Chapter 33 #4
“Touching me when we’re somewhere I can’t do anything about it.”
Her lips parted. “And what exactly would you do?”
I let my gaze settle on her mouth. “Don’t ask me that in a courtyard.” Color climbed her throat. I’d spent the entire morning unable to get her out of my head. She could suffer a little too.
“You could let go,” she said.
I glanced at my hand around her wrist. I could, wasn’t entirely sure if I wanted to.
I released her slowly. Lyra let her hand fall, but she didn’t move away. “This is weird.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“We kissed last night.”
“I remember.”
“Twice.”
“I definitely remember.”
Pink touched her cheeks. “Stop looking so pleased with yourself.”
“I seem to remember you initiating the second one.”
“And I remember you starting the first.”
“I did.” That shut her up. A rare and beautiful achievement.
She looked toward the western Sanctum before I could enjoy it for long. “We need to talk about what happened down there.”
“I know.”
“The chamber. The silver. Whatever our magic did.”
Her attention returned to me. “And my mother.”
“Yes.”
“And the Shadow wielder.”
Maerox.
The name sat behind my teeth. I kept it there.
Lyra saw my hesitation. Her face cooled immediately.
“Tonight,” I said before she could accuse me of exactly what we’d fought about last night.
She paused. “We’ll go through the transcription and everything that happened in the chamber. What your magic did. What mine did.”
“And what you know?”
She’d caught the loophole in my answer and wasn’t about to let me hide inside it. “What I can prove.”
She drew in a slow breath. “Kieran—”
“Trust me, Menace.”
She searched my face. “You make that very difficult.”
“I know.”
“That’s not exactly convincing.”
“I’m working with what I have.”
Her mouth twitched. “You’re terrible at reassuring people.”
“I’ve never had much practice.” That killed the smile. For a moment, she looked as though she might ask. I hoped she wouldn’t. I had already told Lyra more than I meant to last night. I wasn’t sure how much more I could tell her before I had to admit how much she already knew.
She spared me the question. “Tonight, then.” I nodded. “And you’re actually going to answer me?”
“I said I would.”
“You said you’d tell me what you can prove. Those are different things.”
Gods.
I turned to leave. “I’ll see you later, Lyra.” Her fingers caught my sleeve. Two of them, hooked into the fabric near my forearm.
Enough to stop me. “Last night wasn’t a mistake.”
I looked at her hand. Then her face. The conviction had been there when she said it.
The vulnerability came after. As though she hadn’t intended to say it until the words were already between us.
I could have made this easier. I had become remarkably bad at that where Lyra was concerned. I stepped closer. “Which part?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t be an ass.”
“The chamber?”
“You know what I mean.”
“The near-death experience?”
“Kieran.”
“The part where you kissed me?” Her cheeks flushed again. I leaned closer, keeping my voice low. “Twice.”
“You kissed me first.”
“And you keep reminding me.”
“Because you seem very pleased with the second one.”
“I am.” Her lips parted.
Fuck me.
This courtyard needed to contain fewer people. Preferably none. “Go to training, Menace.”
“You’re avoiding the question.”
“You haven’t asked one.”
She hesitated. Then, quieter, “Do you regret it?”
That question I could answer. “Not at all.” Her shoulders loosened slightly. I pretended not to notice. “That doesn’t make it uncomplicated,” I said.
“Of course not.”
“It was still a remarkably bad idea.”
“There he is.”
“One I’m sure will cause me considerable grief.” She began backing away, but the smile trying to appear told me I’d given her what she’d wanted. “You’re very committed to ruining this.”
“I’m being realistic.”
“Is that what you call it?”
“Yes.”
She studied me another moment. “Tonight, Nyxara.”
“Tonight.” She turned.
I watched her cross the courtyard toward Aurora.
I made it approximately six seconds before my eyes dropped.
Dark training trousers hugged her ass in a way that should have violated some Sanctum regulation.
There was no defense for looking. I didn’t attempt one.
After having her pressed against me last night, imagination had become unnecessary anyway.
I knew how her hips felt beneath my hands.
Knew the curve of her waist. Knew what happened to her breathing when I—Lyra looked over her shoulder and caught me staring directly at her ass.
I didn’t look away.
Her eyes widened, then narrowed. I raised one eyebrow. This time, color climbed all the way to her ears. She mouthed something at me from across the courtyard. I couldn’t hear it. I didn’t need to. My mouth curved as Lyra gave me the finger.
There was my Menace.
She disappeared beneath the Aurora arch. I watched the empty doorway for another few seconds before finally turning toward the western archives. So much for regret. All I could think about was when I could get her alone again.