Chapter 12
The training room in the basement of the cabin was incredible. Two rooms, state of the art equipment for the weight and boxing room, along with a magical training room that rivaled any I’d ever seen. It was built to withstand a huge blast of power, not to mention equipped with safety measures to take down anyone who got out of control. Which had been nerve wracking at first. I had no idea what my powers were going to do. Were they going to be under control, a little wild? A lot wild?
But I didn’t need to worry. Just like at the table, the Morrigan seemed as invested in helping me master the mind numbing set of tasks that April was giving us. And by the second day of training, I was able to not only repel multiple projectiles, but also redirect and shape them. Unfortunately, what was currently stumping me was the fine manipulation of delicate metallic gears and components that were part of the locking mechanism for the main vault where the artifacts were stored. April had set up multiple samples behind a thick wall and I had to feel my way to disassembling them without triggering the alarm. The gears were distinguishable from the other metal because they were spelled with the counter measures and also made of a rare composite. While April had only simulated the signature of the spell, not the countermeasures themselves, it still made me nervous. Which might’ve been why I was zero for five.
Or it might’ve been my shitty sleep.
The impromptu Jeopardy party had been a blast that first night. And while I’d fallen asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow, I’d awakened several times from chilling, realistic nightmares. Darius had been there each time, helping me calm down, holding my hair back when I’d puked after one of them. Last night, I’d been plagued by nightmares with that mystery voice in them. Every time I tried to remember any part of my dreams, I felt sick. But this voice in particular was difficult; just trying to hear it created a big black hole in my mind. I was starting to think that I didn’t want to know what my mind was protecting me from.
If only the nightmares would stop, that might help me move on. Of course, I’d miss out on Darius reading to me and I do like that.
But what was bothering maybe even more than the blank spots in my memory, was how Darius was never there when I woke up. When I went looking for him, he was in the training room, running on the treadmill both mornings.
Apparently that was his way of avoiding waking up next to me because he’d done the same thing before bed last night as well. When we were among everyone else, Darius played the part well, but he hadn’t wanted to be alone with me since we first arrived, and he’d flashed me his ass.
I got the feeling he regretted it and I didn’t know how to approach the subject with him, especially since he was currently avoiding being alone with me for too long.
Maybe I can corner him tonight after the party. We need to have it out or something, this tension and him avoiding me is driving me nuts.
I could hear the gears behind the wall suddenly grind and the alarm blared.
“Son of a bitch!” I yelled.
“Got something on your mind, Princess?” April asked, using her new nickname for me.
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her that if I had a crown, I’d ram it up her ass, but instead I took a breath. The Morrigan was putting my temper on a hair trigger and I tensed as I took control of those instincts. There was no way I was going to get anywhere by giving in, though I didn’t want to show weakness either.
“Just thinking about the party, that’s all.”
“Oh dear, having a hard time choosing between two hair styles?”
“Look,” I spat, whipping my head around to April. My voice came out harder than I’d intended, but I really didn’t care at the moment. “I know this isn’t ideal, but I’m committed to this job and I don’t want to fuck up and cost anyone their lives. I’m thinking of what I know of Whitman so I can convince him to accept me on the team, I’m thinking of how to explain to Darius that he has to back off so I can make a connection with Whitman and yeah, I’m rusty as hell with some of this and I’m embarrassed. But I’m also no slouch and I’ll work my ass off to get up to speed in time.”
April crossed her arms and frowned at me, thinking over my words.
“Fine,” she finally said, her voice a little less hard, “let’s try again, and I’m timing you now.”
I repeated the exercise three times until I could do it without setting off a single alarm. April didn’t hesitate to remind me that I had to now get it down to two and half minutes if I was going to give them a chance at getting to the artifacts, but I detected a hint of satisfaction in her voice nonetheless.
Sweat dripped down my back and my muscles hurt like I’d been weight training, but it was a good kind of pain, the kind that told me I’d spent my day doing something productive.
“So what kind of training did you have before?” April asked as we took a break.
“Honestly? Not much. Mostly I was just taught the basics and every time I tried to learn more, utilize my powers in a way that wasn’t…ornamental, I was told to stop worrying and just look pretty.”
The words were bitter on my tongue but I didn’t think April would mind. In fact, something told me she understood the frustration of being caged within other peoples expectations.
My father had hated my abilities. He’d hoped for something feminine and soft like my mother’s ability to project holograms. But instead, he got a daughter with metallic kinesis.
