Ingrid smiled and reached out to touch his cheek. He caught her hand gently and kissed her fingers.

"But really, I'm tired," he finished.

Anger flashed through her eyes, and his fire responded with a little involuntary pulse in his chest. "I bet you wouldn't be too tired for that air witch you brought to the Coven. Mira? That's her name, right?”

Jack sensed no jealousy in her, only displeasure that her plans to get laid tonight were being thwarted. Ingrid had no romantic feelings for him, as far as he knew.

"Why would you say that, Ingrid?" Was he that easily read?

She walked to the chair, where she'd discarded her clothes, and pulled her cashmere sweater and linen pants on. "I saw the way you looked at her in the limo on the way to the airport in Minneapolis, while she was injured and you were worried about her." She grabbed her glasses from his night table, shoved her feet into her shoes, and then paused to stare at him. "I've never seen you look at a woman that way before, Jack, and I've known you many years.”

Damn. He was that easily read.

Ingrid walked past him, but he grabbed her hand before she could leave the room. "Ingrid?" He just wanted to make sure she was okay. He'd basically just kicked her out of his bed.

She stopped and looked up at him with a smile and a soft expression on her face. "It's okay. I was glad to see it. Made me think you might not be a lost cause, after all, Jack."

Mira awoke with a jolt and sat straight up in bed breathing hard. Panting, she focused on her surroundings. She was at the Coven, alone in her room. Safe.

Still, she reached over and flipped on the bedside lamp.

She couldn't remember the nightmare she'd had, but it clung to her like a cobweb she'd walked through. There had been whispering, whispering about plans to kidnap her, drain her of her power and her life.

Mira shuddered and hugged herself. It was possible she'd heard Crane and his minions via her still uncontrolled air magick. Once she was able to control her ability, Serena said she'd be able to tune into conversations and noises from a great distance. It had happened spontaneously as she'd been growing up, though she'd always explained it away as a dream. These days it was happening more and more frequently.

Crane probably hadn't given up on her.

She glanced out the window, where the clear sky showed a scattering of bright stars. In Minnesota a night like this in winter, without any clouds to insulate the earth, meant it was frigid outside.