Chapter Twelve
“This is called kidnapping,” I protest as the limo stops and Caden opens the door.
He gets out and offers me a hand, probably hoping that I will take it. Forget it! I don’t move an inch. Caden has promised to take me back to the palace, and that’s where I want to go.
He leans down toward me. Something flashes in his gray-blue eyes. I don’t know if it’s amusement or a threat. Or maybe both.
“You’re right, this is a kidnapping. And unless you want me to grab you and throw you over my shoulder, you should get out of there real quick, love.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
I give him an incensed look, but my resolve cracks at the sight of his cheeky grin. He’s a sin mage. Of course he would dare.
“What am I doing here?” I ask, to at least buy myself a little more time before Caden drags me out of the car.
I admit, I’m curious to see how he lives. Behind him I can make out the facade of a white house with high windows. It seems to be an old villa. There’s ivy growing on its walls, and the stucco decoration has been knocked off, but the building still looks quite stately.
“I want to show you something.”
Caden winks at me mischievously, and I shake my head.
“Give me one good reason why I should come with you?”
“Well, I don’t know. Maybe because I found out something about your mother.”
Caden’s answer floors me. After that evening in the East End, I had resigned myself to the fact that I would never know anything about her death. Did he actually ask around like he said he would and get those answers I so desperately seek?
“You’re not jerking me around, are you? You’re serious?” I ask. I’m afraid of getting my hopes up, but Caden nods his head and looks serious.
I slowly climb out of the car, ignoring the hand he’s still holding out to me. I follow him up the stairs to the front door. When he puts the key in the lock, I feel a little queasy. Who knows what awaits me inside?
“Isn’t your chauffeur coming?” I ask and cast a glance over my shoulder.
I can’t see the young woman through the dark windows of the limousine.
Caden laughs. “Why should she? Rey is my chauffeur, not my nanny.”
Maybe she would come inside so I wouldn’t be alone in this creepy house with a sin mage? One of the most dangerous sin mages around… who also happens to be pretty good-looking.
I swallow. Caden and I have been alone before, but this is different. I’m not within the safe walls of the palace, where sin has no place. No, I’m about to walk right into the lion’s den.
Once inside, I’m hit by a woody, slightly musty smell, typical of old houses. The floorboards creak under our footsteps.
I expected Caden’s house to be bursting with pomp and decadence, but it’s actually quite cozy. A long hallway leads into the living room, which is dominated by a large jade-green sofa. Books are stacked on high shelves made of dark wood. There are plants everywhere, and I’m reminded of the palace conservatory. Only these rooms are much more personal. Caden’s scent hangs in the room. That mixture of expensive whisky and crackling fireplace.
There’s an old book on the coffee table that he seems to be in the middle of, since a bookmark sticks out of the center. I’m deciphering the faded title— Tristan and Isolde —when I notice a movement out of the corner of my eye.
“Caden,” a voice says softly.
In one fluid motion a slender redhead rises from a leather chair that I didn’t notice at first because of all the plants. I back away from her and collide with Caden’s chest.
“Kaya, meet Sasha,” he says. He doesn’t seem surprised to find that this woman has made herself comfortable in the middle of his jungle living room.
She wears a beige, loose-fitting blouse and a dark blue skirt that is far too short. I try not to stare at her bare, endlessly long legs but fail miserably.
Could it be that she’s… Mrs. Nox? Caden never mentioned a woman at his side, but that probably doesn’t mean anything. It’s not like we’re particularly close.
I bite my lower lip. I don’t like her being here. Not just because I’m now alone in this house with two sin mages, but also because I kind of thought that what was going on between Caden and me was… well, private.
Caden leans down to whisper in my ear. “That thing you’re feeling is jealousy, love. And it doesn’t taste very good. So do me a favor and keep it to yourself.”
Then he pushes past me and strides over to Sasha. The two of them assess each other like predators—slowly, always careful not to miss the other’s movements. Sasha wraps a red curl around her finger and gives Caden a flirtatious look.
“Long time, chéri . I hope you remember how I like it.”
What comes out of Caden’s throat sounds almost like a growl. Without warning, he pulls her to him and presses his body against hers. Sasha gives a deep, dark laugh as she returns the embrace. Her hands wander up to the back of Caden’s neck and then grasp his blond curls.
