I felt Kisten's eyes on me from around the lowering flames and I stifled a shiver. The come-and-go light played on his face, not unattractively thinner after his stint in the hospital. My thoughts of Nick had waned to a soft ache under the living vamp's attentions. Kist was here, and Nick wasn't. The reality was, Nick hadn't truly been here for months. He hadn't called or sent a solstice card, and he had intentionally left no way for me to reach him. It was time to move on.
Takata shifted his perch atop the picnic table in case we wanted to sit. The concert earlier tonight had gone off without a hitch, and since Lee wasn't around, Ivy and I watched from backstage. Takata had dedicated 'Red Ribbons' to our firm, and half the crowd had waved their lighters in tribute thinking I was still dead.
I had only been joking when I invited him to my bonfire, but I was glad he came. He seemed to relish that no one was fawning over him as he sat contentedly in the background. I recognized that distant look on his lined face from when Ivy was planning a run, and wondered if his next album might have a song about sparks among the frost-blackened arms of an oak.
'Takata,' I said as we approached, and he came back to himself. 'I'd like you to meet David Hue. He's the insurance adjustor who helped me get to Saladan.'
'David,' Takata said, taking off his glove before extending his thin long hand. 'Nice to meet you. It looks like you escaped unscathed from Rachel's latest run.'
David smiled warmly without showing his teeth. 'Pretty much,' he said as he released his hand and rocked back a step. 'Though I wasn't sure when those handguns showed up.' Making a mock shudder, he shifted so his front would be warmed by the flames. 'Too much for me,' he said softly.
I was glad he wasn't wide-eyed and stammering, or squealing and jumping up and down like Erica had done until Kisten collared her and dragged her away.
'David!' Kisten called when my thoughts pulled my eyes to him. 'Can I talk to you about my boat? How much do you think it would cost to insure her through you?'
A sound of pain slipped from David. 'The price of being in insurance,' he said softly.
My eyebrows rose. 'I think he just wants to get someone between him and Erica. The girl does not shut up.'
David pushed himself into motion. 'You won't leave me alone too long will you?'
I grinned. 'Is that one of my responsibilities as a member of your pack?' I said, and Takata's eyes widened.
'As a matter of fact, it is.' Raising his hand to Kisten, he ambled to him, stopping to nudge a log back into the flames with the toe of his boot as he went. Howard was laughing at him from across the fire, his green eyes glinting.
I looked to find Takata's thick eyebrows high. 'Member of his pack?' he questioned.
Nodding, I sat beside Takata on top of the picnic table. 'For insurance purposes.' Setting my spiced cider down, I put my elbows on my knees and sighed. I loved the solstice, and not just for the food and parties. Cincinnati dropped all of its lights from midnight until sunrise, and it was the only time I ever saw the night sky as it was supposed to be. Anyone thieving during the blackout was dealt with hard, curtailing any problems.
'How are you doing?' Takata said, surprising me. I had almost forgotten he was there. 'I heard you were hospitalized.'
I smiled sheepishly, knowing I was starting to look tired after screaming for two-plus hours at Takata's concert. 'I'm okay. They weren't ready to release me, but Kisten was just down the hall, and after they caught us, ah, experimenting with the controls for the bed, they decided we both were well enough to be on the streets.' Crabby old night nurse. By the amount of fuss she made, one would have thought we were committing some kind of kinky—well, crabby old night nurse, anyway.
Takata eyed me as I flushed and pulled my knit hat down lower over my ears. 'There's a limo out front,' I said to change the subject. 'Want me to tell them to go away?'
His gaze went up into the black branches. 'They can wait. They have food in there.'
Nodding, I relaxed. 'You want some warm wine?'
He started, his wide eyes looking shocked. 'No. No thanks.'
'More spiced cider, then?' I offered. 'Here. I haven't had any of mine.'
