Silver at Midnight: A Paranormal Romance Urban Fantasy (The Keepers of Knowledge Series Book 5) by Bridgette O'Hare (reading books for 4 year olds txt) 📗

I met his concern with apprehension and forced myself not to look back down the hallway again. For whatever reason, something didn’t seem right. My internal alarms were pinging all over the place.

“I think we have plenty to keep us busy tonight. Don’t you?”

After a pause, he nodded. “I do. Let’s get out of here.”

Eighteen

Thirty minutes later, after a quick detour to the other side of town so Cian could grab an overnight bag, we pulled into the driveway of the cottage. Cian had simply ridden with me. He had reasoned that if last night’s visitor decided to return, an additional car in the driveway might sway his decision to crash our little research party. It was a valid argument.

Cian had thought to get small tote from his house to make the research books and journals easier to carry which he slung over his arm as he grabbed both his bag and my backpack from the back seat.

“I can take one of those,” I offered.

“Nay. I have them,” he insisted.

“Ya really are quite the gentleman, aren’t ya?”

“I try. Don’t always succeed,” he said as he walked around to my side of the car.

I smiled and created a ward around my sedan. Not because there was anything important being left inside, but it was one more alarm to go off in the event my late-night visitor decided to try something cheeky.

“Smart,” Cian said as he followed me up the walkway to the front door.

“I have my moments.”

“Oh, somethin’ tells me ya have more than that.”

I took down the ward around the house, unlocked the door, and held it open for Cian since he had insisted on carrying all of the bags. Once inside, I reestablished the ward and tossed the keys into a small dish on a table by the door.

“This place is much bigger than it looks from the outside,” he observed as he stood and took in the open floorplan with ten-foot ceilings and walls of windows. “Where would ya like me t’ put these?” he asked, holding up the bags.

“Depends. There are two guest rooms over there,” I pointed to the doors left of the staircase. “Take your pick.”

He looked around. “Your room is upstairs?”

“It is.”

“If it’s all the same t’ you, I think I’ll crash on the couch. Better view of what’s happenin’ around the perimeter.”

“Suit yourself. I’ll make sure ya have blankets and a pillow.”

“I won’t need them ‘til later since we’re goin’ t’ go over these.” He held up the tote bag with the research books.

“A’ight. Well, before we start on that, I’m goin’ t’ get a quick shower and get into something a lit’l comfier.”

“Mind if I do the same?” he asked.

“Make yourself at home. I mean, I’m still tryin’ to do that myself,” I laughed. “Bathroom is right there between the guest rooms if you’d like to get a shower. Towels are on a shelf by the sink. I’ll be just up there. Speak up if ya need anything. I’ll be back down shortly,” I added.

He nodded, and I bounced up the stairs.

Normally, I wouldn’t have thought twice about what I was going to sleep in. I would have stripped down, taken a shower, and grabbed the first thing I got my hands on. Normally. This wasn’t even close to normal. Full disclosure . . . the last time I had even thought about caring what I wore around a man was over six months ago. I knew my guard was already down with Cian—he breezed through it like it had never existed at all. And for whatever reason, I didn’t really care.

I sucked in a deep breath. Okay . . . get it together, Aisling. I told myself. It’s just a little crush. He’s hot. He’s a little funny. He’s a gentleman. And that dimpled smile. It’s perfectly understandable you have a crush on him. But that’s all it is. My phone dinged as I gave myself a quick pep talk and began to get undressed.

Kara:       “Sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner. Been a hellacious day here! Call me.”

Me:       “I am about to get a shower and I have a guest. Anything urgent?”

Kara:       “Umm . . . yes! It’s urgent that you call me and tell me what’s happening with this guest. Also, I have a message from Lazlo. But mostly I need 411.”

Me:       “Fine. LOL Give me a min.”

I took the phone into the bathroom. I turned on the shower to drown out my conversation with Kara and then gave her a call. Not a video call though. I was nearly naked.

She answered in less than one ring.

“You have Cian McCallister in your house, don’t ya?” she opened the conversation.

“Hi t’ you too.” I laughed.

“Yeah. Yeah. Hi. Now, answer my question.”

“Fine. Aye. Cian is downstairs,” I admitted.

“And you’re upstairs?” Kara clarified.

“Aye, K. We are, in fact, in two separate areas of the house. In two separate bathrooms, actually.”

“Okay. Just checking. Wasn’t sure if one of his superpowers was hyper seduction or something.”

A loud laugh escaped unexpectedly, and I slapped my hand over my mouth. “Hyper seduction? Really?”

“Stranger things have happened,” she defended.

“Okay, okay. Well, now ya know nothing immoral is goin’ on, Mom. What’s the message from Lazlo?”

“Oh no, we are not done with the Cian discussion. Why is he even there? Does he not have his own house? He’s not some homeless creepo, is he?”

“It’s a long story. Essentially, he and Uncle Lach feel like I need a bodyguard at the moment, and I got outvoted. Now . . . I need t’ get a shower and I have some homework. So, what’s the deal with Lazlo?”

“Well, he couldn’t find anything on that blade you sent me. There were a few fringe sites that had some weird descriptions of it, but no two were alike. So, dead ends.”

I blew out a breath