I can’t help but gasp. The pair of sinners last night were merely hugging. This is so much more, and I can feel it with every fiber of my body. It’s pure desire.
Caden’s hand slips under Sasha’s blouse, lingering on the bare skin of her back. His mouth takes possession of hers. I feel hot and cold at the same time. It feels like a thousand ants are crawling all over my body. As their tongues touch, I try to stifle a moan, but it escapes my lips. I feel dizzy, my legs tremble.
What’s wrong with me?
I fumble for the back of the sofa next to me, trying to grab onto something, but I miss. My knees give way, and I land on the floor with an inelegant, dull plop .
How embarrassing!
Cursing, I try to struggle to my feet, but my legs feel like pudding.
Caden breaks away from Sasha with a soft laugh.
“I think I proved my point. Thank you, Sasha.”
The redhead licks her swollen lips and looks down at me, frowning.
“Are you sure about this?” she asks.
Caden looks irritated. “Are you doubting me?”
“I wouldn’t dare, chéri .”
“Go on, get out of here! I’ve no use for you anymore.”
Caden shoos Sasha away with a flick of his hand, as if she were an annoying fly. The redhead shrugs and turns to leave. At the door to the hallway, she stops again.
“Nice to meet you, Kaya,” she says, turning to me, and it almost sounds genuine.
I don’t recover my voice until Sasha has left the house. Ashamed, I get to my feet, trying to hide my red face from Caden.
“Is she your wife?”
Really, Kaya? Of all the pressing questions you could ask, this is the one you’re going with?
Caden laughs.
“Even if I were to consider getting married one day, Sasha would definitely not be my first choice.”
“But you kissed her.”
The look Caden gives me makes it clear how naive he thinks my statement is.
“I’m a sin mage, love,” he purrs. “I kiss who I want, when I want. But shouldn’t you be worrying about something other than my love life? You just lost the ground under your feet.”
I did. And not for the first time in the last few days.
“I feel a bit faint sometimes.” I wave it off, trying to look as unconcerned as possible. “I’m sure it’s just because I haven’t eaten today.”
I wish I could believe the lie myself. There’s something wrong with me. And Caden seems to know what it is.
“Sit down.” He points to the armchair Sasha was sitting in a few minutes before.
“I don’t plan on staying,” I say.
Something tells me I don’t want to hear what Caden has to say, but his gaze brooks no further argument. Sighing, I settle in the tan armchair. I can still feel the heat of the kiss, as if it were my lips that had been on Caden’s. I suppress the impulse to touch them. This isn’t normal. I shouldn’t feel like this.
Caden paces up and down the room. Apparently, he doesn’t quite know how or where to start. His silence is making me nervous. Even though I fear his next words, I just need him to start talking again.
“Caden?” I ask timidly.
“You need a glass of water,” he decides and disappears into an adjacent room.
His behavior doesn’t exactly help me relax. I pluck at my lip. How much worse could it get than me having to hide in the palace because sin mages are out to get me?
Caden comes back and hands me a glass of water. He squats down in front of me, looking serious. I don’t want to look at him, but somehow our gazes get entangled.
“You felt what was going on between Sasha and me, just as you felt the sin with the dancing couple at the palace.”
It’s not a question, it’s a statement. I take a big gulp of my water, but my mouth still feels dry.
“It doesn’t mean anything.”
Denial, thy name is Kaya!
“It means you’re different.”
“I’m not,” I retort harshly.
Different is bad. Different means standing out, and in Virtue, that kind of thing never ends well.
“It means you’re like me,” Caden says quietly, not taking his eyes off mine.
Like him.
The words squeeze all the air out of my lungs. I give a stifled gasp. The glass slips from my hand and shatters on the wooden floorboards, water spilling everywhere. Neither Caden nor I pay it any mind. We look at each other, and time seems to stand still. In his eyes, I see a truth I can’t—won’t—grasp.
Like him.
“What are you saying?”
My voice is a hoarse croak, the words so soft I’m not sure he heard them.
Then Caden voices what I’ve suspected but didn’t want to admit to myself. And it’s like the rug is pulled out from under me.
“You are a sin mage, Kaya.”