Three times before horror dawned on his face. “Gods, Emberline, are you insane?” He tightened his hold on my wrist, as if he meant to drag me down the hall like an errant child. “You can’t be here right now. The security is… there are over a hundred soldiers.”
“Yes, I counted, and it’s a good thing you’re in charge of them, isn’t it? Now tell me whyyou’rehere.”
“I’m here because tonight is our best chance to get a look inside your uncle’s study. I told Gabriel I’d see what I could find.”
“Do you know how to get into the safe?” I asked softly. “Or where the safe even is?”
Nico shook his head and let me go, pacing away.
“Well, I do. I’m here; all I need is fifteen minutes. I’ll shut this door, and you’ll walk away. Say the hall is closed for a private tour or whatever excuse you were planning to use.”
“Half the Dynasty is out there,” he hissed, looking like he was about to have a heart attack. “Your fucking uncle is in the next room.This is madness.”
“Thanks for the rundown. I hadn’t noticed all the possible threats as I carefully worked my way through the crowd. Now give me room to operate, Nico. I don’t have a lot of time.”
“Gods, woman, you’re impossible. Fine,” he muttered under his breath. “I’ll buy you as much time as I can, but if Giovanni heads this way…”
“He won’t,” I assured him. “My uncle is too busy holding court to worry about anything else. Now go do important security stuff and let me comb through his office and find my husband.”
“Always such a smartass. Be careful,” he sighed, like he knew he’d already lost this argument. “And Emberline?”
“Yes, my scary Draconi soldier?”
“If you’re caught, don’t do anything stupid,” he murmured. “Hide or tell them you thought it was the bathroom. I’ll come and extricate you from the situation.” He studied my face for a moment, then picked up a blond curl and wound it around his finger. With a tug, he pulled me closer, and I could barely breathe, standing toe to toe, his intense gaze swallowing me whole.
“I won’t do anything stupid if you promise not to tell Gabriel I was here tonight.”
“You seriously expect me to lie to my boss?” He frowned. “Really?”
“It’s either that, or we both end up on his shit list,” I argued softly, watching his face. “A list neither of us wants to be on. And as soon as I’m finished in the study, I’ll go straight back to the safehouse, no detours.”
“You have yourself a deal, principessa.Don’t make me regret this.” His lips curved up, light dancing in his eyes as he wound that curl tighter around his finger. Forcing me even closer, so our breath mingled, so my head emptied out of everything except how good he smelled and how warm he was.
“This is Emilia’s work?” he asked softly, rubbing the strand between his fingers.
“You like it?” I tipped my head to the side, honey gold curls cascading over my shoulder. He noticed, pupilsdilating and swallowing up the pale brown until there was nothing left but emotion andwant.
So much want.
Breathing grew next to impossible, as if he was sucking up all the air in the hallway.
“Not particularly, but it’s effective,” he said hoarsely. “At least you don’t look like someone who will carve my balls off for the fun of it.”
“Looks can be deceiving.” I gave him a simpering smile that had him rolling his eyes and stepping away. “Now scootch, you pest, we’re wasting precious time.”
10
EMBERLINE
Nico’s huge shoulders blocked the view of me slipping into the study, the wards prickling over my skin, confirming I was from the right family.
They’d been keyed to the DiRavello bloodline centuries ago.
How many times had I opened this door when father was inside, just to ask him some childish question? The memory made my eyes burn. He’d always been annoyed by the interruption, yet always let me stay, explaining his latest business deal or how best to leverage our paltry influence in a Dynasty where we were the weakest link.
Silence greeted me.
The room was as I remembered—shelves of books lining the walls, a large desk cluttered with ledgers and neat stacks of paper; my uncle’s secrets, ripe for the picking. And instead of cigar smoke, the air smelled of cedar and beeswax and old parchment.
