“Thanks,” I growl when I finally throw the Range Rover into park at Kingsward Hall. I glance at him. “I mean it.”
He nods slowly. “You know I’m making a conscious choice not to ask what it was about those totally benign photos of Nero De Luca’s daughter that made you Hulk the fuck out back there, right?”
“Yeah, that’s what Ijustthanked you for.”
He chuckles and claps me on the shoulder. “You good?”
I nod. “Yup. Just had to blow the pressure off.”
“Heard.”
“Hey, Lochie.”
He turns to me. “Yeah?”
“You knowI’mmaking a conscious choice not to ask you why you’ve had Velvet Villainess playing on repeat on your phone with the volume off since we got back in the car, right?”
The SUV engine is still running, and I watch in amusement when Lochlan’s gaze darts to the bottom of the glowing navigation screen on the dash between us, which shows the current media streaming via Bluetooth from “Lochlan Kildare’s iPhone”.
Instead of one of his usual 90’s rap and hip-hop playlists, it saysVelvet Villainess: Villains do it Better.
I chuckle at the title as Lochlan scrambles to yank his phone out of his pocket.
“Just dumb TikTok shit,” he mutters, quickly thumbing his phone open and closing the app.
I grin and finally turn the engine off before we both get out.
“Fun stuff tonight, man,” he grunts, not looking me in the eye. “I’m gonna turn in for the night, though.”
“Got some bedtime reading to do?” I grin.
“Fuck you.”
“Some morally gray book boyfriends to?—”
“One more word, and I may forget that you’re blood, dickbag,” he mutters through gritted teeth.
I chuckle, patting him on the back. “Relax, I’m done.”
“Good.”
I linger outside as Lochlan heads for the side door to Kingsward Hall.
“Hey, Lochie.”
He turns to me, glaring. “What?”
I grin widely. “Mr. Grey will see you now.”
“Swear to God, asshole, I will murder you in your sleep.”
The woodsoutside Morvaine Manor are silent except for the occasional sounds of night animals. From my perch in the tree, I let my gaze slide through the darkness to the glow of the bedroom window.
Yelena is sitting on her bed, back against the headboard, with various textbooks and notes open in front of her. She’s got her glasses on, her dark hair is tied up in a messy bun, and a baggy hoodie covers her like a nun.
Despite all that, I’m rock fucking hard.
I don’t care about Lochlan's stupid TikTok videos right now. Or the fact that I just killed two men. Or even fuckingKyle, and whatever his past or even current situation is with her.
