Chapter 21
TWENTY-ONE
“Where the hell is she?”
A voice broke through the serenity. Elli and I both shot upright, recognizing it immediately.
Max was storming through the den, kicking rugs and cushions aside, blazing a trail straight from the entrance to our alcove.
Even the smoke avoided him, curling around his form and shrinking from his presence.
“Uh-oh,” Elli murmured with a lazy smirk. “Daddy found out.”
“Shut the hell up, Ell.” Max had apparently heard her comment. He was looming over us now, filling our small room with his fury. He snapped at me, “Get up. We’re leaving.”
Andre was behind him. “Sorry, girls. He made me snitch.”
“I paid for the whole night,” Elli said, “and Nina can make her own decisions.”
I wanted to agree. Wanted to use all the confidence I’d discovered in the last few days to stand up to him. But he was angry. A temper I’d never seen directed at me. Before he slipped into another rage, I started to stand up.
“It’s alright, Ell. You stay. I’m tired anyway.”
She scoffed. “Liar.”
Andre stepped behind us, sitting beside Elli. “I’ll stay behind to make sure this one gets home safe and sound.”
Max rolled his eyes, unconvinced. “Whatever. We’re leaving.”
I went to take a step but found my knees hadn’t quite remembered how to support my weight. My foot caught on a pillow, and I tripped.
Thankfully, Max caught me before I could fall. “Hell, woman. You’re a mess.” There was a rush of movement, and suddenly I was cradled in his arms, my head heavy against his chest. The beat of his heart immediately made me feel sleepy.
“Don’t forget my shoes!”
He huffed a frustrated breath but turned back for them. “You and your things.”
“I’ve never had nice things. They’re important.”
He hummed. Andre passed the heels to him, saying, “See you kids at home.”
“Buh-bye.” I waved, unsure which direction his voice had come from.
We went out the same hidden exit that Damien had used. Beyond was a set of stairs leading up to the street, spitting us out into a dark alley. Max slipped my shoes onto my feet before putting me down.
He handed me a flask from the inside of his coat. “Drink it, it’s water.”
“That’s not going to help. Opium is an inhalant—”
“Just fucking drink it. I don’t need a lecture from the surgeon.” He finally relaxed when I took a long sip. He pulled off his jacket next, throwing it over my shoulders. “We’ll talk when we get back to Ronny’s.”
“Where’s the carriage, then? Or do you expect me to walk?” I asked, words slightly slurring. I pulled the lapels of his coat around me, wrapping myself in his leftover warmth and the tobacco scent lingering in the fabric.
He let out a sigh, glancing up and down the alley.
The last carriage was already leaving, rolling past us and stirring a cold wind in its wake.
Max cursed beneath his breath. We were stuck without a ride.
“Stay here. I need to call a carriage. We came in Andre’s car, and I wasn’t planning on us splitting up.
” He started walking away but motioned to the flask. “Keep drinking!”
I made a show of throwing the whole thing back, and he finally turned around, disappearing around a corner to call a driver.
The hand with the flask fell limp, letting the rest of the water drain out onto the damp cobbles.
A small act of retaliation that made me feel an inch better.
I wandered back and forth across the alley, waiting for Max, trying to sober up enough to defend myself against the argument that would surely come of this.
From the back of the building, a carriage appeared. I sighed, thankful Max had found one, and stepped alongside it so I could board.
It came to a slow stop, but when the door opened, it wasn’t Max waiting for me.
Damien grinned.
“Need a ride, Nina?”
The flask fell from my fingers. “Oh, no. I’ll be fine. Thanks anyway—”
Two men jumped from the back of the carriage and grabbed me roughly by the arms. I was shoved through the door and into the waiting car.
I tried to brace myself against the floor of the carriage, but my arms gave way, and my face smashed into the opposite side.
My nose crunched from the impact, sending stars through my vision.
The door slammed behind me as soon as I was inside.
“I insist,” Damien murmured.
The carriage moved off with a jolt, knocking me off balance again. The world was a blur, and I fumbled as I reached for the nearest seat to steady myself.
“You look awful,” he said. “Here, let me help.”
Hands gripped my waist and effortlessly propped me on the bench across from him.
“What’s going on?” I tried to keep my voice calm and innocent, like I had no idea how dangerous he was.
“Well, for starters, I see you lied to me.”
“What do you—”
“No more games, Nina. I’m not like Max. I don’t take risks when it comes to my investments.
