeing with you last night?”
Greyson’s face was verging on purple, so I went in to rescue him.
“Thanks, Gibble, I’m sure he’s fine. Um… Could you wait in the kitchen for a bit?”
Nodding, Gibble disappeared into the next room. I gave Greyson a deep kiss and his body softened against mine.
“Oh, now I really don’t want to go,” he murmured against me.
“I’m sure Gibble would be happy to serve your breakfast on a plate?” I offered with a cheeky grin. The colour rose back in Greyson’s cheeks and I laughed. “It’s okay, I’ll talk to him. He means well, he’s just… unfamiliar with human customs.”
“Yeah, I can see that. Tell him thank you for me? For the food, I mean.”
“Of course. Now shoo. You have work and so do I.” Waving him out the door I made sure downstairs was unlocked so Greyson could show himself out. Retreating to the kitchen, I stood, angling a narrow-eyed glance at the boggart.
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
He beamed a smile and handed me a plate of bacon, sausages, toast and eggs. “Lady would like breakfast? Gibble did be rising early to be making it.”
“Oh, you did! You absolute monster.” I thwacked him on the arm and he chuckled.
“Now Detective be knowing that Gibble be looking out for Lady. It be a thing of men.” Gibble thumped his chest and pulled a fearsome face.
“You’re a boggart, not a man,” I reminded him dourly.
“Gibble do be your sworn protector. And, good cook. Eat. Gibble be making nice food. Lady not be letting it be cold, would she?”
Rolling my eyes, I obliged him. One simply couldn’t turn down an offer like that.
Martin called early, to ask if I was free.
“I’m not, actually. Wish I was.” I huffed a sigh as I swapped the phone to my other ear and continued wrestling my hair into a ponytail.
“Wait, wait… let me guess. Mergime? It’s that, or Abnett, and I don’t think you hate him quite that much.” Martin’s tone was easy, but there was an underlying roughness to it.
“You were right the first time. I’ll be done by twelve, though, if you wanted to come round?”
“Better yet, I’ll text you an address. We’ll catch up there, I’ve got someone I want you to meet.”
When the phone call ended, I was no closer to knowing what he was up to than when it began. I hoped he was following through on his promise to ask Deirdre about Toby, and the kids in the fighting rings.
The thought of those poor kids made my stomach clench, and I flushed with guilt. Should I have spent last night so selfishly? Greyson could have been helping me look for Toby.
Closing my eyes, I took a breath and reminded myself there was little I could do. Sallaway would call if there were any hits in the system, and would do everything she could to help. Meanwhile, Deirdre was my best hope of finding something.
My phone tingled and I looked down. “Speak of the devil,” I muttered to myself and opened Sallaway’s text message.
No news of your boy, but I bet I know what you two were up to last night. Never seen him this relaxed. About damned time! ;)
I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to will away the heat that suffused my cheeks. Oh, no. No, no, no!
Pressing cool hands to my steaming face I wondered just how many people knew. It crossed my mind that Greyson wouldn’t have even had to tell Sallaway. That woman could read him like an open book.
It didn’t matter. I had an appointment to get to, one that wasn’t worth being late to for any reason.
An hour later, I stood at Mergime’s door. Steeling myself, I knocked.
Nothing.
Heart racing, I rapped on the door a little harder. Still, nothing. Unsure, I waited, and was soon rewarded with the sound of bustling feet. The door swung open and Mergime beamed at me.
“Emma! Wonderful, you’re here.”
Terror wormed its way into my gut as Mergime looked down at me, smiling. Mergime never smiled. Her beaming face dissolved into a wrinkled frown as I stood staring at her, rooted to the ground in shock.
“Hurry up, child. I know you struggle with manners, but surely you remember that doors are for walking through?”
Her snappish tone settled my nerves a little but didn’t stop me wondering what was going on. Mergime seemed… well, she almost seemed happy.
“Thema, she’s here. Not exactly shining with intelligence, but perhaps you can help regardless,” Mergime called out.
