“Darling.” I affected a whining, bored housewife sort of voice. “You know I’ve been taking lessons with the pool boy. Please?” I pouted, and Austin put up a good act of looking pained by my pleading. Or maybe it wasn’t an act. Either way, he sighed heavily and steered me out onto the dance floor where other couples were swaying though a formal sort of waltz.
Austin lifted one of my hands, placing his other hand firmly on my lower back and pulling me in tight to his body as he began to lead with surprising skill and grace.
“I wasn’t aware ballroom dancing was a class in Omega training,” I commented lightly, following his lead without missing a beat in my delicate heels. I’d attended a very snooty private school for five years, so learning to waltz had been a requirement, something I was actually glad of now.
Austin didn’t respond to my question, directing me around the dance floor like a seasoned professional while my full skirt billowed and twirled with each turn. As we moved, I spotted my backup placed around the room playing their roles as waitstaff, but their attention was entirely on us.
“I’m just going to duck to the bathroom quickly,” I whispered, and Austin raised an eyebrow at me. “Oh, don’t give me that look. Those glasses of champagne go straight through me, and the last thing you want is me bumping the alarm sensor because I’m busting to pee.”
“Fine,” he groaned. “Come on then.” He took my hand and started leading the way in the direction of the bathroom that we’d seen earlier.
“Did Austin just offer to take you to the bathroom like you’re a two year old?” Lucy snorted in my ear, and I rolled my eyes. They had no visuals this time, just audio, but I knew she was just stirring shit.
“Austin, I can probably handle this one on my own,” I remarked in a dry voice, dislodging my hand from his. “There was a bathroom out near the pool, if I remember correctly. It’s less likely to have a line waiting than the ones close to here.”
Austin gave me a long stare, then shrugged, like he didn’t give a shit either way. “I’ll wait just outside for you. God knows trouble will find you otherwise.”
“Suit yourself,” I snapped and brushed past him. He followed close behind as I made my way out of the ballroom and down some steps to the darkened pool area. There were low outdoor lights illuminating the path, so I could see where I was walking, but other than that, things were pretty dim. Probably to discourage guests from congregating outside and missing the auction at the end of the night when the jewels would be displayed.
“Here is probably far enough,” I told Austin, pushing open the door to the pool house bathroom and locking it behind me. Thankfully, I’d been right in my guess that this one would be unoccupied, and I was able to get in and out as quick as a flash.
Returning outside once more, I found Austin leaning against the low garden wall opposite the door, looking like something straight off a billboard somewhere. The way the shadows fell across his high cheekbones and strong jaw made him look more like a high fashion model than a secret agent.
“Done?” he asked, seeing me standing there gawking at him.
“Clearly,” I replied, like the snarky bitch I was. “Let’s head back inside. The auction should be starting soon, so the jewelry will be getting displayed.”
He nodded, falling into step with me as I made my way back along the path past the pool to head back inside. What caused me to look over at the shadowed pool, I had no idea, but something must have caught my attention, and I stopped short, peering through the darkness.
“What is it?” Austin asked, frowning into the shadows where I stared.
“I thought I just saw something move,” I murmured, stepping off the illuminated path and making my way closer to the huge pool. These mansions were insanely overdone, and the pool was no exception. It had to have been bigger than an Olympic pool or something.
Austin coughed a laugh. “It’s probably someone getting a blow job in the shadows, Princess; leave them be.”
“No, I mean in the water.” I picked up the front of my dress and stepped through the little garden bordering the pool area. “There was something...” As I stepped closer, it became clear what it was that I’d seen. Lying facedown in the water, a woman floated motionless, her pale blue dress fanned out around her.
“Shit.” I rushed over with Austin close on my heels. “Quick!” I dropped to my knees at the edge of the pool and stretched out to try and grab the woman, knowing that my huge dress would just slow me down if I got into the water.
She was too far away for me to reach, but Austin dove in without me needing to say anything, swimming a few short strokes over to her and dragging her back over to the side. With him in the water lifting her dead weight, I hauled her out by her armpits. My enhanced strength made the task easy, and within moments I had the woman on her back beside the pool while Austin clambered out to kneel on her other side and press two fingers to her throat.
“She’s still got a pulse,” he panted. “Just barely, though. We need to get the water out of her lungs.”
“Kit?” Wesley’s voice sounded in my ear. “What’s going on? Austin’s earpiece and mic just went offline?”
I ignored Wesley and followed Austin’s directions, placing my hands over the woman’s sternum and pressing down firmly in an even rhythm to try and dislodge the water from her. My earpiece let out a high pitched squeal, so I flicked it out and tossed it in the pool before continuing the chest compression.
“Nothing’s happening, Aus,” I muttered, staring down at the woman’s blueish lips. “She’s dying. I need to use my magic.”
“Christina. No,” he ordered, his gaze snapping up and locking on my face with an intensity that almost made me obey him. Almost.
We had all agreed during the planning of this mission that I would retain my full magic at all costs so that if anything went wrong, I wouldn’t be vulnerable. But we hadn’t anticipated this.
Cocking a brow at him defiantly, I let my mental reins go on the magic, and it rushed forward. The fizzing tingles hurtled down my arms and through my hands into the woman who lay dying between us.
“Princess, stop,” Austin commanded, tugging at my wrists where I pressed firmly to the drowning victim’s chest. “You agreed, dammit. We discussed this, and you agreed. No magic used unless it is absolutely necessary.”
“She’s dying, Austin. That’s pretty necessary.” My voice seemed to echo through my head, and I realized this was the first time I’d tried speaking while healing someone. It was a strange sensation, like my voice wasn’t really connected to me. Or like someone was talking through me like a ventriloquist dummy.
“It’s not. She might have been trying to commit suicide or maybe someone killed her or maybe it was just a damn accident, but news flash, baby girl—people die all the damn time, and it’s not up to you to save them all.” He tugged at my wrists again, but my strength was far superior, and I wasn’t budging.