Nico Draconi strolled out of the shadows, buckets of that strange darkness spilling off his shoulders, pale brown eyes shining with deadly intent. I’d seldom witnessed his threatening side, and he stole my breath away, all brawn and restrained violence and quite frankly, scary as shit.
“Are you lost, or should I take you somewhere quiet and ask you a few questions? Find out who you are working for?”
“Who says I’m working for anyone?” I hedged as the door opened with a faint, satisfying click. “Not all of us have masters, you know.” I retreated as he kept coming, crowding me into the tight space between the wall and his big body.
Gods, he was huge, cold pouring off him along with those living shadows as he curved his enormous body around me, blocking out the light.
“We all have masters, girl.” He braced a hand over my head, the end of his braid brushing my bare shoulder. “We all answer to someone bigger and meaner and more powerful. This section of the house is private. Why are you back here?”
I debated. I needed to make this fast, with the leastamount of fuss, and Nico didn’t recognize me.At all.But part of me wanted to test Nico’s training, see how good this disguise was.
Part of me needed to already be in that room, sorting through the safe.
And all of me dreaded that once Nico knew who I was, this chance would be lost.
“I’ve never been inside such a grand place. I just wanted to take a look around,” I hedged, staring up at that handsome face I knew so well and hardly recognized right now. But at the same time, a dark thrill went through me, something dangerous, reckless, and completely out of character for this situation.
He smelled so good, all mint and cherries, reminding me I was starving. My fangs punched out, my stomach growled, and all I could see was the pulse beating in his throat, just beneath his skin.
“A likely story. You’ve been positioning yourself to slip by the guards since the moment you arrived. In fact, I saw Emilia’s signal before you snuck back here. Now, what do you say you cut the shit and tell me the truth? I really don’t want to get my hands bloody tonight.”
“I thought blood on your hands was a somewhat common thing.”
His brow furrowed, every inch of him edged in violence, and being crowded this close to him was doing weird things to my insides. I was hungry. I was warm. Hot, actually, and my head was starting to spin.If I didn’t know better, I’d say I was getting…
“Are you seriously fucking with me right now, girl?” Nico growled, fangs gleaming, sending another flush of liquid heat through me.
I considered answering him, then changed my mind. “Why are you guarding this door?” I looked up and down the empty hallway, curiosity prickling. “This seems like a low-priority location for someone of your station.”
Something didn’t add up.Why was Nico here, lurking in the empty hall outside my uncle’s study, unless…
“What do you mean…I’m asking the questions here,” he growled, gripping my arm.
“You were? Well then, ask away.” I beamed up at him with a vacuous smile. This was kind of fun, picking at Nico’s composure, watching him come undone.
“One last chance, dove, then your evening will take a turn for the worse.”
“The truth is, I’m looking for someone,” I whispered conspiratorially.
“Lost your date?”
“No, my husband.” I poked my finger into the center of his chest. “And I intend to get him back, no matter the cost. All you have to do is help me get inside this room.”
The look on his face… I’d have to remember that offended expression anytime I was having a bad day. Priceless. Simply priceless.
“And why the fuck would I help a thief?” He ground his teeth together, leaning in until we were nose to nose. “You have an elevated opinion of yourself, piccola, so I guess we’ll be doing this the hard way.”
Gods, he smelled so good, and his fangs looked so sharp, and I was breathing so fast, this couldn’t possibly be normal.But… time was slipping away too fast to dissect this weirdness between us.
I had to get inside this study. Soon enough, this hallway would be crawling with guards again, and my chance would have slipped away.
“Before we get down to the torturing part of theevening…” I grinned at his building fury. “What makes you think I need your help at all, Nico Draconi? You know how good I am at sneaking in and out of the safehouse. It’s not like you could stop me, even if you tried.”
He reared back, looking me up and down.
Once.
Twice.
