A rumbling laugh came out of the older man as he stepped around Lory, inclining his head at her.
It was an effort to keep her smile in place, but she took Niely’s arm as he offered it to her, and they started walking close to the shadows.
“I’ve been thinking of you, Miss Vednis.” He eyed her from the side like he’d been served a particularly delicious meal.
Lory pretended not to notice. “And I of you. Actually.” She tugged him a step closer to the columns. “I’ve been hoping to see you here tonight. I’ve been wondering if you had someone to spend this holiday with—” The coy glance she gave him was something she’d picked up at Lu’Shen’s over all those years she’d gone there to find wealthy men to rob.
It wasn’t Lory who pulled them into the alcove between the columns and out of sight, but Niely, his hand finding the small of her back as he released her arm. Darkness engulfed them.
“I’m very much inclined to see this little encounter as a sign the Guardians approve of what I’ve been accomplishing this past year,” he murmured against her cheek, his mouth too close, his hands too explorative.
But Lory held her ground. She more felt than saw Khayrivven shift in the night between the columns a few steps from Niely. He’d snap the man’s neck in a heartbeat if she didn’t get Niely away from there. How Lory knew, she couldn’t tell. Perhaps it was in the growl rumbling through the stone alcoves, or the electricity suddenly charging the air. Or the whisper inside her mind. The same words that she had climaxed to.
Mine. Mine. Mine.
“I know a much better place for us to get lost in the celebrations.” Lory didn’t try to sound seductive; her voice cameout husky at the sensation of Khayrivven’s presence wrapping around her like a shield of darkness that Niely was oblivious to.
“I’ll follow you anywhere as long as you make it worth my while.” The challenge rang clear in Niely’s words, and Lory wasn’t afraid.
“Oh, I promise, this will be like nothing you’ve ever experienced.”
A soft chuckle drifted through the rain as if Khayrivven had heard her, and Lory knew he was laughing about the underlying meaning of her words, though the tension wasn’t absent from his voice.
Niely didn’t seem to notice either. He shivered against her, his cock rock-hard in his silken pants. The rain had thoroughly drenched him head to toe, and as she ran her hand along his cheek, her vision becoming crisper than the absence of light should have allowed, she smiled to herself.
“I would take you right here, against the stone wall,” Niely murmured into her ear, the mere suggestion making everything inside Lory revolt. The bond in her chest pulled taut as if Khayrivven was pulling on it.
She held her ground. One well-placed punch to his face and he’d be out cold. She could easily knock him out. But something about it screamedcoward. And she didn’t want to be that.
“I don’t think you’ll particularly enjoy it if we draw the attention of the crowd with screams.”
This time, Khayrivven’s chuckle sounded even more strained.
“How am I hearing you?” she asked into his mind, but no answer came, only a tug on the bond, suggesting she movecloser. Even in the darkness, she could make out that beautiful face over Niely’s shoulder. A feral expression graced his features, dark brows knitted into a fierce line and mouth pressed tight.Kill him now,Khayrivven’s eyes seemed to say.
She could grab a knife. It would be so easy?—
On instinct, her hand curled into the folds of her skirt, searching for the steel hilt, and wrapped around the warm metal. When she pulled it out, her hand was shaking.
“Slit his throat. Drag him into the farthest alcove. Disappear.”She recited the plan in her mind, wondering if Khayrivven would agree. He didn’t make a move to stop her.
Just lift your hand,she told herself.It’s not that difficult. He’s just another man.
A man who was supposed to die for something that wasn’t his fault.
With a deep breath, she lowered the knife back toward its sheath.
“I can’t.”
The horror on Khayrivven’s face was outmatched only by his fury as Niely stroked a finger down the side of Lory’s neck.
“Oh, Iwillmake you scream,” Niely promised.
They needed to get inside so Lory could end this before things got too far. She could end this any time she wanted. She could.
Niely’s hand reached over her backside, grabbing her.
So fast she couldn’t even think, Khayrivven was behind the lord, his hands an inch from his neck. She had to react before he broke Niely’s neck.
