regarding me with a frosty eye. I couldn’t
leave until he let me. Or until I went downstairs, walked out the front door,
and then trekked the miles between my Sedona parking lot and the Wipuk one.
“We’d already
discussed my taking responsibility for you,” he said. “I merely made it
official.”
“I never
agreed to that, Marino. It certainly doesn’t make me beholden to you for a
fourth favor. Especially since you only did it so you’d have leverage to make
me act as your mole.”
He made one of
his dismissive gestures. “I can compromise. Three favors it is.”
“Two,” I said
even as I lifted my chin in defiance. “I dropped that hot little Water witch on
your doorstep. That counts as a favor.”
Desmond’s
eyebrows drifted to the middle of his forehead. “Listening to her nonstop
prattle about shoes and rebuffing her near-constant attempts to get me in bed
is a favor ?”
My brows
lifted right along with his. Veronika annoyed him? She was everything I
wasn’t. She had style. She had looks. She was his own species. If he’d tackled her into bed, she’d probably shut up about shoes.
“Any other
red-blooded male would think so, Marino.”
He released a
small disgusted sound. “That’s debatable.”
“Those rumors
about you have to be true,” I said before I could stop myself.
The Water witch’s eyes hooded in irritation. His delivery slowed. “What rumors?”
“Uh…” My voice
trailed off uncomfortably. I shifted my weight onto one hip.
“You’ve never
kept your opinions to yourself before, Ms. Walsh. Surely you can repeat the
opinions of others with little trouble.”
“They say
you’re gay.”
“Oh.” The
syllable’s sour sound reminded me of our first few meetings. There’d been a
time when he’d wanted nothing more than to see me run out of Wipuk . Now he was bartering for favors at every
opportunity.
His pretty
lips pressed flat while his eyebrows drew down into a deep, dark V. “I would
have thought you of all people would have worked out the truth.”
After only a
beat he turned on his heel and walked out the door. His long legs had him to
his BMW before I’d figured out what he’d said.
He thought I
should have worked out the truth? Why? Because I’d had an
empathic link to him once or twice?
Oh Styx take it. I’d never understand that man. And right now I had
more important things to do than try.
Chapter Nine
“This is an
unexpected surprise.” Maximo de Sole’s crooned voice was a nice accompaniment
to the classical guitar music his speakers piped.
I glanced over
my shoulder at the vampire goon hovering three feet behind me. Though it was a
new face at Maximo’s house, I’d seen him once before. He’d been the vampire who
had coordinated the charity auction at the solstice ball. That was a step up
from the ginger asshole who had punched me and
murdered a Water witch.
At Maximo’s
nod, the vampire faded into the corridor, leaving me alone with him in the
dramatic office. There were so many competing design elements that I couldn’t work out what to focus on first. It meant I’d looked
at Maximo instead.
The indulgent
curving of his lips caught my attention. I forced my gaze away, focusing on the
Bengal tiger carpet on his black floor. The faux fur had been cut to look as if
someone had skinned the animal. At least I thought it was fake . Next I took in the chocolate brown sofa
holding the position against the wall to my left. The orange throw pillows kept
my attention twice as long as they should have thanks to my love affair with
the color. Arguably the room’s focal point was a large painting of a woman
gazing at a marble statue in her peripheral vision.
Maximo
reclined behind a sable desk strewn with papers, dusty books, and brochures for
far off places. He was clad in one of his simple black suits. A thin black tie
bisected his white dress shirt. His generally wild hair was slicked back today
as if he were taking on the role of
leave until he let me. Or until I went downstairs, walked out the front door,
and then trekked the miles between my Sedona parking lot and the Wipuk one.
“We’d already
discussed my taking responsibility for you,” he said. “I merely made it
official.”
“I never
agreed to that, Marino. It certainly doesn’t make me beholden to you for a
fourth favor. Especially since you only did it so you’d have leverage to make
me act as your mole.”
He made one of
his dismissive gestures. “I can compromise. Three favors it is.”
“Two,” I said
even as I lifted my chin in defiance. “I dropped that hot little Water witch on
your doorstep. That counts as a favor.”
Desmond’s
eyebrows drifted to the middle of his forehead. “Listening to her nonstop
prattle about shoes and rebuffing her near-constant attempts to get me in bed
is a favor ?”
My brows
lifted right along with his. Veronika annoyed him? She was everything I
wasn’t. She had style. She had looks. She was his own species. If he’d tackled her into bed, she’d probably shut up about shoes.
“Any other
red-blooded male would think so, Marino.”
He released a
small disgusted sound. “That’s debatable.”
“Those rumors
about you have to be true,” I said before I could stop myself.
The Water witch’s eyes hooded in irritation. His delivery slowed. “What rumors?”
“Uh…” My voice
trailed off uncomfortably. I shifted my weight onto one hip.
“You’ve never
kept your opinions to yourself before, Ms. Walsh. Surely you can repeat the
opinions of others with little trouble.”
“They say
you’re gay.”
“Oh.” The
syllable’s sour sound reminded me of our first few meetings. There’d been a
time when he’d wanted nothing more than to see me run out of Wipuk . Now he was bartering for favors at every
opportunity.
His pretty
lips pressed flat while his eyebrows drew down into a deep, dark V. “I would
have thought you of all people would have worked out the truth.”
After only a
beat he turned on his heel and walked out the door. His long legs had him to
his BMW before I’d figured out what he’d said.
He thought I
should have worked out the truth? Why? Because I’d had an
empathic link to him once or twice?
Oh Styx take it. I’d never understand that man. And right now I had
more important things to do than try.
Chapter Nine
“This is an
unexpected surprise.” Maximo de Sole’s crooned voice was a nice accompaniment
to the classical guitar music his speakers piped.
I glanced over
my shoulder at the vampire goon hovering three feet behind me. Though it was a
new face at Maximo’s house, I’d seen him once before. He’d been the vampire who
had coordinated the charity auction at the solstice ball. That was a step up
from the ginger asshole who had punched me and
murdered a Water witch.
At Maximo’s
nod, the vampire faded into the corridor, leaving me alone with him in the
dramatic office. There were so many competing design elements that I couldn’t work out what to focus on first. It meant I’d looked
at Maximo instead.
The indulgent
curving of his lips caught my attention. I forced my gaze away, focusing on the
Bengal tiger carpet on his black floor. The faux fur had been cut to look as if
someone had skinned the animal. At least I thought it was fake . Next I took in the chocolate brown sofa
holding the position against the wall to my left. The orange throw pillows kept
my attention twice as long as they should have thanks to my love affair with
the color. Arguably the room’s focal point was a large painting of a woman
gazing at a marble statue in her peripheral vision.
Maximo
reclined behind a sable desk strewn with papers, dusty books, and brochures for
far off places. He was clad in one of his simple black suits. A thin black tie
bisected his white dress shirt. His generally wild hair was slicked back today
as if he were taking on the role of
Similar Books