If I’d been born male, I would’ve been allowed to develop my powers into something formidable, I would’ve been able to defend myself against the attack that had stolen over a year of my life.
Instead, I was coddled and infantilized, told to only learn as much as I needed so that I didn’t hurt anyone.
“I see,” she finally replied. “I didn’t exactly fit the mold my parents wanted either. Where did you end up learning how to control weapons? What you did with the knife at dinner that first night was pretty impressive.”
I grinned at that, remembering Darius sneaking teachers in for me, getting me to lessons and lying to my father about it.
“Oh, I see,” April snorted. “It’s that big boyfriend of yours.”
“Yeah, we were friends first and he found me trainers when I told him I wanted to learn more.”
“So why are you involved in this job? Is this a way to stick it to dear old dad?”
“No, he’s dead.”
“Fuck, sorry.”
I shook my head and gave her sad smile.
“It’s okay. He was…well, at best, he ignored me. At worst, he controlled me. I’m honestly not sure how I feel about it.”
April frowned at me, and I could see the discomfort in the way her throat bobbed as she swallowed.
“Well, we should get back to it.”
I nodded, relieved not to be talking about my father any more. I wasn’t lying about not knowing how to feel about his death. I was free now that he was gone, but at the same time I’d yet to taste any of that freedom. And what kind of daughter did it make me to be relieved that he was gone?
The kind that doesn’t want anything to do with her abuser.
It was a stark, truthful answer and it shocked me. I stood there facing the wall, water bottle suspended above the shelf as the absolute truth of that hit me.
He was abusive, there’s no other way to think of it. And while a small part of me was sad I’d never have the chance to see if he’d change if given the choice, the sense of being free of him was so profound it over shadowed everything else.
“You ready or what?” April asked.
I plunked the water bottle back on the shelf and nodded.
“Yep, definitely ready.”
The gears were different this time and it took me a bit longer than I’d like to disassemble them. But the second time, I was quicker, even though once again, April had switched the configuration on me.
By the time I was doing it successfully in three minutes flat, April actually smiled at me and gave me a grunt and few words of approval. I felt like I won a prize.
A knock sounded at the door and April disengaged the lock. Darius stepped inside and I gave him a tired smile.
“What’s wrong? You look completely wrung out,” he said, his forehead creased with worry.
“Hasn’t she ever done a full day’s work before?” April scoffed.
Darius opened his mouth, red eyes glowing furiously and I seized his jaw, turning his face back to me.
“I’m fine, and April is an excellent teacher. I feel tired but oh so good! Ready for a hot bath.” And then because I couldn’t help myself and we were supposed to be a couple after all, “Would you care to join me?”
“Would, uh, join…um,” he sputtered.
I threw my head back and let loose a full throated laugh.
“Oh my goodness, I love doing that to you!”
“Doing what?” he arched an eyebrow.
“Making you blush and lose the ability to speak.”
“Well, that second one is easy, just enter a room.”
April made a gagging sound and Darius’ playful smirk fled as if it had never been there.
“The dress is here,” he said, now in his usual all-business voice. “You should shower and then meet with Angelica so she can make sure it fits.”
I followed Darius up the stairs to our room. I was so tired, and really the last thing I wanted was to put on a persona and sip champagne.
“I wish we could skip this tonight,” he said as I turned on the water for the bath.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I don’t like this. You’re going to be too vulnerable. There’s security but none that I control or can use to keep you safe. And I don’t trust any of these people not to sell us out for a buck.”
I walked over and took his hand in mine, loving how natural that felt. Darius’ gaze softened as he looked down at me and I wanted to sink into the warmth in that gaze.
“I trust Angelica,” I said, “and I trust you. It will be alright. They need me so at this point, I don’t see them doing anything to jeopardize my involvement.”
“Not until after you break in.”
“Exactly, and at that point they’ll hopefully be too preoccupied stealing the artifacts to worry about us. This will work.”
He let out a long breath and then gave me a short nod, pulling his hand out of mine.
“I’ll see you when you’re done.”
“You sure you don’t want to join me? There will be bubbles.”
Darius stopped and curled his hands into fists. It wiped the playful grin right off my face.
“When we’re with others, this flirting is fine, but not when we’re alone. It’s…it’s too much, Nina.”
“Why?”
“Nina…” he huffed in exasperation.
“No, I want to know once and for all.” I took a deep breath, knowing that this could ruin everything, but not able to help myself. “Do you want me?”
