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“Fair enough,” Keon says. “Well…given that the Diavolos believe you to be their ally, I would assume they will contact you at some point, or at least try to listen in. I want to do a sweep of your room when we get back to the compound, and you should burn the clothes you brought.”
I gape at him. “Burn them? That seems a little extreme.”
And there’s some nice shit in there, damn it.
“Aelyd tech—especially if it’s designed by the Ombra family, which most is—will be nearly undetectable,” Keon says. “I was only able to sense that tracker on your breast because I’ve been ogling them for the past two days.”
I snort. “Subtle.”
He gestures at himself. “Have you seen the way I dress? Subtlety is not my forte.”
“So what’s the plan?” I ask him.
“Eat,” he says. “Drink. And we can figure it out when we get home to the compound.”
“Is it horrible that that’s not enough of a plan for me?” I say.
He flashes me a warm smile. “Just trust me, Penn,” he says. “That’s not that hard, is it?”
I roll my eyes, my fingers clenching the edge of the table. But even with that, I flash him a warm smile.
I need to play my part. I can’t let him distract me with sex. No matter how much I want him to.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
?
PENN
Dawn breaks as the hovercar stops in front of the compound.
I take a good look at Keon. There’s make-up smeared on his handsome face, streaks of black down his eyes and over his prominent cheekbones, painting his skin a shiny black. The car’s interior is small enough that he can reach me, and he leans forward, biting his lip.
He puts his hand on the back of my neck. It’s surprisingly warm when he makes contact with me, but he doesn’t do anything but hold his hand there. “You smell fucking amazing,” he says, his pupils turning rose quartz for just a split second. “But let me do the talking when we go in.”
“I thought Atlas didn’t like you,” I say.
“He doesn’t,” he replies. “But he’ll understand once I tell him I was keeping you safe.”
“You weren’t keeping me safe.”
“But I was. You smell so deliciously fuckable and every Aelyd male around probably wants to know what you feel like,” he replies. I’m surprised at the edge in his voice. Maybe it’s my imagination, but I think he sounds a little protective of me. But hey, he is a performer; an excellent one. He could just be putting it on for me. “He won’t want to think about his future wife in the streets of Solis. But me…fuck, sweet thing, being with me is a personal guarantee you’ll be respected.”
“And Shayd?” I ask, hoping to use that opportunity to extract what he knows about Corvus.
“A fine bodyguard,” Keon says, shrugging. “If he can’t do his job and keep his eyes on you, that’s his business. Atlas only wants the best working for him, for good reason. You’re priceless to us.”
“Because of my womb.”
He grimaces a little at that. “I wouldn’t put it quite so crudely,” he says.
“But the point would stand,” I tell him. “You want me for my womb.”
He looks into my eyes, his jaw hardening as he does. This is the most serious I’ve ever seen him. “I don’t want you for that,” he says. “I don’t care if I have heirs, I don’t care about passing along the Gift.”
“You don’t? Then what do you care about?”
He leans back onto the seat, practically slumping, his clothes clinging to his muscles. “Very little, sweet thing,” he says. “C’mon. Let’s go. Your future husband is probably expecting you.”
