And I definitely didnothave the stamina to resist his advances for too long if he chased with intent.
“However,” he continued, “it would be best if we conducted such a hunt in morning’s light. For the most part, mages and dark witches go about their business during the night and sleep during the day. It will be safer to track him or her down while they slumber.”
“Will the shard be safe where it is until the morning?”
He hesitated. “You have wards around the apartment and a secondary means of escape?”
“Yes, and yes.” Even if it was through a window.
“Then it should be fine. But please do move from your current location tomorrow, and do not tell Lowell. I shall inform Sophie of the change and the reason for it.”
“When you report back to her tonight,” I said dryly. “Tell me, what would you have done if Ihadfelt inclined to dance?”
The heat flared in his eyes, briefly consuming the stars. “Danced until we were both well satiated and then contacted her while you slept.”
I hadn’t been satiated in so damn long I’d forgotten what it felt like. “You don’t need to sleep?”
“At night?” He half shrugged. “I rarely do so. A bad habit I gained from my father, who conducted a lot of business in the evenings.”
Suggesting his father might have had just as many dealings with dark witches and mages as he had royal witches. I couldn’t help but wonder if he—or rather, his company—still did.
“What did you mean, exactly, when you said the Libertine are the Society’s dark counterpart?”
“Just that—whereas the Society seeks to bring justice to the world via any means possible, the Libertine wish chaos and destruction via any means possible.”
I frowned. “Why have I never heard of them, then?”
“Few have, beyond me, Sophie, your brother, and the board, although Michael is currently unaware of my presence in the hunt.”
“How do the Libertine remain secret if they cause so much damage?”
“How has the Society’s board managed to keep their identities secret? There are ways and means of ensuring no information leaks. Some of them are even legal.” He resized the image and handed me the phone. “Sophie may well suggest a more secure location for you and Ginny when I talk to her tonight. I will text you if that is the case.”
I nodded but didn’t immediately reply because our desserts arrived. The service in this place was damnably impressive. “So, we track the shard tomorrow? Together, I mean.”
“Yes. I will send the location address in the morn.”
“You’re not going to pick me up? How ungentlemanly.”
Lazy amusement touched his expression. “Do you want me to? I was thinking you’d prefer your own car so that you could escape me if necessary.”
“That was when I thought you might be a bad guy.”
“Ah, well. I’m always happy to pick up a pretty girl.”
“And you no doubt pick up plenty.”
The lazy amusement increased. “Given you will undoubtedly google me once you are home and alone, I will not deny that I have something of a reputation along those lines.”
Not married, then... although marriage never stopped anyone from playing away. That had never been a problem in my own marriage, or even my parents’, but I’d seen plenty of it over the years growing up. Many menandwomen within the royal lines were nothing if not indulgent when it came to sex and attraction.
“While it is common practice to google someone these days,” I replied. “It generally happensbeforerather than after.”
“Well, at least you will be familiar with all the gossip surrounding me on our next date.”
“This is not a date,” I repeated, amused. “And no dating will happen until this case is finished.”
His eyebrows rose, the stars dancing again. “Why on earth not?”
