Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 88050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“Of course I did,” Ksar said, shrugging slightly. “I could hardly miss the opportunity to get leverage against one of the most powerful individuals on the planet. I’m a politician.”
“You’re a terrible person,” Seyn said without much heat.
“Yes.”
Seyn chuckled despite himself and turned his head away so that Ksar couldn’t see his smile.
He could feel Ksar’s eyes on the side of his face. It figured; of course the asshole would look at him now that Seyn didn’t want to be looked at.
“You’re underestimating him, you know,” Seyn said, running a hand through his hair. “He’s…extremely powerful. I’ve never felt anything like that. He’s very, very strong.”
A flare of annoyance that came off Ksar took Seyn by surprise. Ksar usually had an incredible control over his mental shields, rarely allowing his emotions to be felt—unless Seyn was touching him—so his sudden lapse of control was very surprising.
“I overpowered him easily enough,” Ksar said evenly.
“Only because you took him off-guard! He’s dangerous.”
“No more than me.”
Seyn blinked. He cocked his head to the side, eyeing Ksar’s stony expression. Was Ksar actually annoyed that Seyn considered him inferior to the High Adept?
“I don’t know,” Seyn said casually. “He felt a lot stronger than you when he was in me.”
Ksar’s jaw clenched.
Seyn suppressed a grin, utterly delighted. He couldn’t believe Ksar was really getting worked up over something so ridiculous. Like, he knew Ksar strove for perfection in all that he did, but surely he wasn’t such a control freak that he wanted to be the very best at everything? It was unrealistic. It was utterly insane.
“He felt stronger only because he didn’t know how to handle you,” Ksar said in a clipped voice. “Brute force is the easiest route when the mind is unfamiliar. The lack of finesse is hardly something that should be praised.”
Seyn almost laughed.
“I wouldn’t say he lacked finesse,” he said with a shrug. “He was just very, very strong.”
Ksar’s eyes narrowed. “Are you trying to make me jealous?”
Seyn looked at him blankly.
Jealous? As in jealous over him?
The mere idea of Ksar being jealous over him was…utterly ridiculous. He’d spent years flirting outrageously with every semi-attractive person, and Ksar hadn’t even batted an eye. Sure, he’d gotten angry with him for acting “unbecomingly,” but he’d never been jealous. Ksar didn’t get jealous over him.
Could he be jealous now? Just because another man had entered Seyn’s mind? Un-fucking-likely.
“Of course not,” Seyn said, looking away from Ksar with a crooked smile that felt wooden. “I’m not delusional.”
Ksar didn’t say anything as he followed Seyn into the t-chamber.
Seyn pursed his lips as something occurred to him. “You said he wouldn’t do anything against you. What about me? I don’t have dirt on him.”
“Just keep away from him,” Ksar said. “If it’s not possible, keep your shields up when you’re around him. You’re strong enough to hold him off for a while—long enough to contact me. I will deal with him if he bothers you.”
Seyn’s eyes snapped to him. He frowned in bewilderment. Had he heard that right? Why would Ksar protect him?
“Why?” he said, trying to ignore the stupidly warm feeling in his stomach. Ugh. What was wrong with him? He didn’t need to be protected. He could take care of himself.
Ksar’s eyes were unreadable. “Just let me know if he approaches you. You have no idea what that man is capable of.”
That’s not an answer, Seyn almost said, but then he thought better of it.
Why did he care? Ksar and he were done. They were going separate ways, nothing binding them together anymore. He was supposed to stop giving a damn about why Ksar did or didn’t do something. It wasn’t supposed to matter. Ksar didn’t matter. The sooner he stopped caring about every little thing in Ksar’s behavior, the sooner his…obsession with this man would go away. It had to. Because it was just an obsession. Nothing more. He was entirely capable of not giving a damn about Ksar.
He was.
Let it go. His mother’s voice sounded in his mind. He’s nothing to you anymore. Let it go, darling.
Locking his jaw, Seyn fixed his gaze on the wall. He hated this, hated that he felt…fragile, stretched thin at the edges. He wanted to go home before he could say or do something stupid.
“Are we moving or not?” he said tightly. “I’m sure you have more important matters that require your attention. Drop me off at home first.”
In his peripheral vision he could see Ksar press his hand against the console. The t-chamber’s doors closed.
But then…nothing. Ksar didn’t tell the computer their destination. He let go of the console and stepped closer, his silver eyes roaming all over Seyn’s face.
Seyn licked his lips, his heart thundering somewhere in his throat.
Ksar put his hand on the wall beside Seyn’s head and leaned in, his breath brushing against the sensitive spot under Seyn’s earlobe. “Do you know how to pass for a low-level telepath on the STT?”