His expression hardened, entire body going stiff like he was holding himself back. It told me everything I needed.
“I want you,” I said, “if that wasn’t already obvious. And so if you want me then—.”
“Do not finish that sentence,” he growled. “I mean it. I’m holding on by a thread, don’t push me.”
“And what would be so bad if that thread broke?” I challenged. “Why not just let go and see?”
“You know exactly why, you’ve seen it.”
“You won’t hurt me, I know that.”
His jaw tensed and he turned away from me.
“You don’t know that. Neither do I. And I can’t take that chance.”
“So that’s it? You’re just not even going to try?”
He didn’t say anything right away and I held my breath, hoping, waiting. And when he did speak, my heart crashed down to my feet.
“It’s for your own good.”
I’d lost count of how many times I’d been dressed and primped for a party, so the reflection facing me shouldn’t have been a surprise or odd, but it was.
The dress was a beautiful, simple blue silk halter that fell in a scoop neck, hugging my curves before falling in soft waves to my toes. The slit was just barely decent, stopping at my mid-thigh. My red curls had been piled high, a few falling strategically around my round face. The jewelry was kept to a minimum and the heels were strappy silver ones that were just high enough. The stylist that Wanda had called in for me hadn’t done too much with my makeup, except to accent the bow shape of my lips and give me a bit of a cat eye. Other than that, it was more natural than many of my party looks.
So why it should seem so strange to stare at this version of myself I had no idea.
Maybe the mask I’d have to wear tonight was the problem; the illusion of a socialite was ill fitting, not the price of the gown or the two carat diamond studs in my ears. I knew that the security I’d always taken for granted before the abduction was thin, weak. It had never been enough to really protect me from whatever had lurked just out of sight.
Well, except maybe for Darius.
The thought of him was a jagged pain in my stomach.
I was still hurt, but that rejection was slowly transforming into anger, a hot coal in my chest that threatened to burn me up.
Again, I wondered if it was the Morrigan, or maybe my own unresolved issues from the past year. Or both, which wouldn’t be too outside the realm of possibility. But whatever the reason, I knew that this anger had to go somewhere.
Trouble was, I needed to maintain at least some semblance of a relationship with Darius for this mission. Not that a lover’s quarrel was all that unbelievable, but it couldn’t unravel us completely. I needed him with me until this was finished and then…
I closed my eyes against the sting of imagining my life without him.
There were much more important things to focus on. Tonight, I would have to pretend I was just fine, that I hadn’t had my heart broken, that I hadn’t been taken apart and put back together with a monster inside of me.
My heart hammered against my chest and my hands started to shake.
“I can do this…I have to do this.”
There was a knock at the door and I straightened my posture, let a soft smile tilt my lips up and nodded to myself in the mirror.
I like the dress, I look like a goddess.
I chuckled and grabbed the silver clutch the stylist had given me. I was expecting Wanda at the door, since Darius was avoiding me, so I was not prepared to open and it and see him in a devastatingly perfect suit.
My lips parted as my eyes raked unashamedly down his extremely large frame. He had his glamour on, much to my disappointment, but it was still a sight.
Dark blue, almost black pants that hugged his hips and fell perfectly down to his wing tipped shoes. The jacket sculpted his massive shoulders and biceps, and the crisp white shirt underneath gave a hint of the Adonis like body he was sporting. The collar was unbuttoned and there was no tie, exposing that delicious hollow of his throat that I wanted to run my tongue around.
I was so dumb struck at the sight of him, that I didn’t notice right away that he hadn’t said a word to me either.
When I looked up at his face, Darius’ jaw was clenched tight, his eyes skating up my body so slow that I swear I felt the scorching heat of them. When he finally looked at my face, it was like he was memorizing me.
“I like your suit,” I whispered.
He swallowed hard enough for me to hear.
“Thanks. I, uh…like your dress.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks and I felt like I was sixteen, being picked up for my first formal date. But Darius and I had done this so many times before, him escorting me to some party, dressed in a dark suit. He’d knocked on my door hundreds of times, thousands, maybe. And every time, I’d said something playful about his suit, how it was so unique or something, just to get even a small quirk of reaction from him. It never worked, not once.
But this time, when I hadn’t been trying, he was looking at me like he wanted to back me into the room and lock me inside. It was damn tempting to look down and see if there was a bit of a tent pole in his pants but I didn’t dare. I had a feeling that if I did we’d never leave.
