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I take a step closer.
Alarmed, Zoe puts a hand on my chest, but then swiftly takes it off as if she’s been scalded. The reminder of my scars always upsets her.
Unrelenting, I place Zoe behind me and get in Crina’s face. “I respect the fact that you’re defending your girl, but don’t ever threaten me again and don’t ever get between me and my woman. Now I’m going to go look for her and make this right. Don’t come after me,” I warn and storm out of room.
* * *
Crossinga deserted hall flanked by large statutes of kneeling pharaohs, I hunt one empty gallery after another.Where the hell is she?I skirt around a huge black sarcophagus and enter the Sackler Wing, the enormous gallery with a slanted wall of glass on one side looking out into Central Park. The stone Temple of Dendur is in the center, surrounded by a shallow moat and flanked by two large black-stoned guards.
Relief whooshes out of me when I find her standing near the monumental gate of the temple. The dramatic lighting casts stark shadows around her. Her head is bent down, staring down at the calm water surrounding her. Her shoulders droop as she lets out a heaving sigh. My stomach clenches.
“Star,” I call out.
Her name echoes in the deep silence of the massive empty gallery.
Her head snaps up as I stride toward her. She backs away, looking to her left and right. I’m still far away, but I’m not above breaking into a run to catch her. And Iwillcatch her.
My hand shoots out in warning. “Don’t you dare run.”
Poised to sprint, she freezes.
Her gaze shoots around for the fastest way out, but I repeat, “Dammit, Star, if you make me run you down, I’ll give you the spanking of your life.”
That makes her pause long enough for me to make it around the moat and bear down on her. She backs up a few steps until she’s directly underneath the arch of the sandstone gate, casting her in a dark shadow.
I stop near her and reach out to her.
“Hey, hey, easy,” I say gently.
She frowns over at me, her fingers twisting in the tulle of her skirt.
Her eyes dip to the ground.
I take a small step closer, like I would with a startled animal. I know she’s upset about Roxie’s hands all over me. The thought makes my own chest burn, but that’s over with. From now on, no one will touch me but her.
“Why did you leave?”
“I only came for Crina and I regretted it almost the minute I arrived,” she grumbles miserably.
Just as I thought. “You missed my announcement.”
“I don’t want to hear your stupid announcement,” she sneers.
I grin inwardly. She’s glorious with her black eyes snapping fire. She thinks I’ve announced my engagement to Roxie.
She wrinkles her nose. “Why are you here, Lucian? What can you possibly want with me?”
That’s a loaded question and I’m on her in an instant, backing her into the pillar of the arch. My hand slaps the sandstone beside her cheek with a resounding thud in the silence of the cavernous space.
“You think you know what I said back there.” I take a strand of her hair and curl it with my forefinger. “Hmm…you couldn’t be more wrong.”
She sucks in a breath, instinctively pushing her breasts into my chest.
I lean in and burrow my face into the side of her neck, scenting her. My tongue comes out and trails a line up her exposed throat. “You taste fucking delicious.”
She arches her neck, letting out a guttural sound of pain and longing.
Her hand smacks me in the chest, trying to push me away. “Fuck you, Lucian. You’re engaged now. It was one thing when you weren’t, but you can’t touch me anymore. It’s wrong. It’s just wrong and I can’t do it.”
