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“Only by a matter of degree. I win. You lose.”
He grinned. “Actually, I rather think I won even if I did technically lose.”
I chuckled softly, and let my gaze run over the planes of his face, half wondering how nature could be so cruel as to give such perfection so little real emotions. I could have happily settled down with Lucian if he’d been anything other than an Aedh, with no want or need for anything beyond fulfilling the desires of his body. “So what are you doing here at this hour of the morning? And how did you even get in?”
Not only did we have one of the best security systems installed in our converted warehouse home, but Ilianna had finally figured out the magic used in the wards—which were basically stones that could repel magic, spirits, or evil, depending on the spell infused within them—that my father had left behind the last time he’d talked to me, and she’d used that magic to install wards of her own around our home. Which meant no Aedh—or even reaper—could get in. And I knew for sure Azriel couldn’t, because he’d apparently tried more than once—and it was something of a blessing given this morning’s session. The thought of his witnessing such a wanton display had embarrassment stirring in me, although I wasn’t entirely sure why. I was wolf—or part wolf—and lovemaking in full view of others wasn’t exactly a new experience to me.
Lucian nuzzled the side of my neck. “Ilianna let me in as she went out, and I thought it was pretty obvious what I’m doing here.”
“And I thought you said you had several important meetings to attend today and that I wouldn’t see you until later tonight.”
“Something came up.”
“Yeah.” My tone was sarcastic. “And I’m still feeling that something.”
He chuckled softly. “What can I say? Your body drives me insane.”
And his avoidance of questions was driving me insane. “Seriously, I saw your schedule. You had meetings starting at eight thirty, then rolling right through until almost seven tonight. They can’t all have canceled.”
“You snooped through my appointments calendar?” He nipped my earlobe just a little harder than necessary and I flinched. But even so, my treacherous hormones began to stir and hum. “That’s not polite.”
“Neither is reading my mind during sex,” I replied testily, as his teeth caught my lobe again and gently gnawed it. A shiver that was half expectation, half apprehension rolled through me. “But that doesn’t seem to stop you from doing it.”
“Speaking of which, who the hell is Jak?”
I growled low in my throat and thrust him off me. “No one.”
I swung my legs off the bed and stalked across to my rather opulent bathroom. Every bedroom had its own and, like all the other rooms in this place, the bathrooms were huge, each one containing a massive spa bath, a double walk-in shower, a toilet, and a big hand basin. In mine, the oversized white wall tiles contrasted sharply against the heated black slate under my feet, and the lighting was warm and muted. Thankfully, Lucian didn’t immediately follow me in. There were some things a girl liked privacy for, and peeing was definitely one of them.
He said, “And yet your actions just now would suggest otherwise.”
The toilet flushed as I padded over to the shower. When I stepped in, the water automatically came on at just the right temperature. I might not flaunt the fact that I was insanely rich, but there were definite benefits to being so, and one of those was being able to afford a system designed to ensure that you never had to battle with water temperature again.
“My actions,” I snapped back, “are related to annoyance at you rather than any need not to talk about Jak.”
“Then tell me who he is.”
I swung around and watched him enter the bathroom. He walked like a cat. A big, golden, beautiful cat.
“I’ll start answering questions when you do.”
He walked into the shower cubicle and the second showerhead came on, covering him in water. The beads glistened in the warm light as they rolled almost reverently down his muscular body.
I held my ground and he stopped in front of me, his arms coming to either side of mine, effectively penning me. “I told you, I had several cancellations.”
I pushed my hands between us and tried to shove him away. I might as well have tried to knock down a skyscraper. I might be part wolf, and might therefore be a whole lot stronger than an average female, but he wasn’t human, either. And he was bigger and stronger in almost every way imaginable.
“Damn it, you’re lying. I know it; you know it.”
His gaze swept mine, though what he was searching for I couldn’t say. After a moment he grunted, and if I hadn’t known better, I’d have sworn it was an almost frustrated sound.
“My eight thirty meeting finished earlier than expected, and my ten o’clock had to cancel because his wife went into labor. Satisfied?”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. I tasted no lie in his words and yet I had an odd feeling it wasn’t exactly the truth. And while I did trust Lucian, there was that growing niggle in the back of my mind that kept suggesting he wasn’t being honest with me, that he’d never been entirely honest with me. Oh, his much-stated desire to seek revenge on those who’d ripped his wings from his flesh was real enough—and understandable, given that the process also robbed him of his ability to take Aedh form—but I wasn’t so sure that anything else was.
Of course, that niggle might also be nothing more than Azriel’s distrust worming its way into my thoughts.
“Your turn,” he added, a touch of impatience coloring his voice.