” He crossed his ankle over a knee. “You told me you and Max are nothing. So why did I just watch him storm into my den, create a scene over you being there, and proceed to carry you out of my personal exit?” His gaze traveled the length of me. “And now you’re wearing his jacket.”
“I had no idea he was going to show up tonight. He was busy when I left him. With another girl.” I slipped my hand beneath the coat, reaching for the pocket in my skirt where the dice were hidden. Damien’s stare fell to my hips, and I ceased my search.
I would be on my own, with no magic to help me read or fight him.
“You said there was nothing between you. That doesn’t sound like nothing, Nina.”
I smiled and shook my head, like the idea was absurd. Somehow, the opium made it easier to embellish the truth. “We aren’t together. We’ve never touched. We’ve never kissed. He’s just… protective. There’s no way I can prove that to you but—”
“There’s one way you could prove it.” It was his turn to smile. His fingers beckoned me across the carriage.
My heart thumped wildly. The walls closed in tight, thickening the air in the car. “What do you want, Damien?”
“A kiss,” he said simply. “Prove to me you aren’t with that bastard.
Because if you are… well, that would change things between us, Nina.
I might get the impression you were just trying to use me.
When you are as powerful as I am, lots of people want to use you.
I’m very generous to my friends, but people like that get nothing from me. ”
He was a step ahead, anticipating what I wanted. How could I ask him now without exposing myself?
“Well, I wouldn’t want you to think that,” I whispered.
His grin widened. “Exactly.”
“Just a kiss,” I said, checking him.
“Just a kiss, and I’ll drop you off wherever you wish.”
The car picked up speed; the driver moved the grate to the carriage to tell Damien, “He’s following us.”
“Excellent. Give him a good chase.”
The grate shut, leaving us alone once more. Damien’s orange eyes lingered over me, waiting. Sweat beaded down my spine, and I felt hot all over, but taking off the coat would be far too suggestive in this moment.
His nostrils flared with a long breath. “Don’t be nervous, Nina. I’m a gentleman. I won’t bite unless you ask me.”
I tried to fake a laugh. I knew exactly what he was. There was nothing pure or polite in his heart.
The look in his eyes changed. “Come here.”
I felt a sudden need to close the distance between us, drawn by an invisible tether. I belonged to no one, I thought, and if this man needed a kiss to confirm it—if a kiss could save my life and keep my cover—then of course I would give him one.
“Tell me, why did you come to my side of the city?”
I swallowed the bile burning my throat. The truth flew from my lips. “I was looking for you.”
“Oh?” He was interested now. “Why were you looking for me?”
I slammed my teeth shut, trying to fight the overwhelming need to tell him everything. “You’re sending your profits from the opium business to black market dealers outside the city, on the canal. I want to know who you’re working with.”
Damien grimaced, and I could see his teeth grinding together as he listened. “Interesting,” he said. “Did Max put you up to this?”
“Damien, please—”
He turned slightly, brushing the back of his hand over my collar, up the hollow of my throat until he clasped my chin, tilting my head to whisper in my ear.
“You know what Max’s problem is? He waits too long.
He plays it safe because he is afraid. By the time he decides he wants something, someone else has already taken it. ”
The fingers around my jaw pinched into my cheeks, pulling my face to look at him. Our noses pressed together. “Kiss me, Nina.”
I didn’t know who moved first, we were so close together, but I was drawn to him.
He smashed his lips into mine, kissing me with a force that took the breath from my chest. My hands wanted to shove him away, but I couldn’t lift them to do it.
His lips pushed mine apart, and I tried to relax as he violated my mouth with a sweep of his tongue—claiming territory.
I was nothing more than that to him. Something else to take from Max.
His teeth dug into my bottom lip, taking full control of this kiss as I went soft, praying it would end soon. I slammed my eyes shut, dissociated from the act, trying to ignore the bile creeping up my throat. But I couldn’t ignore his hands running over my hips and fumbling at my clothes.
He nicked my lip with a sharp canine tooth.
I gasped at the jabbing pain, but he sucked my lip into his mouth, cleaning the small bead of blood that spilled from the cut. My fists came between us and shoved him away, unable to stand it any longer.
“Nina, are you—”
“That hurt,” I whimpered, touching my swollen lip.
“I’m sorry.” He brought his thumb to the spot, and it took all my nerve not to swipe it away. “I got a little carried away and forgot all about my teeth.” He flashed a devilish smile, showing the elongated canines of a Cursed. “I’ll put them away next time.”
“It’s fine,” I lied.