Chapter Twenty-Four
Dylan
Even though I didn’t want to leave Allie, I couldn’t be late for the council meeting. “I need to shower and get ready to go,” I said, kissing her cheek, because if I put my mouth on hers, I’d forget why I needed to leave and end up inside her again.
“I’m going with you,” she said.
“You can’t go with me, Allie. No matter who your father is, they aren’t going to let a succubus into that meeting.”
“The meeting is to discuss succubus killings,” she said almost angrily. “I’d say that means the meeting has plenty to do with me.”
“I agree with you, but the council won’t let you in there because you aren’t a witch in good standing,” I explained. Arguing about this was ridiculous. Surely, Julian had told his daughter about witch politics, even if she wasn’t part of witch society. “There’s more involved with being accepted by the council than having witch blood.” She would have also heard this in school.
“Actually, I’m a witch in good standing,” she admitted a little sheepishly.
She couldn’t have shocked me more if she’d revealed that she’d been born with a dick. “What did you just say?” I asked slowly.
“You heard me, Dylan,” she said impatiently, as she went through her bags to find something to wear. “My father sent me to witch school because he wanted me to be able to take all of my witch tests. That and he’s hoping I’ll marry a nice warlock someday.”
“And you passed your witch tests?” I asked lamely.
“If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be a witch in good standing,” she said in a bored tone.
I’d been avoiding any involvement with witches for years, for fear my mom would push me to take the affinity test with every witch I dated. Now, I was going to a meeting that my mother would certainly be at, with a witch I was definitely involved with. The crazy part was that I wasn’t worried about being involved with Allie so much as my mom meddling in everything. Allie was skittish enough without my mom trying to push us to commit.
“Fuck!” I hissed.
“Would it help if I offered to let you spank me for not telling you?” she asked, her lips curled into a naughty little smile that had me tempted to take her up on the offer now.
“Don’t try to distract me, Allie,” I said.
“If you’re worried that my father is going to insist on some sort of relationship just because you slept with me, you can stop worrying. He’s not one of the traditional witches,” she said, obviously trying to reassure me. “He’d never force me to be with any warlock.”
“Perhaps you should be a little more worried about what my parents will do,” I said. “They have as much right to insist we take an affinity test as your father does.”
“They wouldn’t really do that,” she said, but the way the color drained from her face proved she wasn’t sure if that was true or not.
“Under normal circumstances, my mom is very much against arranged marriages,” I said. “She’s become pretty desperate to get me to settle down with a nice witch recently. Actually, I think she’d settle for any witch at this point.”
“I have every right to refuse,” she insisted.
What surprised me most was how pissed I suddenly was. “What’s so bad about being with me?” I demanded. “You don’t seem to mind my company, and I’m not exactly undesirable.”
Allie rolled her eyes and muttered something about me being dropped on my head as a baby before continuing. “We don’t have time for this ridiculous discussion. I need to shower and dress for the meeting.” Then she frowned. “I didn’t even think to pack my robe. Do you think we have time to stop by my apartment to pick it up on the way there?”
“We should, but it’ll be easier if I message Trevor and have him bring one for you. He always has at least one extra robe for when his sisters visit, so it won’t be too big for you.”
That’s when I heard Allie’s stomach rumble and realized neither of us had eaten yet. “Let’s shower quickly and grab lunch,” I suggested.
“Do we have time to make another quick stop before the meeting?” Allie asked. “I promise it won’t take more than a few minutes, and it’s on the way.”
I started to say no, but something in her eyes told me this was important. “Sure, as long it’s not too far out of the way. As much as it pains me to say this, we’d better shower separately or we won’t make it.”
If that suggestion didn’t prove that I wanted more than sex from Allie, I didn’t know what would.