Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 128061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
He took it from her and motioned her forward again.
“No. Give—” She reached for it, but he held it away. She held out her hand. “Give me my shirt. I don’t need you blackmailing me.”
“Are you going to tell me whose blood it is?”
“No. Give it.”
“I’ll be able to figure it out. I’ll smell it in town. Why did you need to create this much damage?” His voice lowered into a growl. “What did he do to you?”
“I was helping a friend using skills I excel at.”
“Making an enemy bleed?”
She narrowed her eyes and mimicked him. “Obviously.”
He held the shirt up. “I’ll give this back when we reach your house.”
“You’re not walking me home. Are you nuts? I don’t want you knowing where I live. The next time you think I’m plotting against you, you’ll just turn up and kill me in my sleep.”
“What fun would that be?” His tone was dark and silky. “Then I couldn’t watch your pupils dilate when I lean in close or hear your breath hitch when I whisper next to your ear.” His knowing smile was incredibly annoying. “Like that.” He started forward. “I know where you live. When you’re worried about being followed, you need to remember to look up.”
Rolling her eyes at herself, she lurched after him. “What is it with you and the shirt?”
He didn’t answer.
“Why did you follow me?”
“Because I stupidly told you far too much information and then realized you had the resources to dig into my past. I was gaining information in case I needed to silence you.”
“Then what, silence the rest of the crew?”
“If necessary, yes. My leader would’ve thanked me for it without asking questions. Like you, I have certain skills. Making people disappear”—he held up the shirt—“is a particular talent of mine. Or did you think Nelson personally disappeared those people who went missing?”
She studied him for a moment, and then glanced at the shirt. “Don’t kill the guy whose blood that belongs to. Especially if I happened to get the basajaun’s blood on there, too. He was just trying not to grab my boobs, I guess, and I took it the wrong way. But honestly, he came out of literally nowhere—”
“Do you always babble when you’re aroused?”
“I never do.” She arched an eyebrow at him. “I guess you know where you stand now.”
His uneven smile softened him in all the right ways. “Touché,” he said.
“I have a habit of using information against people. You shouldn’t hand me information about yourself.”
“I’ve deduced that, yes. Luckily, I have insurance.” He held up the shirt again. “Cross me, and they’ll find your shirt next to the dead body.”
“Empty threats are beneath you. You did it for him, though, right? Got rid of the production cairn leader who wouldn’t meet his demands? Does he know what you are? Is that how he was able to get you to do something that wasn’t…on the straight and narrow?”
His smile dwindled. “He knows that I have no birth records. No previous cairn records. I assume you’ve already deduced that. He thinks that means bad things. His assumptions are based on gargoyle prejudice, but he is, of course, correct. I am not a ‘straight and narrow’ type of person. We seem to have that in common, you and me. So yes, he uses that as leverage. He assumes that you all know more than you let on. Part of his logic for sending me through Ivy House was because he was hoping I could find something we could use against you.”
She laughed. “How lazy do you think we are? Did he try to hack into us, as well?”
“Yes. But he is horribly outclassed.”
“He’d never survive in the mage world.”
His eyebrow quirked. “I am dying to know more.”
“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours…”
His gaze raked across her body. “I’ll show you mine only after you beg for mercy.”
An evil smile curled her lips as they stopped near her glowing porch light, which came on automatically at dusk.
“I don’t mind begging,” she said silkily, unable to help herself, “Daddy.”
He sucked in a breath and held it as his pupils dilated. His body hummed with arousal, and electricity practically ignited in the air between them.
“Like that, do you?” She felt the heat from his body and wanted more of it. “Too bad you’re not staying around. I’d make you squirm.”
“You already do, little one. It’d be easy to return the favor. Why was there a closet of gold bars in that house?”
“It’s really anyone’s guess. I think the house likes the idea of someone trying to break in and take it.”
“And that art. There are some priceless pieces just randomly kept in that room.”
“They used to be randomly scattered around the house. Austin’s grandma is the one handling all of that.”
He shook his head, his gaze tracing her face. “What does the mage mean to you?” he asked, his voice subdued.