Chapter 15 #2
But as she tangled her hands in his hair, he leaned down, and his lips grazed her neck, making that an impossible task. She let her eyes wander the club while he proceeded to kiss the sensitive skin below her ear.
“See anything?” he asked between kisses, making it hard for her to concentrate.
“Not with you distracting me,” Zera managed to breathe out.
Maverick chuckled against her skin, the sound sending shivers down her spine. His lips trailed a path of fire along her jawline, causing her mind to blur and her body to melt into his arms.
Zera’s eyes flickered up. That was when she spotted the balcony and who occupied it. She tensed under Maverick’s touch.
“You didn’t tell me the owner of this nightclub was Kraven,” she hissed, and Maverick smirked, his lips still dangerously close to her skin.
“Well, where’s the fun in spoiling all the surprises?” he whispered.
Her jaw clenched. “Fun? Like it was fun when he mind whipped you into breaking the law of neutrality at the gala? Or dug out all my secrets with merely a single question?”
How could Maverick not be taking this more seriously?
If Kraven was the owner who Gareth was making a deal with, then their cover was already blown.
He probably already knew they were here.
She watched Kraven on the balcony, where his eyes scanned the crowd below.
His gray hair was swept away from his stone-cold features, a constant reminder of what he was capable of.
Zera remembered how his mere presence urged her to confess her deepest desires.
How quickly he’d gotten every bit of information from her that he wanted and even some he didn’t.
It was no wonder this fae was the leading crime lord of Mystic City’s criminal underworld.
She should’ve known that a club like this would be his.
Kraven’s ice-blue eyes suddenly met hers, as if he could see right through her, and her skin crawled at the violation. He knew.
“Damn it, Maverick,” Zera whispered urgently, her heart pounding. “We have to do something before he exposes us.”
“Relax, Zera,” Maverick murmured, his hands on her waist as they continued to dance. “If he knew who we really were, he would have acted by now. Just keep up the act, and stay close to me.”
“I thought you had to do what I say in here,” she said, glaring at the wolf, who, despite the desire in his eyes, kept his hands strictly at the top of her waist.
“I do, but we have to wait for Gareth and his posse to show up,” he replied before flashing a mischievous grin. “And as of yet, you haven’t given me a command. So until then, I can still enjoy the view.”
Zera huffed in frustration, her mind racing for an alternative plan.
None of their scenarios had involved Kraven specifically, so there were a thousand ways this could go wrong.
They could lose their chance at stopping a deal that could save thousands of pixies and potentially take Gareth down. That was, if he ever showed.
“Fine,” she said through gritted teeth, trying to ignore Kraven’s intrusive stare from the balcony. She could feel his eyes on them. “But if this goes south, I’m blaming you.”
Maverick gave a low chuckle. “Fair enough.”
As the music continued to pulse around them, Zera couldn’t help but feel like a ticking time bomb. Each second that passed brought them closer to potential disaster. It was nearly midnight, and Gareth still hadn’t shown up.
The music changed, a slow and sensual beat filling the room.
She pulled Maverick closer, using his touch as a cover as she stole glances at the balcony.
Kraven’s gaze never wavered, and she wondered how long they could keep up this charade.
The choke collar connecting her and Maverick grew heavier with each passing moment.
“Listen,” she whispered urgently, leaning close to Maverick’s ear. “I have a plan. Come on.”
She didn’t wait for him to argue. His raised eyebrows showed his surprise. It was risky, but it would work. It had to. With a firm tug on the chain, Zera led Maverick through the crowd toward the staircase leading up to the balcony.
“Zera.” His grip on her hand stiffened when he saw what she was about to do. But if the spells written in red that covered the black walls and reflected off the dance floor had any bite to them, there wasn’t a thing he could do to stop her.
“Please,” he repeated when she didn’t respond, and she whirled on him.
“I told you I have a plan, and you’re going to have to trust me,” she bit out, pointing a finger at his chest. She barely reached his collarbone, and he had to dip down to hear her whisper.
“I did, and look where it got me? You had me come here without all the information. Now, you’re going to have to do the same. ”
She unhooked the cuff at her wrist, wagging it in his face before she hooked it on a knob of the railing. “Stay put until I get back.”
This was his mess, and she was just cleaning it up.
But that was what moms did, right? Sat back, watched the mess so another human being could learn, and stayed there to wipe everything up.
A thankless job but one she was good at and desperately wanted to get back to.
Playing spy was fun and all, but she missed her baby, and if Gareth wasn’t going to show up, she wouldn’t let this opportunity go to waste.
As she approached Kraven, Zera’s mind raced with possibilities.
She knew she had to be cunning and use her wits to outmaneuver the incubus crime lord.
She also knew she had to get to the point before he dug into her mind and exposed even more of her secrets.
Cole had to be the furthest thing from her mind.
If Kraven got hold of that information, that she had a son who could be used against her, who knew what would happen?
“Kraven,” Zera called out, feigning confidence as she approached the imposing figure. The crime lord lounged on a plush velvet chair, and all around him sat scantily clad women vying for his attention. His eyes locked on Zera’s, and she felt a shiver down her spine.
He’d be in her mind in a matter of seconds if she didn’t keep her thoughts shut down, so she worked on steeling herself like a shield.
“Step back,” a security guard in a black suit wearing an ear mic said, stepping into her path. His eyes flickered gold, and a wolfish growl emanated from his chest when he sniffed and smelled her pixie scent.
Why hadn’t she thought to glamour her scent too? It was a rookie mistake but one she couldn’t fix right now.
“Can you make me?” She flared her violet eyes, daring him to make a move or question her demon facade. She placed a hand on her hip, eyeing the giant guard like he was a beetle she could stomp out.
Kraven laughed. “Let her pass.”
The second he stepped aside, she was face-to-face with the incubus crime lord. There was no turning back now. She had to own this.
“And who do we have here?” Kraven asked, his voice dripping with curiosity.
“Rumor is you’re striking a deal with Gareth. I’m here to offer you a better one,” she replied boldly.
Kraven raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. “Oh?”
“I’ve developed a synthetic that could rival the real thing.
A competitor in the market, but more importantly, it’s safer and much harder to trace.
” She had to clamp her hands down at her sides to keep from fidgeting with her ponytail, a tell of nervousness she didn’t know she even had until Maverick pointed it out during one of their training sessions.
“And why would I trust you or your product?” he asked, clearly not convinced. “Especially when you come to me as a lie, Charlotte.”
She swallowed hard. Of course he saw right through her glamour. What could she do now?
“You see, I know everyone who enters my nightclub”—he peeled himself up from the velvet seat, his black suit a sharp contrast to his silver hair—“and what their intentions are, and though you are in charge tonight…” He took in her leather skirt, which had inched up her waist, exposing even more of her bare legs, and her boobs, which were practically spilling out of her bustier.
She felt ridiculous and violated by his lingering gaze.
“I already know why you are here tonight, so tell me, why should I care about your little offer?”
Her mouth went dry. She hadn’t thought this through.
What could she say to make this crime lord switch and turn Gareth’s deal down?
Especially for a product she didn’t even have a working recipe for?
She’d made a horrible mistake, and judging by the way the werewolf security guard’s claws poked out of his fingers, she was about to pay for it.