Page 78 of Black Willow Witch
To be fair, what else was a girl’s hormones to do in the face of all that masculine supremacy?
He held the door open for Laine, who thanked him with a pretty blush and left the hub.
‘Oh, hi, Ripper,’ Paisley greeted, chirpy.
He grunted . . . as was his way.
Emberlyn smiled as he approached the desk. ‘What brings you here?’
His gaze took a lazy dip down her body – or as much as he could see of it, since she stood behind the desk – and then darted back up to meet her eyes. ‘I had a thought.’
‘Did it hurt at all?’ she teased, earning herself one of his mildly exasperated looks.
He planted his feet. ‘I figure we should arrive at the town hall together for the meeting.’
Emberlyn blinked. ‘Together?’
‘It’d be good for us to present a united front that can’t be ignored by the coven.’
Paisley pointed a finger. ‘This. I like this.’ She looked at Emberlyn. ‘Those assholes currently targeting you need to get the message that it’s best for their health that they leave you alone.’
‘I’m not sure how much of an impact it will have’ – the aforementioned assholes had ignored that message so far – ‘but I have no objections.’
Ripper grunted in satisfaction. ‘I’ll pick you up from your place around six-thirty.’ He tilted his head. ‘Have you had a lot of people asking what happened yesterday?’
Feeling her lips thin, Emberlyn nodded. ‘Nosy-asses have been waltzing in and out since this morning.’ All they’d been told so far was that Lincoln was captured in her backyard. ‘I said that all would be revealed at the meeting.’ She paused. ‘It’s good to hear that he’s doing well up to now.’
‘It’ll take another few days for him to be in a fully functional state, but he’s getting there.’
Paisley planted a hand on her hip. ‘Is it true that Emberlyn didn’t call you about the attack?’
His mouth tightened in annoyance. ‘Yes, it’s true. One of my wolves gave me a heads-up.’
Emberlyn gave her a pointed look. ‘See?’
Huffing, Paisley folded her arms and cut her gaze back to him. ‘When it comes to big stuff that happens in Emberlyn’s world, I always find out from other people. She never calls with deets.’
‘So I shouldn’t take it personally, then?’ he asked.
‘No.’ Paisley poked her tongue into the inside of her cheek. ‘Technically, neither should I. But I do.’
Emberlyn’s snort died as she caught sight of the Reeds passing the large window. They peered inside, their eyes hardening on her, before quickly looking away.
‘Are they giving you issues?’ Ripper asked, apparently not having missed the byplay.
‘Nope. I don’t talk to them much.’
‘They don’t like that she broke her mating tie with Michael,’ Paisley explained to him. ‘They lost their shit over it at first, butthen they acted all sweet and understanding while still making comments about how Michael would be here for her if he could. They basically try to make her feel guilty for moving on.’
Ripper swiped his tongue over his upper teeth. ‘I see.’
‘And they definitely don’t like that she’s been rolling around the sheets with you,’ Paisley added. ‘They’ve been giving her the cold shoulder lately.’
Emberlyn gave her a wide-eyed look. ‘Okay, Chatty Charlie, you can hush now.’
Ripper cast Emberlyn an annoyed look. ‘You should have told me.’
She lifted her shoulders. ‘There’s nothing to really tell.’ It wasn’t as if the Reeds had said or done anything noteworthy.
