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Bitty popped her brows. “She did that? Really?”
“I don’t know what happened between you two, but she’s still looking out for you. For real.”
Glancing down, Bitty closed her eyes. “So that was why she rushed over that table at them.”
“Pretty much, I’m guessing. I’ve never seen her do that before—not that I know shit. I don’t hang out, usually.”
“Neither do I.” She looked at him again. “But I don’t know, I might be willing to turn over a new leaf.”
“Oh, yeah?” That one dark brow lifted again, and he looked so much like his father, it was impossible not to make the connection to the King. “Tell me more.”
“I don’t know, I think work-life balance is important.” She pictured that social media star, parading around a purple stage. “And I get off tonight at two a.m. Lot of hours before dawn comes at that time.”
L.W.’s smile was slow and a little cocky, but why wouldn’t he be arrogant? He was a powerful force for the species in the field, and one day, the throne was going to be his.
Except then memories of the vision came back to her—and brought with them a chill that had nothing to do with the air temperature.
“Are you asking me out on a date?” he drawled.
She snapped back to attention, and kicked her chin up. “Maybe. And with the way you’re smiling, I’m thinking you’ll say yes.”
The future King gave her a slow nod. Then those eyes went up and down her body. “FYI, I’m always going to say yes to you.”
She had to laugh. “Even if I tell you to paint this house?”
L.W. glanced up the side of Safe Place. Shrugging again, he had a quarter smile and a whole lot of heat in that stare of his as he looked back at her.
“Charity work’s important. And if it makes you happy, Sherwin-Williams, here I come.” He nodded at her and took a step back in the snow. “See you at two a.m., Bitty. I’ll pick you up… and we’ll see where we go.”
With that, he dematerialized.
In the wake of his departure, she stared at the empty space he’d taken up, threw her head back—and giggled like she’d lost her damned mind.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Down in his quarters, Nate held his Nalla against him and drew his fingers up and down her spine. A pleasant exhaustion had overcome them both and he gave in to it, allowing himself to drift in a way he didn’t think he ever had before.
Funny how “safe” was a state of mind, not just a well-defended position.
Except it wasn’t going to last. Fucking Uncle—although the solution to that problem was at least clear and easy.
“Nalla?” he said as he stared at the ceiling overhead like it was a movie screen, his mind picturing all kinds of dead bodies on it.
“Mmm?”
“It was Rahvyn. Who gave me immortality.”
As her head lifted from the crook of his arm, he met her shocked eyes and nodded. “Thirty years ago, I got shot in the stomach in front of her. She got me help, but I ended up dying. My parents… were there at the bedside, the Brotherhood, too, and I guess everyone was crying—and Rahvyn came into the hospital room. I don’t know exactlywhat happened… but she brought me back over the divide between the living and the dead—and I was different after that.”
“She was the one,” Nalla breathed.
“I thought I was in love with her.” He shook his head. “Even before she did what she did to me, I had all these feelings for her, and they got stronger afterward. I guess maybe I felt like the gift—which has been more of a curse really—meant she felt something in return. But she was always meant for Lassiter.”
His eyes sought and held his female’s. “Just like I am meant for you.”
As Nalla smiled, the shy pleasure that bled through her beautiful features fed him at a fundamental level.
“Shortly after everything went down,” he continued, “I saw her with Lassiter, and eventually, I just asshole’d out. I behaved like a total shit, and the immortality thing became a toy I tried to break. I tested a lot of lines in the beginning because I was angry. Attempting to kill myself became like a fuck-you to her, which was stupid. But the thing was, the more times I came back? The more it dawned on me that I was trapped in time. All Ihadwas time, and nightmares about the lab, and nothing to live for. That was when the numbness set in and I got dangerous. But like I said… now you’ve come around.” He brushed her face gently. “And I might have been immortal for a while… but I’ve only just started living. Thanks to you.”
