Page 57 of Commanding Flame and Shield
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Servers bustledbetween their chattering tables and the kitchen. The pretty blonde hostess hurriedly whisked menus out of their container on her stand and stewarded people to their tables. Spices and cooking meat lingered in the air, and countless voices buzzed around in a cacophony of stories, orders, children laughing, and babies crying. The yellow ceiling gave way to orange walls covered in art and lime green trim. Decorative painted porcelain plates were mounted high on the wall, over paintings and plastic fruit. There was a lot to take in, and I wondered what this place felt like through Alvara’s eyes.
I sensed her gaze on me. Intense and smoldering.
“Still no more visions?” I asked, slicing my fork through the steaming tamale. My mouth watered. Good God, I missed real Mexican food. She shook her head glumly, returning her gaze to her plate, and took a bite of her street taco. She had drenched it in lime and hot sauce, just like James. Despite myself, I was grateful to be on solid earth. And more grateful she was making time for me to see my family.
While our positions at Grayshell were all consuming, the quiet hours still left time for me to miss them. Despite myself.
Alec cleared his throat, and I knew he was trying to cut the tension. “Tequila shots anyone?”
“Lord, yes,” Fae sighed, relieved.
I laughed. “That would be nice.”
Alvara remained silent, her perfect lips pressed tight together. She took another bite of her taco.
Alec flagged down the server, a small brunette with salsa spilled on her uniform, and ordered a round for the table. An idea to see Alvara smile slowly brewed in my mind. I chewed it over as much as I chewed my food for the next thirty minutes, and then smiled at her. She hadn’t allowed herself to have any kind of fun in weeks. My growing suspicion was that she was punishing herself for either the death of her friends, or for missing the demon’s attack on Aren. The walls she’d placed around her abilities and stones she kept on her body were effective guards of her mind, so I couldn’t be certain. Either way, she was not omniscient. She’d told me as much herself. It was foolish to carry so much of the burden on her conscience.
When the tequila arrived, Alec set one of the shots in front of Ally with a slosh.
“It’s been a while since you drank with me, Al,” he chided. She shot him a sweet smile, but it didn’t touch her eyes.
“You’ve never drank with me,” I pointed out, and she narrowed them. Her full lips quirked.
“I guess that’s true.” She lifted her glass to ours, said, “Cheers,” and together, we drank.
Several rounds later, the numbness had set into my muscles, and Alvara and Alec began exchanging stories, as they had around the fire in Colorado. Their banter brought an ease to my breath, and I relaxed into my booth a bit.
Her eyes locked on mine as she finished her story. “So, I stare at Alec for a minute, and finally ask if that’s blood on his hands. He says ‘no?’ And I don’t know why, but it struck me so funny I couldn’t stop laughing. I mean, it’s not really a great question to answer with a question.”
Alec rolled his eyes. “I still say it was a fair response. It was freaking dark out.”
“You hit him. With yourknife!”
“I’m pretty sure the term you’re looking for isstabbed,” I added in, rubbing my temples. Alvara choked on her gulp of margarita, coughing through her laugh.
God. Seeing her smile. Really smile, down to the way the skin around her eyes wrinkled. The way her nose crinkled when she truly found humor.
It made my heart swell. The vice that clamped around my chest when Aren was attacked finally seemed to loosen, and I just focused on how radiant she was. The way her eyes glittered in the lamp light. The way her dark hair fell in long waves around either side of her face, swaying as she moved. The animated way she moved her hands as she told her stories. The way her tight muscles curved beneath the delicate fabric she wore. I was so used to seeing her in t-shirts that the cursed dress, draped off her shoulders, had become something of a distraction a few shots back.
Thin and light blue, it clung to her slight curves, accentuating the arch of her small breasts, and revealing most of the pale skin on her shoulders. Fuck, I wanted to taste her. Trace her defined collar bone with my tongue until it met the long column of her neck, then graze my teeth along the sensitive skin there.Goddamn sundress. I would've assumed it was one of Fae’s, except for the fact that Alvara was a head taller, and the dress fit her like a glove. This was her own piece, no doubt tucked away and waiting for an excuse to wear it. An excuse like Fae, begging and pleading to go out and do something fun on our trip back to the mortal dimension. I would have to thank her for that someday.
Alvara had begrudgingly agreed, and the girls had vanished to get ready together. I hadn’t fully soaked in how radiant she was until I watched her there, in the low lamp light. She tossed her hair over her shoulder, and shot me a wink as Alec told some past life adventure I’d been on with him. My chest warmed, and I grinned back at her. No doubt looking like a drunken fool. She was laughing about something he said, when she snatched a chip piled with queso and jalapeños from the nacho plate before popping it in her mouth and sucking the cheese off her long fingers before licking her lips. Jesus Christ.
I shifted, uncomfortable with the intensifying desire pulsing in my veins and fighting the need to adjust myself. I wanted to wrap her in my arms, feel her pressed against my body. To finally know what her smooth skin felt like under my hands. What those lips might feel like under my own. And that tongue…
“I’m going to the bathroom, don’t go anywhere,” I told no one in particular. I needed to put some space between us. She nodded and continued her conversation with Alec. But her eyes stayed locked on mine as I left for the men’s’ room. She didn’t drop her gaze until I rounded the corner, out of sight.
I washed my hands and splashed my face. One too many shots of tequila. But my intuition knew there was more to it than that. There had always been more to it than that. Alvara was amazing. Powerful, dangerous, demanding, a defender. She was a warrior. Captivating. Tantalizing. Always just out of reach.
But I didn’t want just any woman. I wanted her. The world spun a little, and I forced a breath. My legs suddenly refused to do my bidding. Another splash of water, and my focus seemed to solidify again.
I wanted the badass, demon-slaying queen, sitting back in my booth. The vanquisher of darkness. The defender of Grayshell. The second in command. The key to unlocking my own power.
Somehow in my core, I knew that to be true. My strength laid within Alvara. And something told me that hers laid in me. We were…kismet. That was the word for it. Not even an angel could argue with fate. Her words of covenants and contracts were a weight in my heart. And yet. They didn’t change the draw I had to her. The draw I’d always had to her, and just wasn’t ready to admit to myself.
I steeled my resolve and made my way back to the table. My jelly legs barely obeying my commands to walk. Step, step, step.
