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“Holy shit.” Macon gripped my arm to still the image in my shaking hands. All three of us looked straight over my desk to the emblem of The Herald’s logo—spread angel wings with a decorative pen crossing the center.
“Not a spear,” I whispered. “A pen.”
“Moira,” hissed Kris. “He knows. Barron Coalglass knows you’re a reporter. This was a message for you.”
I stared in shock at the comm screen. The message was all too clear. Yes. He knew Moira Cade was also Marina Creed, exposé reporter and editor for the college newspaper, obviously working with the Morgon Guard to entrap the Devlin Butchers. There was no doubt Barron was the leader of this murderous band now. Ice flooded my veins, remembering how he had gripped me in his arms, how he had whispered in my ear.
“Moira, get back!”
Macon shoved me behind him as an enormous shadow darkened the entirety of my opaque-glass door.
My fear immediately transformed to relief. I knew the owner of that shape. “It’s okay,” I said, stepping around Macon as the door swung wide.
Kol swallowed the entire entrance, expression fixed in grave lines and sharp angles. He focused on no one but me, eyes blazing silver. Holding out his hand, his voice was full of the dragon—rough and fierce. “Come with me. Now.”
Chapter Sixteen
His hand encircled my forearm and whisked me out the door, barely giving me time to grab my coat and scarf.
In rapid fire, he ordered Wulfgang to follow Kris home and remain stationed there until further notice. Before I could utter a word, he had me out of the building and down the steps.
I shrugged out of his grip to button my coat before wrapping the scarf and tucking the tails under the lapels. “You could’ve at least said hello before yanking me out of the room. That’s what normal people do, you know?”
“I have no time for polite etiquette.”
“Is Kris really in danger?”
“Not likely, but we’re taking no chances.”
His hands slipped around my waist. Even through a thick layer of wool, I could feel the heat and weight of them. He pulled my body into an embrace.
“Kol. What are you doing?”
“Hang on tight, Kittycat.” Steel arms banded me close as he bent his knees.
“Wait! No harness?”
“No time.”
We rocketed into the mid-day sky. In the sheer panic of going from pavement to clouds in less than six seconds, I’d pressed my face into the curve of his neck and shoulder, cursing profusely under my breath. Blustery wind beat at my back, the sky an endless gray sheet. I burrowed closer. His pulse throbbed against my cheek. The panic eased into something else altogether. I turned my head so that my forehead rested in the crook, the edge of my lips grazing the sensitive skin at the base of his neck. He shivered, gripping me tighter against him.
What was happening to me? All he needed to do these days was put his body close to mine, and I lost all reason, cozying up like a cat in heat. A kitty cat. Damn him.
In no time at all, we landed on the top terrace that led into Lucius and my sister’s home. Kol set me on my feet but didn’t release me, keeping my body molded to his. Unable to resist his heady scent, I trailed my lips along a collarbone edging out of his T-shirt. He hissed in a breath, his hands squeezing my hips in a possessive hold. I stood on my tiptoes and pressed a single, soft open-mouthed kiss right beneath his ear. A silent invitation. Something was definitely wrong with me. Playing with fire had never been my thing. I was more the watch-where-you-step kind of girl. But apparently my cautious side had taken a leave of absence, preferring instead to swish past danger and wave a red flag.
The ring around his pupil, his namesake, glowed white-hot within shimmering sapphire. Gripping my hips tighter, he pressed a hard ridge against my abdomen. On purpose. My eyes widened. My breath quickened. He was big. Very big. Increasing my anxiety…and arousal.
He leaned down. Slow. So slow. A whisper-light brush of lips on mine. Soft, tender, while his body remained a steel wall. Gentle Kol made my heart do erratic things. Desire coiled low and deep, sparking heat within. I wanted to whimper, moan, plead for more, but I didn’t make a sound. His teeth clamped my lower lip, just barely, letting it slide out. Piercing eyes held me captive, making a promise as one word left that dangerous mouth.
“Soon.”
I started, snapping out of my desire-hazed stupor and stepped back. He released me and gestured toward the open archway leading into my sister’s home. “After you.”
As we passed under the awning and through the columns into the Nightwing home, I noticed two black-clad guards stationed in the shadows. Interesting that Kol would let someone see him in an intimate way with me. Surely, he knew the guards were there, watching. Wait a minute. Of course, he knew they were watching. That’s why he held me entirely too close and too long. Another marking of his territory. I frowned up at him as we stepped down into the living room.
He arched a dark brow. “Do you have something you’d like to say to me?”
“There are lots of things I’d like to say to you.”
