Chapter 20
Inej was no stranger to fatigue. She was used to working hard, but no amount of hard work could have prepared her for the stiff fingers, aching shoulders, or sore feet she experienced as she walked home from her first full day of baking.
Something light and effervescent had blossomed in her chest the moment her fingers sank into the dough, and it had only grown with every passing hour.
She lost all track of time and people, as she worked.
Only once did she glance through the beaded curtain separating the kitchen from the front and witness customers devouring her creations.
Her treats were making others smile, and in turn, bringing her unimaginable joy. Daas had to turn people away yet again.
The bag of coins in her pocket was significantly heavier than it had been the previous day. Already, Inej was coming up with different ideas for pastries that she was excited to share with Daas and Shruti. And for a little while, she could imagine that this was her new life.
There was no sign of Manu as she entered Jalall’s home and walked to her room.
Inej couldn’t stop smiling. A quick look showed she had the entire place to herself.
She grabbed some fresh clothes and headed for a bath.
Her tired muscles melted in the hot water.
She stretched out, lulled by the candle flames dancing on the wall and the heat.
Before long, she was so relaxed her eyes drifted shut.
Inej jerked awake and quickly washed before reluctantly rising from the tub.
She briefly considered eating, but her eyes were so heavy that she went straight to her bed, intending to only rest for a moment.
She woke in the same position she’d fallen asleep in and was stunned to discover that it was dawn.
Inej rose and dressed, then hastily plaited her hair.
When her belly growled, she slipped into the kitchen and found a quick bite before heading out the door—all without spotting Manu.
When she reached the candy shop, elves were already lining up, waiting for the doors to open. She had to slip past the crush of customers just to get to the door Daas held open for her. They said a quick hello, and then she was up to her elbows in flour.
Shruti forced her to take a break at noon to eat, watching over the pastries so they didn’t burn.
It was the only way Inej would leave the kitchen.
Before she knew it, the day was finished.
She might not have worn a smile on her face on the walk home, but it was there in her heart.
Her work was longer now, but she was doing something she loved, and for some reason, that didn’t feel like work.
Her eyes sought out Jalall’s house. The walk seemed particularly long that day.
It was too bad she didn’t live closer to the shop.
A place of her own without anyone watching over her.
Her feet grew heavy as she came to a halt.
What was she thinking? She would never have a place of her own in Navara.
Her job was temporary. She was here to carry out a mission.
Inej drew in a deep breath and then slowly released it. A large portion of her joy disintegrated, scattered with that one thought.
She silently entered Jalall’s. There were none of the sounds she attributed to Chanda from anywhere in the house.
Inej longed for another long soak and to crawl into bed, but she had already lost several days in not carrying out her assignment.
How many more times would she be alone with Manu?
She needed to take advantage of the time she had before it, too, was gone.
That meant staying up to have dinner with him.
She glanced down at her flour-stained clothes and realized she needed to change.
As she passed the closed door to Jalall’s office, she heard voices on the other side and immediately halted.
“The children have settled into their new location nicely,” said a deep voice she didn’t recognize.
Manu asked, “You saw them?”
“I was taken to them.”
She frowned and pressed her ear to the door when the voice lowered so she couldn’t pick up the next words.
They were abducting children now? It was the natural progression, but that didn’t stop the anger that rose for her spending time baking while others were hurting.
How could she have let herself forget about Krata and all the other missing?
The loathing she felt for herself threatened to swallow her whole.
But she realized the conversation had revealed that Manu wasn’t the one in charge.
There were others, including the unknown male behind the door.
If she killed Manu, someone else would step into his role and continue the horrors without missing a beat.
She needed to get details on who all was involved and find a way to somehow get that information to Gita so other agents could take out the other individuals.
The creak of a chair had her bolting to her room before she was discovered eavesdropping.
She softly closed the door behind her before putting her day’s pay with the other coins.
All thoughts of ridding the world of Manu that night fled.
She needed information, which meant striking up a conversation.
And that meant not only looking her best, but also being engaging—charming, even.
Inej dressed, then took her time brushing out her hair and making sure there wasn’t a speck of flour anywhere.
She hid the poison beneath the mattress and then paused before her door.
It was only a conversation that night. While it sounded easy, she needed to be careful that she didn’t ask pointed questions and let him guess what she was trying to find out.
She squared her shoulders and opened her door.
The office was still closed. She didn’t get close to see if she heard voices, even though she wanted to.
Instead, she headed to the kitchen. There, she pulled out food she found and set about making plates for both her and Manu.
She hadn’t paid attention to how much he ate, so she was guessing on what to give him.
She turned, her finger in her mouth to lick off some sauce, when she found Manu in the doorway.
“Oh!” She tamped down a flare of anger for being startled. “You have to stop doing that.”
His lips curved into a crooked grin. “I didn’t sneak up on you. You were absorbed in your thoughts.”
“Try walking louder.” She softened her words with a quick grin, remembering too late what her goal was.
He chuckled as he leaned a shoulder against the doorjamb. “I’ll do that. How was your day?”
“Long.” And then she found herself smiling. “But good. Daas said sales have never been better.”
“I hear the pastries sold out yet again.”
“They did. It’s unbelievable.”
He shook his head slightly. “I’m not surprised at all.”
His words, spoken with such sincerity, left her dumbfounded.
It was almost as if he were…proud of her.
No one, since her mum, had ever been happy for her about anything.
Silence stretched between them as they stared at each other.
His dark eyes pulled her in, drawing her close before wrapping around her like the night.
Several feet stood between them, but it felt as if he were right before her. She should be scared. She should back up or at least look away to break the connection that linked them. Instead, she stayed where she was and let his midnight gaze swallow her.