“Well,” I said, moving to walk past him, “shall we?”
Darius didn’t move and I was met with the immovable wall of his body.
He reached out one meaty hand and seized my upper arm, his fingers practically meeting. It wasn’t a hard grip, on the contrary. His calloused palm slid down my arm, leaving goose flesh in its wake, until he came to my fingers.
I twisted them out of his grip and cupped his cheek, loving the faint bristle of his ever present whiskers against my palm.
“What’s wrong?” I whispered.
We were so close that his other hand didn’t even need to reach to clasp my waist. It was so warm and strong, banishing the last of my doubts about if I could do this.
“I hurt you before. I’m sorry.”
“I know you’re scared and I know why. But doesn’t it mean anything that I saw that side of you and I’m not walking away from you?”
“It does.”
“Well then can’t you— ?”
“We’re going to be late!” squawked Wanda from the foot of the stairs.
Darius let out an annoyed breath.
“We’ll talk later,” he said.
“Promise?”
His smirk, with that suit, made me wet in an instant and if his pupils dilating was any indication, Darius knew it too.
“I promise.”
He held out his arm and I took it with a giggle.
“You look beautiful,” he murmured, not moving .
“Why thank you, sir. You clean up pretty good too.”
He snorted.
“I hate these fucking monkey suits.”
“Well, you wear it well,” I brushed my fingers along the hollow of his throat, pretending to adjust his collar.
Darius shivered and his eyes heated before he captured my hand in his.
“Promise me, if I tell you to run, you run. No questions.”
“I promise.”
“Come on!” Wanda yelled again. “You two can rip each other’s clothes off later, we need to be there on time. Whitman is a stickler for that shit.”
Darius rolled his eyes and we walked down the stairs into the living room to see a thoroughly bored Jack lounging on the couch in casual attire, and April in a gorgeous pant suit with a red halter shirt under a black suit jacket and full legged pants. Her glamour was of a tall, muscular African American woman with a shaved head and nose piercing. She was stunning and I didn’t even try to hide my appreciation.
“What?” she asked.
“You look good. If I wasn’t with this guy, I might hit on you tonight.”
April snorted but I saw a flush darken her cheeks.
“Thanks. You don’t look half bad either.”
“Why, thank you,” I curtseyed.
Trey came out of the kitchen, his face set in a grim frown with Angelica trailing behind him, her cheeks flushed like they’d just had a fight.
What is their deal? Are they together? Not together?
I doubted anyone here knew that answer, not even Angelica and Trey at the moment, and I had other things to worry about.
Trey was devastatingly handsome in a tailored cobalt blue suit with slim pants and a slim tie, his hair was slicked back into a tight que at the nape of his neck.
“Jack and I will be here, prepping some of the gear for the job,” Angelica said. “Have fun everyone.”
Darius and I started to head for the door when Wanda called out to us.
“The venue changed, we’re holding the party at my penthouse in Los Angeles. There’s a portal between here and there already set up, I just need to open it.”
“That’s a lot of power, how are you doing that?” I asked.
“There’s a small energy well under here,” Angelica said, “for emergencies and things like this.”
“Why the change in venue?” Darius asked with suspicion.
“Whitman said he was having work done on his place and I offered mine. He does this all the damn time. Now, he expects all of us to be there on time to greet his guests, even though he will probably be about an hour late. It’s a test or something, I don’t know, I never pay attention when he gets going.”
“It’s okay,” I whispered to Darius, taking his hand in mine.
“If there’s no other questions, let’s get out of here,” April said.
I took a deep breath and walked over to Wanda. She closed her eyes and murmured a string of words in Fae that I didn’t understand. The air around us crackled, the scent of ozone itched my nose. Wanda’s long hand reached out and she drew a continuous circle in the air in front of us. The more she did it, the faster her words came, the more the air pressed against my skin, tighter and tighter until I wondered if something was wrong. And then a gold ring appeared in front of us, and on the other side, a richly appointed bedroom with floor to ceiling windows that showed a view of the city at night.
I followed Wanda and April through, with Darius behind me and Trey bringing up the rear. When we stepped through, the pressure burst and my ears popped.
“Sorry, forgot to warn you about that,” Wanda said, wiggling her ear lobe. “I hate that part. Okay, everyone circulate, have fun. And when Whitman gets here, Nina, you need to find him, but don’t glom on, he hates that. Be natural, charm him. He needs to like and trust you, or we’re all screwed.”
