Crosses. If it crosses to the Light. Her blood boiled even as she wasn’t the least bit surprised. How convenient for him that it hadn’t. How very convenient—
Her gaze flicked to Shaw’s broad back as he reached behind a stack of leather-bound books.
“Shaw.” He turned, softly closing the glass. “Does it strike you as odd that with the number of casualties of this sickness, it hasn’t yet crossed to the other side of the city?”
He navigated around the furniture. “What did you find?” She handed the page to him, and he shook his head. “It may be a matter of luck. Or time.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Maybe. But something tells me different. What if he’s growing desperate for more lifeblood? What if he’s allowing the poor of Ghadra to die for it?”
Shaw’s jaw clenched; his eyes bore into the page.
Click.
In tandem, their attention swung to the door. Shaw shoved the paper back onto the stack, pushing the drawer closed. Luxknocked a pen out of place and fumbled to right it. The handle began to turn.
His gaze narrowed on her. “Don’t hit me.”
“Why—”
Strong hands gripped her waist, pulling her in, and before Lux could question him further, his lips came down onto her own.
Warmth.
It dragged her under.
She gasped a drowning breath; it was his air she pulled. Unfurling and lengthening, heat spread throughout every inch of her skin, pulsing, relentless, with every feverish beat of her heart. Lux’s lashes fluttered against her cheeks, her body curling into the sensation as if it couldn’t get enough.
And she couldn’t. She couldn’t getenough.
She wanted to burn with it.
Shaw’s lips moved and hers followed. They were so soft when compared to the scrape of his chin, and even though he tasted of wine, she didn’t mind. Not even a little. Her hand moved to grip the back of his neck. His fingers tightened against her, releasing bolts of fire in their wake. Lux sighed into his open mouth. To speak of bliss would be to describe this kiss, and she would surely—
“INTRUDERS!”
The two of them sprang apart, cheeks flushed, bodies tight. Lux tore her eyes from Shaw’s smoldering gaze to take in the white uniform of the Shield in the doorway.
She dropped her hip. She bit her lip. “Oops. May we not be here?”
The man sputtered, “In the mayor’s personal office? Of course not!”
Shaw turned with a suggestive grin that Lux would never have thought him capable of. “We were looking for the lavatory.”
A hand then ran the length of her, making her frantic heart bound and cheeks heat further. She licked her lips as he pulled her flush against him. “Right. Thelavatory.”
The Shield’s jaw tightened. “Get out.”
Lux released the breathiest giggle, making her own stomach churn in the process. “Our apologies, good sir.”
Shaw saluted with a wave of his hand, and the Shield curled his lip as they swayed past. She could hear him muttering long after.
“Drunks. I loathe these frivolous parties.”
Chapter seventeen
Lux refused to lookat the boy next to her.No, not a boy.With the taste of him still tormenting her, she was certain she would never think the same way again. Just as she’d once told him to, he’d convinced her with that kiss. Only, she hadn’t—couldneverhave—expected his methods.
Silent, they rounded the corner, the doors leading to the ballroom flung wide before them. She wasn’t sure with whom she was more furious: Shaw or herself. Though she also wasn’t sure she had cause to be mad at all. His quick thinking was potentially all that saved them from being tossed into prison. She knew her brilliance could only allow so much indiscretion.
