Free Just His Taste by Candice Gilmer Page B

smiled, looking almost giddy as he led her to the counter. His hand on the small of her back, he guided her to the waiting barista.
    â€œIced coffee,” Ava said. “Whole milk and sweetener.”
    â€œHave them right out,” the barista said, smiling. “You all can have a seat.”
    Jason led Ava to a couple of overstuffed chairs, and she put down her backpack, situating herself.
    From the neighboring table, the stage-whispering lady gossiped with her friend. “Did you see that? That’s practically Fifty Shades of Grey , right there. College student, guy with money and a tux.”
    â€œBe still my beating heart,” the friend said.
    Ava felt a blush creeping over her cheeks.
    â€œIf I pull out handcuffs, do you think they’ll freak out?” Jason asked.
    Ava burst out laughing.
    â€œBecause I have some.”
    â€œI think they’ll freak more if you pull out a flogger.”
    â€œGood point,” Jason said.
    The barista came over and handed them their iced coffees. Ava had accepted hers and was about to take a sip when Jason stood.
    â€œWhat’s the matter?”
    â€œJust finishing it off,” Jason said. He crossed to the self-serve bar and picked up several items.
    Ava took that second to materialize the Cupid antidote in her hand, and after invoking a quick shield around herself—at least her magic worked like it was supposed to—she popped the lid and dumped it into Jason’s cup.
    She just managed to get the lid back on when Jason came back. He removed the lid to doctor his drink, but took a tiny sip first.
    â€œYou know, you can drink it plain. It is good that way,” Ava said.
    â€œSays the girl with— Oh good God,” he muttered, and handed it back to her. “This is yours.”
    Ava blinked. Shit.
    Not that it would hurt her—she was a fairy—and it wasn’t like Cupid had hit her with any of his arrows.
    Still…
    She didn’t drink excess fairy potions if she didn’t have to.
    Jason took her cup, dropped his own mix of sweeteners and creamers and whatever he’d gotten at the table in his own iced coffee.
    Now how am I supposed to get him the antidote?
    She picked up her cup and took a sip. The antidote was odorless and tasteless. If she hadn’t seen herself pour it into the drink, she would have never known it was…
    Magic surged through Ava. Hard magic.
    Antidote magic.
    Her stomach roiled as the antidote began to work.
    â€œAre you okay?” Jason asked.
    â€œI’m…I’m fine,” Ava said, shaking her head.
    Jason arched his eyebrow. “You don’t look fine.”
    Ava ran her hand over her forehead, feeling a bit queasy. “I’m fine,” she said. The antidote worked on Cupid’s magic—it was one of the Fairy Godmothers’ best defenses against his horrible arrows.
    The fact that it went to work inside her meant only one thing—Cupid had hit her with one of his arrows.
    When and where, she had no idea.
    But when she got her hands on him…
    Jason sipped on his coffee while he studied her. “Seems like we had this conversation before.”
    Ava waved her hand in the air. “Really, this will just take a second, and I’ll be perfectly, perfectly fine.” She painted a smile on her face as the antidote’s effects finally took hold. “Tell me what you’re up to tonight.”
    Jason glanced at his watch. “I have work tonight.”
    â€œYour PI work?” Ava asked. With each breath, the serum did its work, and she felt better.
    Well, aside from the fact that she was going to fucking kill Cupid the next time she saw him. Seriously, she was going to stab him in the fucking eye. With one of his own arrows.
    Jason blinked. “How did you know that?”
    â€œWe talked about it before, on Saturday,” Ava said, finally deciding it was okay to have more coffee. This time, the antidote didn’t