Thoughts of Manu in the towel from the other morning filled her head.
A raw, visceral hunger burned through her veins and settled between her legs.
He was a monster, but that didn’t curb her desire to know what his body felt like against hers.
She didn’t want to crave his mouth or long to run her hands over him.
She desperately wished to forget the yearning to have him inside her.
“Shall we?”
She blinked, and he was beside her, carrying the plate to the table.
Her legs were wobbly as she followed him.
The meal was uncomfortable. Each time she looked at him, she saw him as he had been in the hallway, his naked chest gleaming with water.
It made it nearly impossible to keep her thoughts on a conversation when all she wanted to do was crawl across the table and kiss him.
At least he wasn’t having a one-sided conversation.
He had barely said two words since they’d left the kitchen.
Manu rose to get more wine, which gave her an opportunity to get control of herself. She was supposed to be charming him to get information. He needed to trust her, and he wouldn’t do that unless she gave him a reason to.
Sleeping with him would break down his walls. The thought sent a wave of pleasure straight to her sex. It would also give her body what it craved. Maybe then she could think clearly.
When he returned to the table and set down the bottle, she pushed her chair back and got to her feet.
Whatever she had been about to say vanished the moment their eyes met.
She went to move back, but her foot got tangled with the chair leg, and to her horror, she began to fall.
His arms were suddenly there to pull her firmly against him.
Her hands flattened on his chest on instinct, and she stared at his beige shirt as she felt the firm sinew beneath her palms. This was where she wanted to be, where her fantasies had taken her.
She was bombarded with emotions. One half of her was impatient to see what happened next.
While the other half was aghast that she wasn’t recoiling from such a brute.
He said nothing, but the heat in his eyes seared her. Her skin warmed everywhere his onyx eyes touched. She became aware of his large hands—one splayed on her back, the other resting on her hip. Steady. Strong. Soothing.
A shiver of anticipation slid through her. She couldn’t draw enough breath into her lungs. His scent—dark, rich, and mossy—filled her senses, swirling around them seductively like an enchantment. The longer she was in his arms, the more her pathetic defenses crumbled.
The hand on her back flexed slightly. It was a subtle movement, as if he needed to know she was still there. The attraction between them had its own gravitational force. Did he feel it? Was he as caught up in it as she?
Inej didn’t know what finally prompted her to lift her gaze to his. Her heart missed a beat when she saw the desire blazing in his dark depths. His hand deliberately moved to the curve of her lower back and pressed. She sucked in a breath at the feel of his rigid cock pressing into her front.
His eyes dropped to her mouth, and her lips parted of their own accord. His nostrils flared, and a muscle tensed in his jaw. Desire glided, hot and wicked, over and around her, touching every inch of her before gathering between her legs.
“Inej.”
He whispered her name, the sound both a caress and a plea.
His arms tightened as his head lowered. Her eyes closed a heartbeat before their lips brushed.
It was over all too soon. She opened her eyes when she felt him lean back.
He searched her gaze. She didn’t know what he was looking for, and she didn’t want to ask.
Not now. Not when she needed him to quell the ache she felt inside.
She held his eyes as she rose onto her toes and caressed her hands up his chest to wind around his neck. Time stood still as their lips hovered, breaths away. She slid her fingers into the cool, thick strands of his hair and pressed her mouth to his in a lingering kiss.
A low moan rumbled from his chest before he deepened the kiss. He moved one hand upward to tangle his fingers in her hair. He bent her back over his other hand as the kiss heated, turning fiery and possessive.
And hungry.
She tasted his need, his yearning, and it drove her desires higher, sharpening them.
Every fiber of her body became attuned to him.
She felt the rise of his passion, the urgency he fought to hold in check, the storm that demanded to be freed.
She smelled it, tasted it, touched it, and she met it with her own.
Suddenly, he drew back. One moment, his lips were there, and the next, they were gone.
She grappled with the unexpected loss and looked up at him. Her lips were swollen, and she tasted him when she licked them. The fire still burned in his eyes. So why had he ended the kiss? “What is it?”
“I need to know you want this. That you aren’t doing this because you think you must.”
Her fingers cupped his face as she brought his mouth back to hers. “I want this,” she whispered before kissing him.
Those three words snapped the control that held back his storm.
He lifted her with ease, allowing her to wrap her legs around his waist. Then he walked to her room, their lips never breaking apart.
She had sensed the power in him before. Now, it poured off him, intoxicating and compelling. And it heightened her desire.
He pinned her between the wall and his deliciously hard body.
She felt his every move: the way his muscles bunched and flexed, his fingers digging into her.
She was on fire, her blood scorching through her veins, when his lips trailed across her cheek to her jaw and then down her neck.
She rolled her head to the side to grant him better access as he ground against her. She needed him inside her that instant.
Before she could gather the words in her head, he lowered her legs one at a time until she stood. Then, he spun her around so she faced the wall. Her hands were braced on the stone, one cheek pressed against it, as he gently moved aside her hair and left a trail of hot kisses down her neck.
She shivered, desire coiling tightly as he found one of her secret spots.
She arched her back to shove her hips against him.
The sound of his answering moan made her knees weak.
She couldn’t handle any more. She ripped off her pants and turned in his arms, only for him to seize her mouth in a kiss that stole her breath and sent the flames of passion burning higher, hotter.
He found the hem of her tunic and slipped his hands beneath the fabric. His fingers brushed against her hip before slowly moving upward. She shivered at the feel of his hand on her bare skin. It was a hint of what was to come. He broke the kiss to remove her tunic and toss it away.