I planted a kiss on his cheek and left him to deal with our mother. It was for the best. He wasn’t her favorite child, but he certainly wasn’t her least favorite. I’d secured that spot when I slept with my Catholic school teacher. The head priest.

If God existed, he would be more forgiving of my sins than my mother. I ruined her grand plans for my arranged marriage and gave Bishop’s Landing enough juicy gossip to whisper about for decades.

Oh fucking well.

I waved down the closest server and grabbed another wine. Was this my fourth drink? Fifth? I hadn’t taken a single sip tonight. Simply holding the glass gave my hands something grown-up to do.

As long as I refrained from tossing it into the face of another guest.

Across the room, a few others had joined Magnus and the mysterious woman. He appeared to be engaged in the conversation, yet his disarming gaze was deadlocked on me.

Merciful God, I could stare at him all night. He was irresistible. Sexy as hell. So insanely gorgeous I couldn’t see straight. I couldn’t see anything but him.

He suffered the same affliction, with his lips slightly parted and his body so still. The way he regarded me lay waste to everything around us. Time halted. The ballroom vanished. Nothing existed but him and me and the love that bound us.

My breathing fell out of sync, and my mouth watered, desperate for him. I ached to feel him against my lips again. His kiss, his cock, his unholy virility filling me with mindless pleasure. Christ, I wanted to be filled with him. Day and night. I wanted him to fuck me constantly.

That was what he did to me. With a single look, he made me lose my mind.

“Magnus asked you not to drink tonight.” My bodyguard’s deep voice drifted over my shoulder, shattering my fantasy.

“Asked? That’s a generous way to put it.” I didn’t glance back at Galen. I couldn’t. Not without breaking eye contact with my favorite pair of eyes. “Magnus doesn’t ask. He growls commands and surrounds me with babysitters.”

“I’m not your babysitter.”

“Then don’t breathe down my neck.”

His chuckle ruffled the loose tendrils of my swept-up hair. “You enjoy my company.”

“I enjoy the company of bats and opossums.” A smile twitched my lips. “And maybe, a few choice humans.”

Galen was one of those humans. He didn’t just work for us. He was my trusted friend.

“I’ll be right over there.” His breath retreated. Then his footsteps.

All the while, Magnus’s gaze stayed with me, stroking the bodice of my gown, caressing my neck, kissing my lips, and heating my body with sexual longing. Every part of me was alive and pulsing. Aching. Wanting.