Page 59 of Pride: Kneel Before None

However, the difference this time was that I could see the stretch of his powers advancing on me. My sapphire eyes tracked each bend, swoop, and slither of the aura. Something in it felt at home when it finally wrapped around me, the energy circling my throat like a lover’s hand before sliding down between the back of the robe and the length of my spine.

A soft whimper escaped my lips. I couldn’t explain what I felt, but I could taste him. Not the way one tastes food or not even the way certain scents hit your tongue when you breathe them in. This was something deeper that felt like a reflection of something that existed between us.

My mind’s eye opened up without my prompting. Images flickered like a skipped record.

Thirty seconds from now.

Two minutes.

An hour.

Three days.

In the final vision, staticky at best, I saw a pool of crimson that looked too sticky to be anything but blood. Before I could push to control the direction of that haunting sight, my precognition short-circuited. Everything went blank.

Too blank.

CHAPTER 19

The remains of the excessive spread I had ordered for lunch were left on the kitchen table. Julissa would be by soon enough to clean up, perhaps send the scraps to some orphanage or home for troubled prepubescent demons. Regardless, the leftovers would disappear before Eve and I returned.

I wanted my Little Spade well fed before we took our trip to Blackscale. Grier had come through on his end and managed to coordinate a visit to the maximum-security prison. The worst of Superbia’s scum who couldn’t be trusted not to demolish the city and its inhabitants were locked away there, including her idiot brother.

My hand rested on the small of Eve’s back, guiding her into the private elevators outside my penthouse. Once the doors parted, we stepped inside, and I jabbed the button for the roof, prompting the doors to roll closed.

“Where are we going?” Eve asked as she stood beside me.

I tucked my hands into the pockets of my black dress slacks, eyes focused on the digital display of the floor numbers as we made the short journey upward.

Glancing sidelong at her, I kept a neutral expression on my face. “On a small trip.”

Her arms crossed underneath her tits, pushing them up like the visual would persuade me to divulge more information.

Tempting.

So fucking tempting.

Having coordinated her entire wardrobe with Ignatius, the styles I’d chosen to fill her closet almost felt like self-inflicted torture. Ensembles that teased but never flaunted to the point of being obscene.

Perhaps when we returned, I’d test how soundproof these elevators were. Tear that damn white blouse off her, leave the scraps on the floor. It wouldn’t take much. The style lacked buttons and wrapped around her body and secured at her waist with a pristine bow. After ripping the fabric from her upper body, I’d press her ass against every floor number until the entire display was lit up like a winning slot machine where the jackpot was my dick.

I let out a noncommittal grunt, forcing myself to look away as the steel box carrying us to the roof slowed to a halt.

Designer sunglasses were already drawn from the inside pocket of my suit jacket and in place when the doors slid open. Sunlight flooded the car with a rush of heat and an assaulting gust of wind.

Leading the way onto the exposed rooftop, I left it to Eve to follow after me and knew she would, if only to satisfy her curiosity.

The sound of her footsteps on the whitewashed concrete confirmed she followed suit. My longer stride forced her steps into a rushed cadence in an attempt to keep up, a challenge she faced daily. Today, however, it was a particular struggle in the black pencil skirt she wore. The slit up the back permitted some extra mobility, but not enough to let her sprint after me.

Sharp taps of her heels against the rooftop spoke volumes to her irritability. Whether it was from my lack of response to her question or the frustration with her outfit, who knew.

Waiting for our arrival, a sleek, black helicopter sat waiting on the allotted pad. Metal gleamed with the Sevenfold logo proudly displayed, rotors were at a standstill, and the pilot stood by the cabin’s entrance waiting for our arrival.

“In.” I jerked my head towards the open door, holding out a hand to support my Little Spade’s step into the belly of this afternoon’s transport.

Eve paused at the threshold. Her expression fought to land on any one particular sentiment, cycling through confusion, wariness, and reluctant appreciation. The last was exactly the emotion I had bet on. Not only did I play to my Little Spade’s well-deserved sense of entitlement, but going to Blackscale via air was the only practical means of getting there.

She jabbed a polished nail against the center of my chest. “As soon as we take off, you’re telling me precisely where you’re taking me.”