“I am not! I just, I mean, she doesn’t look like the kind of artist I’m used to around here. But she’s good.”

“Yeah. She’s truly talented. She was actually the first artist I met in the area at another exhibit uptown. I told her I was looking to buy a gallery, but wanted other artists to join in to rent show space. She invested to get it off the ground until I could pay her back. Her connections got another artist, my friend Kyle, on board. And with some others like Scott, who exhibit from time to time but not on a regular basis, I’ve been able to do quite well.”

I smiled, happy to see that Mateo had found success here after he felt forced to leave his family and home. But I couldn’t keep my mouth shut when I asked, “So, did you and her ever…?”

“Ever what?”

“You know.” I gave the universal twirly hand signal that meant to fill in the blanks. In this case, I insinuated sex.

“Me and Sandra?” He sounded almost appalled. “No way.” He chuckled and frowned at the same time.

“Why so shocked? She’s a very attractive woman.”

“She is. But she started as my business partner. Any thoughts I might’ve had in that arena ended way back when.”

“Then you’re admitting you did have the hots for her.”

His heavy gaze and lopsided smirk told me he knew I was fishing too hard on this. My jealousy was showing like a stupid bright beacon. Batman-sized beacon.

“Yes, she is a very attractive woman.” He placed a forearm on the table, leaning closer, his voice dipping intimately. “But she’s just a friend.”

“Like us.”

“No.” He blinked heavily, his gaze drifting to my mouth. “Not like us. We’re very good friends.”

Mouth gone dry, I needed to drink down my coffee and shut up. “Well, cheers to Sandra Blake.” I held up my cup.

He tapped his to mine. “And to very good friends,” he said low and soft and with complete adoration as he lifted the cup back to his lips, his dreamy brown eyes hooked on mine.

I smiled and drank, knowing full well the warmth curling in my belly had nothing to do with the coffee and everything to do with my very good, swoony, heart-melting friend.

Chapter 16

~MATEO~

“I have another surprise for you,” I told her from the other side of the bar-top at the Cauldron.

“What!” Her look of pure joy jerked the breath out of me. Funny how she always tilted her head slightly to the side when she smiled like that. Her almond-shaped eyes crinkled like she had a secret. No, like we shared a secret. I wanted to wrap her in a hug and lift her off the ground, bury my face in her neck, but that would be kind of crazy.

She nudged my elbow. “Is this better than Gotham City Grill?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe.”

“You’re not sure?” She reached back and tightened her ponytail, then blew a loose strand that had fallen in her face.

Again, my instinct was to touch her, tuck that auburn hair behind her ear, trace the shell with the pad of my fingers, feel the silkiness of her skin.

“How can you not be sure? It’s your surprise!”

“Yeah,” I glanced away for a second, curling my fingers into fists, willing myself not to touch her. “But I’m not sure if you’ve been here before, so it might not be all that exciting.”

“Oh, now I’m super intrigued.” She rounded the bar-top, grabbing her brown leather jacket off a hook. “Am I dressed right?”

I took in her tight skinny jeans, her pink Converse, and long-sleeved T-shirt with Deadpool wearing a Jason mask.

“You’re perfect.” Indeed, she was. “How many Deadpool T-shirts do you have anyway?”

She grinned and ignored my question. “Whatever you have planned, it must not be Halloween-related.”

“Why not?” I shielded her from a rowdy group of guys pushing toward the bar where JJ was serving up drinks fast.

“Because it’s Halloween, doofus.” She let me wrap my arm around her shoulder and push through toward the exit. “And you’re not in costume,” she added.

“That doesn’t mean it’s not Halloween-related.” We pushed out onto the street, buzzing with partyers. “I can’t believe you were able to get off tonight.”

“Ha!” She skipped a step, her ponytail swinging high, her hands tucked into her jacket pockets. “We’re on annual rotation for Halloween night. Because of our pub’s theme, we tend to draw in big crowds this time of year. And none of us want to work the crazy party people. This year, Violet and Clara pulled the short straws. And Belinda, our other server, is there. They can handle it.”