“No pressure,” I chuckled.
Wanda laughed.
“You’ll be fine. He’s no different than most of the men you and I have had to deal with in these circles. Oh shit! I forgot to make sure the caterer canceled foie gras appetizers.”
Wanda darted off, April and Trey sauntered out of the bedroom, leaving Darius and me alone.
“You ready?” I asked him.
“No.”
I chuckled. He was wearing his usual frown that was halfway between bored and annoyed to be here. It sometimes morphed into pissed off to frighten off any men I didn’t want to see and I hoped he kept that look off his face long enough for me to convince Whitman to accept us on the team.
“Come on, grumpy,” I yanked on his suit jacket playfully, “let’s get you a snack or something.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Liar, you’re always hungry.”
“I’m not a guest.”
“Yes, you are,” I turned to him as we stepped into the hall. “Darius, remember, you’re not by bodyguard tonight, you’re my boyfriend and you need to…”
“What?”
“Unclench.”
He pursed his lips and exhaled sharply.
“Fine.”
It was the best I was going to get so I let it go and painted that familiar, sickening smile on my face and walked out into the main room.
It was a beautiful, wide open living space decorated in black and silver accents with an entire long wall of windows that looked out on the city. Two of the windows were open and led out onto a large patio with outdoor heaters and white lounging couches. The living space had a fireplace with white crystals inside, the fire a silvery white. A shining baby grand piano sat off to the side and there were couches in a U shape between the fireplace and the piano. Beyond it was a expansive bar that was already busy with guests that had arrived ahead of us. I shouldn’t have been surprised to recognize a few of them from my clubbing days. Music filtered in through the state of the art sound system, a pop song that I didn’t know.
It was warm inside the penthouse, and I was glad for how cool the dress was. I think Darius was trying to look like he wasn’t completely uncomfortable by snagging a glass of beer from a waiter followed by what looked like a slider, which he popped into his mouth in a single bite.
I nodded supportively and gave him a thumbs up.
He rolled his eyes but there was a hint of a smirk on that sinful mouth. I longed to kiss it, to run my hands up and down his arm, stake my claim. Especially when I saw several women sizing him up.
Well, I do need to make it clear that he’s not available, I would do that if we were really together.
So I stepped up to him, wound my arm up around his neck, and seductively pulled his head down. My mouth skated across his, a soft question that he answered by taking sweet possession of my lips.
“What was that for?” he breathed, eyes glassy.
“To let the other women know that you’re off limits.”
“Does that mean I get to do that whenever another man looks at you tonight?”
I chuckled breathlessly.
“You do what you have to. Except when I’m chatting up Whitman. I think you’re gonna have to let me have some freedom there.”
His gaze darkened and I wiped my lipstick off his mouth with a slow rub of my thumb.
“Don’t worry, sexy, you’re the one I’m going home with, remember?” I asked with a wink before I turned to go socialize.
I could feel his eyes follow me, a warm flame that singed my skin with his possessive attention.
And I liked it.
I wanted to stoke that flame until it was an inferno that he couldn’t resist.
And to that end, I turned on the charm, smiling and sipping champagne in a pretty good semblance of my old self, joking about how rehab obviously didn’t take as I gestured to the barely touched champagne.
Before I knew it, I was circulating with Wanda as she introduced me to some people I hadn’t really met before. That seemed to be all my previous acquaintances, who needed to come over and not so subtly ask me about rehab and how my world wide meditation trip went.
When the subject inevitably spun around to my father’s untimely demise, I nearly winced at how effortless it was to portray the jaded and bitter daughter of a world renowned asshole billionaire.
“Our condolences…or not?” said a bleach blond that used to go to the same prep school as me. “I was always under the impression you two weren’t close.”
“Oh, God no,” I said. “He was a fucking asshole, but he had a very nice yacht I’ll be vacationing on as soon as I get my inheritance. Can you actually believe his lawyers said I had to wait until an autopsy was performed? I mean, sure my dad was a dick but who would want him dead?”
“Of all the excuses to use to keep the money out of your hands,” a brunette on my other side said and shook her head like she was appalled.
“I know, but that’ll be settled soon. Wanda’s helping me,” I waved in her direction.
The brunett’s eyes lit up and she leaned toward me conspiratorially.
“Is that your boyfriend?’ she asked, pointing at where Darius was glaring at everyone.
I grinned. Finally, something I wanted to talk about.
“Yes.”
