“I’ve been trying,” he says, and I groan at his words. Soph fights a smile as I pin her with a glare. She bites her bottom lip and walks away, leaving me sitting there with him. Without asking, he pulls the blue drink from me and puts it to his lips, in the exact spot where my lips were. I watch as he takes a sip, pulling the glass away as he keeps eye contact before he scrunches up his nose and slides it back.
“Not your type?” I ask him, to which his dark blue eyes find mine, and he assesses me, his gaze sliding over me. His eyes seem to stop on the black and red checkered skirt I’m wearing with a tight black shirt and black boots.
“No, not my type. But that makes me want it even more,” he says honestly. “I think this is the first time I’ve seen you wear something other than black.”
“Yeah, I tried to scrub the stains out,” I joke dryly, picking at the red checkers that match my deep red lipstick for this evening. My hair is down for once, naturally falling over my shoulders.
Glancing behind him, I see two of his men standing near the door, unlike last time, when they were near the dance floor and clearly having fun. All business today, it would seem.
“Are you stalking me?” I ask him.
“Actually, no. I came to meet with Elias Nero and finalize some things from the other night. And when I walked in, here you were…” He waves a hand at me. I drink some more of the fruity alcohol.
“And you had to walk over and talk to me…” I take another sip, and before I know it the fruity blue drink is finished. Notwaiting for him to answer me, I stand and can instantly feel the alcohol hit me. Hard. I think I’m a little tipsy, and I haven’t been tipsy for years.
“Whoa.” Hands touch my waist. How did he move so fast? “How many of those did you have?”
“I don’t drink much,” I manage to say as I look up into his deep blue eyes. That gentle hum between my legs zaps me back to life. Wow, that alcohol has definitely given me a little buzz, but I don’t notice it as much as I do the electrifying tingle of his hands on my body.
“Let me take you home.” Not a question. Always in demand. But my breath hitches as I stare at his thick lips, curious about how they might taste. Curious about what his tongue might be capable of. His smell of citrus and wood flares my nose, and I know I should be shoving him away when all my body wants is to pull him in.
It’s a mistake, but also … I can’t keep living among the dead all the time. I might be suspicious of who Nessa is seeing, but at least she’s trying to put herself out there and have a little fun.
When was the last time I had fun that didn’t include dead bodies?
“Okay.”
Immediate surprise flickers in his gaze.
“Okay…” he says, letting it hang.
“You’d better take me home before I change my mind,” I tell him as I push him to the side and collect my purse.
His lips curve up as he says. “Yes, ma’am.”
18
SILAS
Because we didn’t specify which home, I take her back to mine. She talks a lot when she drinks—well, more so than her usual chatty self, which is none.
“How long have you been friends with the stripper?” I ask her, since she seems to be in the mood for talking.
“Since I moved to town, and she isn’t just a dancer; her name is Nessa.”
“I thought you were a couple the first time I saw you at the club,” I tell her honestly. She casually shrugs as she peers out of the tinted windows, her eyes growing wider as we pass the electric gates.
“Where are we?” she finally asks.
“My home.”
Her eyebrows perk up, and she whistles as if impressed. But I know it takes much more to impress a woman like Leonore. I park the car at the front of my house, and before I’ve even opened my door, she’s out of the car.
“You have a lot of money,” she says as I step out of the car, and slams the door, careful not to step into the perfect hedges.
I watch her closely as she looks around, fascinated with the flower pots that line the brownstone before she walks up the stairs. She looks good tonight. She looks good every night, but there’s something slightly more carefree about her than usual.
“Do I?” I ask, slowly following her up the stairs, admiring the way she takes everything in. She’s a woman with an eye for detail. I don’t bring women here. Ever. But there’s something fitting about Leonore being here.
