Page 49 of Spring L.A.W.
Victoria nodded. “Yes, possibly. And I think the next one is coming soon.”
Katie glanced over at Rayna and whispered. “Is this going to get in the way of your date with Major Hottie?”
Joell’s ears perked up. “Rayna has adate?With the Major?”
Rayna shrugged. “It’s only our second date. Nothing to tell Raoul about yet.”
Joell grinned. “Seconddate! That means the first one went well.”
“Yeah, I guess…”
“So, you’ll be staying in the city, if all goes well again?” Joell guessed.
“I’ll be staying in the city tonight, no matter what happens. I have to feed my pets.”
“I thought they fed you?”
She grinned. “Either way. I’m staying in my townhouse, unless you need me here.”
“No. Go have fun. You deserve it.”
Magda groaned. “Don’t we all?”
Rayna’s Brooklyn brownstonewas the kind of place that made real estate agents salivate. Clean lines, warm lighting, and just enough dark wood to remind you it was built more than five minutes ago.
Major Payne stepped inside and gave a slow, impressed nod. “This is not what I expected.”
“What, no cauldron? No jars of bat spleens?” Rayna dropped her keys into an artisan’s blown-glass dish by the door and kicked off her boots.
“I thought at least a crystal or two,” he murmured.
“There are a few,” she said, gesturing casually to the back-lit shelves. “Hidden in plain sight. I was going for Brooklyn witch chic.”
He glanced around. The clean lines met high-end eclectic touches, like a vintage Victrola, a smart little bar cart, a framed photo of her man-pets posing with swords on Coney Island…
“Michael and Daniel are out for the night,” she added, moving toward the kitchen. “Some bar crawl-slash-costume-themed karaoke event. I didn’t ask questions.”
He arched an eyebrow. “You live with them?”
“They live with me,” she corrected, pulling out a bottle of red wine. “They’re my familiars and my chaos support system. Don’tworry, they’re usually too busy arguing about kombucha to care what I do in my off-hours.”
She poured them both a glass of wine. The music system obeyed a whispered charm and cued something smooth and low-key. Less seduction, more ambiance with potential.
“So,” she said, handing him a glass. “Is this the part where we talk about our feelings, or the part where we pretend we’re just having wine?”
“I don’t pretend well,” he said, setting the glass down untouched. “But I’m good at strategy.”
Rayna smirked. “Then you know the best offense is a sudden, overwhelming attack.” They launched themselves at each other simultaneously.
Their kiss was a deliberate collision. Strong hands, soft mouth, no hesitation. The kind of kiss that made the wine completely irrelevant. She backed him into the sleek, ivory couch, tugging at his jacket with one hand and triggering a discreet privacy ward with the other.
“You sure they won’t come home early?” he asked, breathless between kisses.
“If they do, they’ll turn around and go right back out. They’ve been well-trained.”
He groped her breast and kissed a trail down her neck.
Third base peeked out, wondering if it was time to make an appearance. Rayna threaded her fingers into his hair and bit his lower lip, just enough to make him groan.
