Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 109033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
“There were sirens in my past,” he added. “I felt their call, just as I feel yours. But the effect of their song wore off fast, and none of them kept my interest.” He gently tapped her nose. “You’re a different matter.”
“And you’re not sure how you feel about that, are you?”
“No, as it happens, I’m not. I generally don’t like to find myself in unfamiliar territory.”
“So why aren’t you ending our arrangement?”
“I really can’t say, because I don’t have an answer.”
Finding herself at a loss here, Naomi stared at him in silence for long moments.
I didn’t anticipate that you would matter to me, but you do.
The words kept swirling around her brain. This dude had a talent for knocking her mentally off balance with just a few words, and she wasn’t too good at rolling with it. “You say that I matter to you, but you haven’t been in my life long. There are things about me that you don’t know.”
“Oh, I’m well aware that you’re hiding parts of yourself from me. There’s no point, Naomi. I’ll find them.”
Alarm bells started blaring in her head. It was a struggle to keep her breathing even. Because this . . . She really hadn’t expected to ever find herself in this position.
Luka could be nosy and something of a meddler, true, but he’d resolutely kept a distance between them. Yes, they talked sometimes; tentatively shared this and that. But neither had ever pushed when a no-no topic was broached. As such, he’d given her not one clue that he would make this little declaration.
What should she do now?
Easy.
Pull away. End their arrangement. Ask him to leave. Self-preservation demanded it. Because who knew what he’d do if he discovered that Lou was her father?
She’d like to think that he would keep it to himself. If he didn’t, though, a whole heap of problems would ensue. More, given the “quirk” that Lou had passed on to her, Luka would be sure to look at her differently if he knew the full truth. That bothered her far more than it should.
So, yes, she should usher him out.
But she didn’t.
Well, it wasn’t that simple. He pulled at her somehow. Not in the mere sense of her feeling drawn to him—that would be a freaking understatement at this point. It was more than that. She just couldn’t put it into words. Or maybe she didn’t want to examine the matter too closely. Whichever.
The protective moat she’d built around herself . . . she had the distinct feeling that he could cross it if she wasn’t careful. Which was all the more reason for her to tell him to leave, wasn’t it? And yet, she still didn’t.
Her demon didn’t weigh in on the matter, equally torn. It liked Luka. Liked him for Naomi. And it felt that if anyone would accept her secrets and keep them safe, it would be him. But the entity didn’t trust in that, so it didn’t wish to push her in either direction.
“Naomi?”
The sound of her name sent her thoughts scattering. “Hmm?”
He looked close to sighing. “You stopped listening, didn’t you?”
“Only with one ear.”
He snagged her nape with his palm, holding her gaze. “You don’t have to be wary of what’s happening here.”
“What is happening?” she asked, her heartbeat kicking up.
“I don’t know. Maybe something. Maybe nothing.” He tipped his head to the side. “Is it really so bad that I want to know you?”
“No.”
“But?”
“But it’s best that you don’t go looking for the parts of me I keep hidden. You wouldn’t like what you uncovered.”
“It wouldn’t change that you matter. Not for me, not for my demons.”
“You can’t know that.”
“Yes, I can,” Luka assured her, unable to imagine that anything about her could be so terrible. He released her nape and splayed his hand around her throat to palm Dagon’s brand. “We want you in a way we’ve never wanted another woman.”
“That’s just physical,” she croaked.
“If that were true, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” He leaned toward her slightly. “Keep your secrets, Naomi. I won’t nag you to part with them.”
“Really?”
“Really. I have plenty of my own.” He flicked a look at the ceiling. “I don’t need to know what’s behind that locked door upstairs, or if—like many in your lair—you have an illegal mode of income. I just want to know you better. That’s all.”
Naomi nibbled on her lower lip, still the picture of uncertainty. She pulled in a long preparatory breath and then exhaled heavily. The unease bled out of her expression little by little, and her shoulders lost their stiffness. “Okay.” A low whisper.
Satisfied, Luka felt the corner of his mouth hitch up.
The temperature abruptly lowered as her eyes turned pure black. “You will keep to your word and not push her,” the demon told him. Told him. With all the authority of a queen.