“Wasn’t he your bodyguard?” asked a young man with a vape pen who was with one of the two though I couldn’t tell which.
“He was, but now he’s not.”
“Oh you are so bad!” the blond squealed.
I shrugged.
“You have no idea.”
I winked at Darius and he glared at me before turning away.
Another friend I hardly remembered was waving me over to the piano, so I slipped out of one inane conversation only to be trapped in another vapid one. On and on it went, and Whitman was nowhere.
I had no idea how long I’d been there, but I eventually needed a break. I gave Wanda a look and indicated the balcony. She nodded, and Darius followed me out. The area was miraculously mostly empty, save for one couple on a couch, in their own little world. I went in the opposite direction, as the balcony was large enough for two identical lounging set ups.
It was to one of these that I drifted and found a lone figure smoking a cigar. He was dressed in a black suit with a silver tie, his fingers adorned with rings and the hint of an old tattoo peeked out from his cuffs. His dark hair was styled to look as if he’d simply ran his hands through it and called it good. The gray temples gave him a distinguished look that bordered on sexy, while the suit jacket and pants gave the hint of a leanly muscled body.
Douglas Whitman.
I was tired, annoyed with all the idiocy of these people and now I had to play seductress to this elusive billionaire. The fact that he was easy on the eyes would at least make it a pleasant experience.
But when his light gaze met mine, a bolt of recognition shot up my spine, there and gone so fast I didn’t have a chance to pin it down. It made my steps stall, and I didn’t know if I should flee or keep walking.
Behind me, Darius paused and I knew he was seconds from escorting me away from Whitman. But I also knew that this was my only chance. If I walked away, I wouldn’t get another one.
So I took a breath and asked, “Are you wanting some privacy? I just need a break from inside.”
It was a subtle thing, but his gaze sparked with interest and he gestured beside him as he leaned on the boundary, a tall white web of steel that came to my chest.
“Does this bother you?” he asked, indicating his cigar.
His voice was melodic, like a song I swore I’d heard before and couldn’t place. It sent a sick chill through my body, coiling in my stomach.
Where had I heard that voice before?
He stared at me, eye brow arched and I realized he was waiting for a reply. So I shook my head and continued on as if his very presence wasn’t making me a little sick.
“Not at all, reminds me of being in Argentina,” I smiled at him.
“You’ve been to Argentina?”
“My father took me with him one time. The sons of the diplomat he was charming took it up on themselves to teach me how to smoke a cigar and drink a cognac. I think I was seventeen? I liked the cigar, not so much the cognac.”
Whitman chuckled, a low sound that skated across my skin and gave me unpleasant goose bumps. I couldn’t help being intrigued by this man as much as I was also a bit repelled by him. I know I hadn’t met him before now, so why did I feel as if I had?
There was an obvious answer but I didn’t have the time to clasp it. I needed to focus, do the job, get him interested enough to agree to let me on the team. Getting distracted by this other thing wouldn’t be helpful right now.
So I tried to let my smile, my entire body relax as we stood there and admired the view in front of us. After a moment he reached within his coat pocket for something. Darius darted forward and Whitman glanced at him, the cigar in his mouth, hands up, a new cigar in the hand that went to his pocket.
“Would you like one?” he asked.
I could see how many men and women would fawn over him. He wore sophistication so lightly, as if it were simply a part of his DNA and not something that one learned. His every movement was smooth, refined.
But there was also a shrewdness in those eyes, something that most of my ‘friends’ would never have picked up on because it wasn’t overt. It was also a little bit cold, calculating in a way that made me feel like I might be in the presence of predator.
His question was a test, an important one. Was I pretending to be a grown up, pretending an elegance I did not actually have?
I plucked it from him and let him cut it for me, then slowly placed it between my red lips, letting them wrap around the cigar with just a hint of suggestion. I watched him and Whitman’s eyes never left mine until he lit it for me. The taste was rich and expensive, making me want a nice snifter of bourbon.
I nodded thanks to him as I let the smoke drift slow and leisurely from between my lips.
The entire time, Whitman’s gaze had gone from slightly annoyed, to curious, to interested.
I had him on the hook, all I had to do was keep him there until I could reel him in. Usually this part wasn’t hard with members of my own age group; most of them weren’t hard to seduce into bed or gain whatever I wanted from them.
But I knew Whitman was a different breed altogether. He was older, and astute. He needed a deft touch.
Which would’ve been easier if I didn’t have Darius’ glare burning a hole in the back of my head.