Stumbling free of my grip, he disappeared within seconds.
Eager to get moving, I checked with Midas. “You can track him, right?”
“Princess Pooferella.” He narrowed his eyes on me. “Your dog.”
“I could hardly tell him you were my horse.”
Midas glanced to one side, but I saw his lips twitch. “You’re still not funny.”
“And yet you’re still laughing.” I took his hand. “Maybe there’s hope for us yet.”
“Come on,” he sighed, and began pursuit of our new friend, who led us on a merry chase.
Maybe he smelled us. Maybe we invited too much attention wading against the flow. Or, more likely, maybe he was that paranoid there would be nothing left for him if he led us to his stash.
“Surprise, surprise.” I held Midas back as the guy dipped into line at Greenleaf. “Do you think everyone got their freebies from there?”
“Hard to tell,” he admitted. “There are dozens of people on the streets, but it’s only the one club.”
They all couldn’t have fit in there at once, but the bouncer kept the line moving at a steady clip.
“Where’s the emergency exit?” I eyed an alley clogged with stumbling partiers. “Must be down there.”
“What are you thinking?” He tightened his hand around mine. “You’ve got that look in your eyes.”
“Greenleaf went through a lot of trouble to ensure this outcome.” Their new product was an instant hit. “They must have been prepared with enough samples and a solution for the traffic flow problem for it to go off without a hitch.”
“Let them in the front, get them high, then send them out the back?”
“Check out the people in line. They’re all clear-eyed and alert. They haven’t gotten theirs yet.”
“The people out here…” He scanned the street. “They circled around to see if they could go again.”
Proving us right, we watched as the bouncer spotted our greedy new friend attempting a double dip and told him to take a hike.
“That guy is hardcore,” I said with respect. “He wouldn’t let us in, and I hear he didn’t let you in either.”
That last part surprised him, and he smiled. “Checking up on me?”
“Your call dropped,” I grumbled. “I worried.”
His smile kept growing until his dimples winked at me.
“Shut up.” I shoved him. “No one asked you.”
“I like that you worried about me.” He used our linked hands to jerk me close. “It’s nice.”
“Yeah, well.” I leaned against his side. “You took off like a shot for the worst place to be tonight. Somebody had to worry about you.”
“I brought Ares with me.”
“I brought Bishop with me.” I waved my hand. “And yet, we both got ditched.”
Granted, Ares had stuck with Midas until I set her on Lisbeth. One could argue her absence was my fault.
“I’m a beta.” Amusement crinkled the corners of his eyes. “And a gwyllgi.”
“I’m a wannabe potentate, and I’m telling you, you can’t risk this again until we know more.”
The order was what did it, kindled crimson in his eyes and ignited a challenge in his blood.
Always ready to poke the lion, I stared him down. “Do not growl at me.”
“Do not tell me what to do.”
“Do not talk down to me.”
“Do not stand on your tiptoes.” He rested his hands on my shoulders and pressed until my heels touched the sidewalk. “It’s cheating.”
“Do not tell me what to do.”
“I already said that one.”
“Now look what you’ve done.” I settled flat on my feet. “We’ve lost momentum.”
“Don’t worry.” He gazed down at me. “We’ll be fighting again before you know it.”
“Promise?” I looped my arms around his neck. “Guess we might as well kiss and make up then.”
Without giving his temper a chance to cool, I dragged his mouth down to mine and tasted every corner.
“Will it always be like this?” he rumbled near my ear. “The arguing?”
A sliver of fear wedged in my spine, but courtship was the time for full disclosure. “Probably.”
“Good.” He laughed softly and pressed his nose under my jaw. “You smell good when you’re angry.”
A beta and a future potentate were bound to bump heads. A lot. Gwyllgi protective instincts set my teeth on edge, but I’m sure Midas would say the same about my tendency to wade in to save others at any cost to myself.
As long as we ended our arguments with a smile and a kiss, we might actually nail this relationship thing.
Pulling back, he gazed down at me. “Are we okay?”
Scrunching up my face, I pretended to think about it. “We’re not not-okay.”
He blasted out a sigh, but I was getting better at reading him.
“You’re fine.” I winked. “And I mean that exactly how it sounded.”
A line bisected his forehead, and he worked his jaw over words that didn’t form.
“One day you’ll make peace with my hilarity,” I said sagely, “and embrace it openly.”
“And one day you won’t rush headlong into danger without checking your speed.”
“It’s good we both have dreams.” I tapped his chin. “I read in Cosmo that’s important in relationships.”
Exasperation clear, he stared down at me. “Hadley.”
How many times had Dad used that tone with my mother? Not the Whitakers, the Pritchards. How often had he spoken with a voice tinged with a wish to be anywhere other than there, with anyone other than her? They fought often, but quietly. Theirs was a disappointment left to simmer beneath the surface of every look, word, and touch. And while Dad found other outlets to express his unhappiness, I had always been hers.
The danger had passed after that kiss, I told myself, but still my shoulders tightened. Midas would never hurt me physically, but emotionally? I was in deep and sinking fast. “Yeah?”
“You’re standing in urine.”
That was not what I had expected to hear. “Huh?”
“That?” He pointed at the thin stream. “That’s pee.” He indicated a man leaning his forehead against the wall. “His, if you want to get specific.”
“Oh gag.” I danced back and bumped into three other people. “Why didn’t you warn me?”
“You had this look…” He reached out to