'Just put a swallow in there,' he said, extending his empty cup, and I poured half of my drink into his. I felt kinda special, sitting next to Takata with half my drink in his mug, but I stiffened as a faint twang reverted through me. I froze, not knowing what it was, and Takata's eyes met mine.
'You felt it too?' he said, and I nodded, feeling uneasy and a little worried.
'What was it?'
Takata's wide mouth turned into a huge smile as he laughed at me. 'The circle at Fountain Square. Happy Solstice.' He raised his cup, and I automatically touched mine to it.
'Happy Solstice,' I echoed, thinking it odd that I had felt it. I never had before. But then, maybe having closed it myself once made me sensitive to it.
Feeling as if all was right with the world, I sipped my cider, finding David's eyes pleading with me over the rim of my mug. Erica's mouth was going nonstop, and Kisten was gripping his shoulder, trying to have a conversation around her. 'Excuse me,' I said as I slid from the table. 'David needs rescuing.'
Takata chuckled, and I made my unhurried way past the fire. Though he never stopped talking to David, Kisten's eyes were on me, and I felt a warm spot start in my middle.
'Erica,' I said, coming even with them. 'Takata wants to play a song for you.'
Takata jerked upright, giving me a panicked look when the young woman squealed. Both Kisten and David slumped in relief as she darted around the fire to him. 'Thank God,' Kisten whispered, and I sat down in her spot. 'That girl never shuts up.'
Snorting, I eased closer, pushing into his thigh, hinting. He curved an arm around me, as I wanted, pulling me close. Kisten exhaled softly, and a shiver rippled over me. I knew he felt it when my scar started tingling. 'Stop it,' I whispered, embarrassed, and his grip tightened.
'I can't help it,' he said on an intake of breath. 'When is everyone going to be leaving?'
'Sunup,' I said, setting my drink down. 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder.'
'It's not my heart that misses you,' he breathed, and a second shiver passed through me.
'So,' Kisten said loudly when David started to look uncomfortable. 'Rachel tells me you asked her to be your absent partner so you could get two salaries and she could get a good rate on her insurance.'
'Ah, yes…' David stammered, looking down so his hat hid his eyes. 'About that…'
I jumped as Kisten's cold hand worked its way under my coat and touched the skin at my waist. 'I like that,' he murmured, not talking about how his fingers were tracing small circles to warm my middle. 'Inventive. My kind of man.'
David's head came up. 'Would you excuse me,' he muttered, sending a quick hand to fiddle with his glasses. 'I haven't said hello to Ceri and Keasley yet.'
I chuckled, and Kisten pulled me closer. 'You do that, Mr. Peabody,' Kisten said.
The short Were jerked to a stop, gave him a warning frown, then continued, stopping to get a glass of his wine on the way.
My smile slowly faded. The scent of leather became obvious, mixing with the hard aroma of burning ash, and I snuggled closer into Kisten. 'Hey,' I said softly, my gaze fixed on the fire. 'David wants me to sign a paper. Make me part of his pack.'
His breath caught. 'You're kidding,' he said, pushing me away so he could focus on me. His blue eyes were wide and his face surprised and wondering.
Looking at my cold fingers, I slipped them into his. 'I'd like you to witness it.'
'Oh.' His gaze went to the fire and he shifted his arm to lean a smidgen away.
I grinned in understanding and laughed. 'No, you idiot,' I said, pushing on his arm. 'It's a pack membership, not an interspecies bond. I'm not marrying the guy, for the Turn's sake. It's only a legal agreement so I can get my insurance through him and his company won't fire him. He'd ask a Were woman, but he doesn't want a pack, and that's what he'd get if he asked one.'
Kisten exhaled long and slow, and I could feel the softness return to his grip. 'Good,' he said, pulling me closer. ' 'Cause you're my alpha bitch, babe, and no one else's.'
I gave him a telling look, which was hard to do seeing as I was almost in his lap. 'Babe?' I said dryly. 'You
