"Handsome too."
Dawson's smile grew a little wider, but his pale blue eyes took on a sharp, predatory look. I'd interested the dwarf. Time to reel him in - or at least let him pretend he was the one doing the reeling.
I turned to Owen and put a big, fake pout on my lips.
"So when are we going to dance? You promised me a dance."
Again, Grayson's lips twitched with amusement.
"Sorry... Candy, but I'm not much of a dancer."
"Perhaps I could dance with the lady," Tobias Dawson offered. "If you don't have any objections, Owen."
Grayson waved his hand. "Of course not. I've already had my fun with Candy this evening. She's all yours, Tobias."
Owen's violet eyes met my narrowed gray ones. More amusement danced in his light gaze. He was actually enjoying this little charade.
The cowboy dwarf offered his short, stubby arm to me. "Shall we, Candy?"
I sniffed at Owen, turned my back to him, and beamed at the dwarf. "Thank you, Mr. Dawson. At least someone here still knows how to treat a lady."
The cliched patter made me want to gag, but I'd said worse to get close to targets before. I could drop a few more groaners if it meant eliminating Tobias Dawson.
My fingers skimmed down the dwarf 's arm before settling on his bare, brown hand. For some reason, Dawson frowned at the contact. Something flickered in his eyes, but it was gone before I could interpret what it was. But he suddenly looked at me with far more interest. Perhaps I'd static-shocked him or something, although if I had, I should have felt it too.
But I shrugged away my unease and let the dwarf lead me onto the dance floor. Dawson was barely five feet tall, which meant his eyes were just level with my boobs. But his soaring cowboy hat reached up over my teased wig.
The orchestra began a classical waltz, and Tobias Dawson pulled me close. The only thing that kept him from burying his head between my boobs was the crinoline in my skirt. It was too stiff and thick for him to maneuver in the way he wanted to. I'd have to remember to thank Roslyn Phillips for that small favor.
We danced in silence for a few moments. I kept my smile steady as we whirled around. Dawson's hand tightened on mine. His palm felt curiously warm against mine, something I'd expect from a Fire elemental, but not a Stone like the dwarf.
"You know Candy, you're a very attractive woman," Tobias Dawson said. "Then again, I've always been partial to blondes."
I let out a small, girlish giggle. "Aren't you just the sweetest thing? You're a real charmer, if I do say so, Mr. Dawson. I'll have to tell the other girls here tonight to watch out for you."
The dwarf smiled, but his eyes were cold and distant in his face. Again, I got the feeling I'd done something wrong, but I couldn't imagine what it could be. There was no way Dawson could know who I was, that I used to be an assassin called the Spider, that I was working for the Foxes, that I'd come here tonight to kill him. There was no way he could know all that - could he? The dwarf had been smart enough to find a mountain full of diamonds and use a slab of granite as a safe. There was no telling how clever he was.
We lapsed into silence again. The dwarf stared at me.
Then his eyes went to the rune necklace around my throat. The dance ended, and we both applauded politely.
The orchestra started another tune, something a little jazzier.
I held my hand out to Dawson. "Could I interest you in another dance?"
"Perhaps you'd like to go somewhere more private," Dawson suggested. "I hear Mab's gardens are lovely in the moonlight."
I thought of the secluded gazebos, copses of trees, and thickets of rose bushes I'd spotted outside. I easily could drop Dawson in the garden. With any luck, no one would stumble across him until morning. It was my best option at this point, unless I could somehow maneuver the dwarf back to the bathroom where I'd killed Jake McAllister. Given the way Dawson was staring at my boobs, I doubted he'd wait that long before he forced himself on me.
I smiled at him again. "I'd love to go out to the gardens."
I put my hand on Tobias Dawson's arm, and we left the dance floor. Across the room, I saw Finnegan Lane staring at me. He still stood next to Roslyn, but I saw the relief in his green gaze. Finn knew the longer I stayed the more risk there was of someone trying to proposition me for real - and the slimmer my chances got to take care of Dawson.
Finn wasn't the only one staring at me. So was Owen Grayson. He nodded his head to me as we walked by. I smiled at him in return.
Tobias Dawson opened one of the double doors for me, and we stepped outside. The night air had grown even chillier since I'd been out here with Owen Grayson, and I shivered.
"Cold?" the dwarf asked, closing the door behind us.
"A bit."
He smiled at me. "Don't worry. What I have in mind will warm you right up."
Dawson was saying all the right things, but again, his smile didn't reach his pale eyes. But I brushed off my unease.
All I had to do was get him away from the doors, and the job would be done. Dawson offered me his arm again, and I took it. With my free hand, I palmed one of my silverstone knives.
We walked down the terrace steps and onto a stone pathway that meandered into the dark gardens. A woman cried out softly in a gazebo to our left. A moment later, another woman joined her throaty chorus.
Dawson ignored them and moved on. I let him lead me farther into the shadows that cut through the garden like black knives.
The dwarf didn't stop until he reached a gazebo hidden underneath the tendrils of a weeping willow tree.
I glanced over my shoulder. We were two hundred feet away from the terrace, well out of sight of anyone looking through the glass doors. I tightened my grip on my knife and got ready. Dawson led me over to a long wooden bench inside the gazebo. I sat down, but the dwarf didn't join me. Instead, he stood before me and rocked back on the heels of his cowboy boots.
"You look like a smart girl, Candy," the dwarf rumbled.
"So I think it's pretty safe to say you know who I am and what I do for a living."
I didn't know where he was going with this, but I smiled. "Of course I've heard of you, Mr. Dawson. You're one of the biggest coal miners in all of Ashland. A very respectable businessman. Very smart. Very strong." A little over the top, but flattery never hurt.
He nodded. "I am very strong and very smart. I'm also a Stone elemental, did you know that?"
I shook my head. "No. I'm afraid I don't pay much attention to magic."
Dawson nodded again. "Fair enough. As you said, I'm very powerful. But what few people know is that I have another elemental talent. Something small but very handy at times."