Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 142050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 710(@200wpm)___ 568(@250wpm)___ 474(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 710(@200wpm)___ 568(@250wpm)___ 474(@300wpm)
“This was a goodbye dinner, then.” And then she forced a smile. “Or maybe a see-you-later without it really being meant.”
His eyes traced her face. “I shouldn’t be doing this with you. It’s not… fair.”
“Are you married?” She put her hands up. “I should have asked this last night—”
“No, I’m not. Marriage is for a different kind of man than me.”
“Oh.”
Out on the street, a couple of cars crunched by them, the light down at the intersection having turned green. As the wind strengthened, she shivered.
“Where do you live,” he said after a moment. Like he really didn’t want to know.
“Why did you waste the time meeting me here.”
“You’re cold. Where’s your car—”
“Answer me,” she shot back.
Dev put his hands in the pockets of his jeans, and stretched his chest forward like he was realigning his back. Then his eyes traveled around, focusing over the top of her head.
“Why did you waste our time,” she repeated.
“Because no matter how much I tried to talk myself out of it, I couldn’t not see you.” He lowered his stare to her face. “I can’t get you out of my mind.”
Lyric opened her mouth. Closed it. And that was when his eyes dropped lower… and stayed on her lips.
“So what do we do now,” she murmured.
Dev stepped in closer to her, his arm moving around her waist. As he tilted her backwards, she put her hands up to his shoulders.
“You tell me,” he said.
* * *
“Who else have you told,” Shuli breathed.
Across his bedroom, L.W. kept going, moving to the flat wall by the bathroom door. He stopped in front of yet another painting.
“Rothko,” he murmured.
Shuli frowned. “You know the artist?”
“Of course. And don’t sound so surprised.”
“I just thought between polishing your ego and judging people, you didn’t have a lot of time for art history.”
“You are such an asshole.” Except the tone was mild. “And you have a lot of net worth on these walls. Downstairs, too. That Pollock in the foyer is my favorite.”
“My parents collected European Old Masters. I do not.”
L.W. glanced over. “Parental problems, too, huh.”
Shuli was not touching that one. “Who else have you told about your eyes.”
“Nobody.”
Rubbing the back of his neck, Shuli measured the male in a new way. The heir to the throne was still monstrously strong, even injured and with that crutch, definitely not the kind of thing anyone would want to meet in a dark alley. But shit.
He shook his head. “Jesus. Are you sure?”
“Yeah, it’s been coming over the last year. And I’m only telling you—”
“Because you want me to make sure you don’t get killed out in the field.”
“No, to explain why I’ve been acting like I have.” L.W. came over to the foot of the bed. “I don’t know how much time I have left to really fight. I want to get to Lash while I still have all my faculties and kill him.”
“Don’t you mean ‘destroy’?” Shuli fiddled with the sleeves of his red satin robe, and thought, hey, at least he wasn’t thinking about how much his body hurt now. “And for what it’s worth, I don’t know if the evil monster can be killed.”
“If that sire of his, the Omega, could be eradicated, he can, too. They’re made of the same shit. That’s why I’m looking for a location. That’s why I’m out there every hour I can be. I’ve got to find him before it’s too late.”
Shuli wagged his forefinger like a librarian. “You’re going to get yourself killed if you keep this up. Especially if you can’t—”
“I can see well enough. For now.”
And then the two of them just stared at each other.
“You lie,” Shuli said after a moment.
“About what.”
“You’re not trying to explain your behavior. You want me to be your accomplice.”
When eye contact and silence were all he got in return, he laughed in a short burst. “Wow.”
“You’re my ahstrux nohtrum. You’re along for the ride.”
“I’m supposed to keep you alive, not be your Robin on some suicide mission.”
“This is not a suicide mission.” L.W. shifted the crutch in front of him and bounced the gray tip on the white carpet like he was pointing to things written on a board. “We’re trained to fight, killing slayers is our directive, and taking out the head of the Lessening Society is possible in pursuit of that goal. We just need to find out where Lash is, figure out how to get at him—and blow him the fuck up.”
“Payback for what he did to your father.” Shuli considered the motivation. “You know, the last time I saw you with the King, I got the impression you didn’t like him very much. Strange calling—revenge for a sire you can’t stand.”
“I don’t want him to stop me.”
“That’s why you hate him? Because you’re afraid he’s going to take your toy away?” Shuli shook his head. “I don’t buy it, but that’s your business. And I will tell you you’re wrong about all this.”