I opened the passenger door of my truck parked on the street. She flashed a small smile and hopped in. I jogged around to my side, more excited than I thought I’d be for tonight. Maybe it was because this past week Evie had been more withdrawn. She’d joined me in the studio every day, as promised, but she wasn’t engaging as much with me. Even though she said everything was fine after that interrogation gone bad by Jules, I felt like something was off. I had hoped my plans for tonight might bring her back to me. This past week, she’d either stretched out on the floor or cozied up on the futon, her head bent and focused on her tablet as she worked with her stylus, ignoring me. I should’ve been focusing more on my own new sculpt, but Evie had become both a balm to my manic thoughts and spark to newer, more sensual, ones.

I had my suspicions on what she was working on, but hadn’t found the right time to ask her about it. There was no doubt she was being secretive, wrapping up her work quickly whenever I approached. No matter. Her intense focus allowed me uncensored glimpses of her in deep thought. It was perfect to help with my new commission.

Sandra had sent over the parameters, which allowed more creative license on my part than most. Her request was simple: a young, beautiful woman in a flowing gown and a hooded cloak with an expression conveying hope, strength, and love. She’d given the size requirements and the deadline she was hoping for if I could make it happen. Other than that, she’d only written, I want a beautiful, powerful piece. Follow your muse, Mateo.

With that, Sandra had opened the door for me to create what had been stamped in my brain, and possibly on my heart, for a short while now. Having access to my living and breathing muse for this sculpture, to watch her daily, to mark her expressions, to channel her soft beauty into heat and galvanized steel, felt like fucking heaven.

You know what else would feel like fucking heaven?

Not even you can drag me down, Alpha. Things feel too good right now.

It was almost as if the hex had been frozen or stalled. The feverish thoughts and anxiety had lessened considerably. Alpha kept his mouth shut almost entirely when I was around Evie.

That’s because I like her.

This isn’t a newsflash.

I also want to fuck her.

Again. Nothing I didn’t know.

Just you wait. The time is coming. Jacking off isn’t going to cut it much longer. I need flesh.

The last was punctuated with an otherworldly rumble that sharpened my senses and shot a chill of fear down my spine. That’s when I heard the growling rumble filling up the cab.

“Are you okay?” asked Evie next to me.

“Oh, sorry. Yeah. All good.”

“Just Alpha being grumpy again?”

She likes me.

“Yeah,” I answered with a nervous laugh, combing a hand through my hair. “I think he’s a little testy with so many people out and about.”

“People make him nervous?”

That’s funny. No one makes me nervous.

“Not exactly.” I wasn’t sure I could put it into words. It was like the feeling I got when it was time to shift, a push toward the animal. Like being shoved in the back by something big and primal. “I think it’s just the energy in the air.”

“Maybe because the full moon is almost here.”

“Maybe.” I glanced at her and kept my thoughts to myself.

She was quiet a minute as we neared City Park.

“We’ve got the hex-breaking ceremony next week.” She stared out the window as if to avoid looking at me.

“Are you worried about breaking it?”

“No.” She shook her head before facing forward. “I can do it.”

“Then what is it?”

The thickening crowds cleared enough to see the banner-sized signs marking where I was taking her. “Oh, my God! The Voodoo Festival!” She unsnapped her seatbelt and launched herself across the seat to hug me.

“Whoa!” I laughed, giving her a one-armed hug as I maneuvered down a side street to find parking.

“Mateo! I can’t believe it.” She bounced back to her side.

“So you’ve never been?”

“Yeah. But it was a few years ago.” She’s beaming as she spits out, “Violet is the only one who likes concerts as much as me, but for some reason something always comes up around Halloween.”

“Might be the whole witch business.”

“Ha ha. Funny guy.” She laughed. “But you’re probably right. Somehow, there’s always some crazy crap going on in the magic world this time of year.

I had to park a few blocks down. We hopped out. She was actually bouncing, giddy with excitement. I couldn’t stop grinning, while I waited for her to meet me on the side of the street. When we started walking, I maneuvered to the outside on the street side. Some drivers didn’t give a shit about pedestrians. If they didn’t move in time, they got hit.

I’ll smash their car into dust if they try to hit me or my woman.

Okay, Hulk. You do that.

“I never pegged you for a concert guy,” she said excitedly, giddiness in her voice.

“I have a booth here every year. We’ll stop by there first.”

“Do you need to work it?”

“Missy takes care of sales. Me and Kyle and Scott always leave it in her hands. Pop in to check on things. But one of us always helps to break down the booth each night.”