The guy was looking right at me, so forgive me for thinking he was talking to me. I cleared my throat, awkwardly shrugged, and opened my mouth. I didn’t, however, get a chance to speak.
Max gave a small, quiet growl that couldn’t travel, and appeared to accidentally bump into me with his shoulder. “Here for a good time,” he said.
Here for a good time? Not only did his tone and stance suggest that he was looking for a baseball bat to bop Dimitri on the head with, but who on earth said that? Well, apart from drunken guys at 3 o’clock in the morning?
Dimitri got a confused look, again letting his gaze flick towards me. “Well, the bar’s that way.” He gestured behind him with his thumb.
The guy had a deep Russian accent and rolled his Rs. Yet his accent wasn’t nearly as thick as Max’s. From the little I’d managed to find out about fairies, I knew they could live for a seriously long time. Perhaps Dimitri had come over here a couple of decades ago and had managed to smooth away most of his accent. Or, heck, maybe he’d come over several hundred years ago – apparently, fairies could live for almost a millennia.
As I shifted my gaze towards Max, I wondered just how old he was. Fairies tended to live for as long as they had purpose, whether it was revenge or protection. The more determination they had to get something done, the more years they lived.
Though I’d become thoroughly distracted by the prospect of searching for the heart murderer when I’d entered this bar, I realized this was an opportunity.
Dimitri seemed to know Max. Despite the fact Max had shoved into me and pushed me out of the way, I cleared my throat and stepped to the side. “Are you Max’s friend?” I asked.
I felt Max’s deadly gaze slice towards the back of my neck.
Dimitri? He clearly saw an opportunity, pushed forward, plucked up my hand, and shook it before I even realized what he was doing. He obviously had the same speed and agility Max did. Except Dimitri was smoother.
As I let him do all the shaking, I swore I felt a little magic. While Max’s was fiery and felt like grasping a lightning bolt, Dimitri’s was….
Max cleared his throat, reached forward, and locked to hand on my shoulder. “It’s good to see you, Dimitri. Unfortunately, we can’t stay.”
Dimitri sliced his gaze towards Max but didn’t let go of my hand. He was done shaking, and we were thoroughly into the truly awkward stage when people hold your hand for entirely too long.
Max didn’t shift his hand, either. Nor did he shift his rather deadly gaze off Dimitri. “I’m afraid we have to go now,” he repeated.
“Who are you, anyway? And how did you fall in with a fairy like Max?” Dimitri returned his attention to me.
I was now regretting having taken the initiative to question this fellow. Because he still wouldn’t let go of my hand. I politely tried to take a step backward, but his fingers were like glue as they stuck around mine. All the while, Max didn’t shift his hand from my shoulder. I felt like a doll two kids were fighting over.
“What brings you to town, anyway, Dimitri?” Max smoothly changed the topic of conversation.
Was it just me, or did Dimitri’s affable smile stiffen? It was only for half a second, and you had to be staring at him with as much concentration as I was. But his jaw certainly twitched, and his eyes definitely narrowed a fraction. “Work? And you?” Dimitri ticked his gaze towards Max, but it quickly returned to me in a flash. “Is this work? Or play?”
Eww. Okay, there was now no question that this guy was a jerk. Who the heck looked into somebody’s gaze and asked if they were play?
Max hesitated, and it wasn’t because he was trying to be polite. Nope. One look at his expression, and it was clear he was trying to control his anger. “Neither.” He pulled me back, and his move should have been sufficient to break Dimitri’s grip. If Dimitri hadn’t taken a step forward to keep his sticky, firm fingers wrapped around my own.
Holy crap, this had been a mistake. I should have done exactly what Max had suggested and stuck by his side, being as quiet as a little mouse hiding from the cat.
Max’s expression now stiffened to the point it looked as if his features had been cast from concrete. “Is there any reason you can’t seem to let go of Chi’s hand?” he asked.
A grin cracked across Dimitri’s face as fast as a fracture shifting through ice. “It’s Chi, ha? Cute.” He returned his gaze to me.
My stomach did a flip and then twisted as if it were being sucked down a gurgling drain. And no, it wasn’t a pleasant sensation. It wasn’t the same kind of kick it did whenever Max drew close. Nope – just the opposite. My creep-alarm was suddenly blaring with everything it had.
I now tried harder to pull my fingers from Dimitri’s grip. “Can I have my hand back now?” I even squeaked.
Dimitri just ignored me as he returned his piercing, calculating gaze to Max. “You know, I didn’t think you’d show up again for a while – not considering what happened with your last charge.”
Dimitri returned his attention to me. It was different this time. It wasn’t lecherous. It wasn’t even creepy. Nope. It was intense like his eyes had turned into two lasers and they were trying to bore through my skull. Despite the intensity, what he’d said struck me.
Did Dimitri know how my grandmother had died? Max had forgotten, apparently a