Her familiar insults were, in their own way, comforting. Still, as I followed my elderly instructor down the hallway, the lack of surprise attacks made me wary, even more than when I usually visited.
“This is Emma. She’s not much, as I told you.” We reached the parlour and Margime shoved me forwards.
I stumbled to a stop in front of the most imposing woman I’d ever seen. Well, apart from Mergime that is. Thema was tall, very tall. Her dark skin glittered against her gold-trimmed robe, accented by a tall headpiece made of worked metals and plush fabrics. Thick gold chains hung from her neck and when she reached a hand out to touch my face, it was heavy with rings and jingling bangles. Everything about her—her attire, her height, her imposing aura—overshadowed the small, grey-suited man beside her.
“Oh, she looks passable Mergime. If she has tolerated your training for as long as you say, she must have formidable patience.” Thema spoke in a thick African accent, the words rolling off her tongue with a luxurious lilt.
Mergime snorted. “Or she’s lacking in a brain. Only a fool would continue battering a door that only leads to packed earth in the ground. Matthew, what is your opinion?”
The man tipped his head up so that he could look down his beak of a nose. “She certainly doesn’t look like anything special.”
Thema gave an irritable harrumph. “If she is as you say, Margime, perhaps there is more to be found. Now, child, sit.” Timidly I obeyed, perching on a chair in the corner. Thema tsked and turned to Mergime. “She is terrified. What have you done to her? You did not use the training of the trials on this one, did you?”
To my utter disbelief, Mergime blushed. “It’s the only thing she responded to. Wouldn’t listen, wouldn’t train unless I was standing over her with a stick. I did what I needed to.”
Indignation bloomed inside me but I stifled it with an ease born of practice. Mergime certainly had a way of riling me but letting her know that was a mistake I had learned many times over.
Her constant assurances that I was lazy and inept were largely born of my inability to practice using my gift without her. The problem was—as she damned well knew—it lay dormant, always, until I was either furious or in danger.
“Lady Mergime, you do understand that sort of training was outlawed in the City some time ago?” Matthew quirked an eyebrow and to my shock, Mergime withered beneath it.
Who is this guy? I wondered. He surely had some pull in the Talented community, but it seemed Mergime wasn’t going to offer any clues.
Margime gave little warning before she issued her next instruction. “Demonstrate.”
In this house, where Mergime would relentlessly torture me with spells, where rooms would be warded with traps and any moment I could wear a jug of icy water over my head, that terse warning was all I needed. Already on edge, anxious and unsure of this strange visitor, my unusual power bubbled inside me, ready to reach out and grasp at a moment’s notice.
Thema’s wand twitched and a chill rippled over my skin. Mergime grunted in satisfaction. Thema tipped an eye to Mergime. “That spell was potent. The child should be lying on the floor. It is just as you said, the magic… washed off of her.”
“Let me try,” Matthew insisted. He lifted his wand and another wave of cold washed over me. “Are you ready?”
I nodded and braced for the chill. When it faded, I let out a slow breath. If they were going to keep up this barrage of strong spells, it would be a long day—I could handle it, but it would leave me exhausted.
Looking back to me, Matthew instructed me to release my block. After a moment’s struggle, I did, grateful for the short rest.
The world went black.
Forcing my eyes open, I saw the three Talents standing over me. Thema was watching me with concern, Mergime glowered at Matthew, and Matthew himself held his wand aloft with the slightest hint of a smug grin.
My limbs were numb, and though I could move my head, I was otherwise plastered to the floor. Glaring at Matthew, I tugged at the magic inside me. Feeling rushed back to my extremities and I rose, less than gracefully.
Thema let her jaw drop the slightest bit. “Mergime, that is incredible! I have never seen such a thing, she removed his tracing as though it were a soft blanket. Why have you not told us of the child earlier?”
“You know why.” At the loaded pause, I looked at Mergime, who added, “Think what those oafs on the Council would do to her if it got out. She may have a gift but I’ve seen rocks with higher intelligence. She couldn’t stand against them for a minute.” She slid the briefest glance toward Matthew.
