Which was good to hear but rather meaningless given I could never be what he really wanted or needed. Sooner or later, heartbreak would come. Unless, of course, I could control my stupid heart, and history had already proven that was impossible. “So why else did you come here?”
“To ask a favor.” He brushed the back of his hand down my cheek, his touch so light and yet so heated.
A tremor ran through me and I drew in a deeper breath in an effort to control the surging desire. But I might as well have tried to stop the sun from rising.
“I gather it’s a magical sort of favor?”
He nodded. “And from Belle, more than you.”
I raised my eyebrows. “If you decide to kiss her like you just kissed me, there will be words said. Unpleasant words.”
He laughed. “I have no intentions of ever kissing Belle—”
“And why not, Ranger?” she asked as she clattered down the stairs. “I’m a stunning piece of womanhood.”
“Indeed,” he agreed sagely. “And one who scares the crap out of me.”
She grinned. “Yeah, I can see those boots of yours shaking. What favor do you want?”
“I was wondering if it might be possible to contact the spirits of either Kenny Sinclair, Jamison O’Connor, or Jeni Marin.”
“The werewolf victims?” Belle asked. When Aiden nodded, she added, “I can certainly try, but those who have only recently crossed over are sometimes the most difficult to converse with. I’m guessing you want to know where they got those bracelets from?”
Surprise ran through his expression. “Yes—how did you know? Or shouldn’t I bother asking?”
She smiled. “Never fear, Ranger, your lascivious thoughts are safe from me. Liz and I were discussing those bracelets this morning.”
He glanced down at me. “And?”
“There’s a possibility we could use one to at least track down the other seven recipients.”
“That would be—”
“Difficult,” I cut in, “so don’t get your hopes up. In fact, it might be better if you ask Ashworth to do it. He’s the stronger witch.”
“I’ll talk to him this afternoon, after I grab some sleep.” His gaze went back to Belle. “I’d still like to contact the victims and see if we can find out where they got those bracelets. I can understand the two younger victims wearing them, but I just can’t see why Kenny would. The only jewelry he ever wore was that gold chain.”
“Have you asked their families?”
“Yes, and they can’t remember seeing the bracelets or any mention of buying them.”
“I can try to spirit talk tonight, if you’d like,” Belle said. “If you can get something personal from at least one of them, it’ll help the contact process.”
“Let me check what I can do.” He kissed my forehead, his lips so warm against my skin. “I’ll see you both tonight.”
“You will.” I crossed my arms to curb the instinctive desire to reach for him and watched as he strode down to his truck.
“Oh dear,” Belle said, “you’ve got it bad, haven’t you?”
“Lust? Hell yeah.” I closed the door and met her gaze evenly. “I might go add some additional layers around the café and the reading room before you attempt to contact any spirits, either today or tonight.”
She frowned. “Why? I can’t see any of the three being a threat, but even if they were, there’s little hope of them getting through the multiple levels of protections we’ve layered around both areas.”
“I’m not worried about something getting in, but rather, something leaking out.”
Her frown deepened. “Magic? But spirit talking—”
“Doesn’t involve magic, I know.” I pulled a hairband out of my pocket and swept my hair into a ponytail. “But the various layers will react, if only faintly, when a spirit answers. Given it’s very possible the dark witch is not only alive, but actively taking out all the competition, I’d rather we not come to his attention.”