Page 48 of Upon Shattered Bonds

Now, her Lexington house would serve as her last resort. She was unwilling to bring violence back to clan lands and endanger her people. The assassination attempts and challenges had only targeted her so far, but Nina was fearful they’d escalate. If she elected to return to Solaris, she’d put her people in danger.

Lexington had been her hiding place after what had happened with Luther. His presence had tainted her own clan lands, and after the relationship with him ended, she’d lost the comfort Solaris once brought. Only here, amid the sprawling grounds of her Lexington home, she’d found some semblance of rest. It’d taken her brother’s confession to make her see how unfair it’d been to abandon her clan—and Kaien—to resolve her own issues. One of the biggest regrets she’d take with her into the Light.

Behind her, Zeke’s Amp poured his energy into her. The gentle brush of his fingertips along the ridge of her shoulder sparked a traitorous wave of desire through her.

His hand stilled, then dropped seconds later. “How do you feel?”

“Like I was shot to death two days ago. How are you?”

Nina got the distinct impression that the exasperated male was barely holding onto his sanity, but he didn’t take the bait. “What do you need?”

Her mouth formed a sarcastic line after a dark chuckle. “I could go for a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey, a chick-flick marathon full of rom-coms and Jane Austen movies, and maybe a yearlong vacation to a hidey-hole in the mountains where no one can find me.”

“What are men to rocks and mountains?”

A startled laugh escaped her before she pivoted on her heel. “Are you quoting Jane Austen, Zeke?”

The corners of his lips tugged up, barely. “I’ve been known to, on occasion, appreciate the literary arts.”

“I have to say I’m pleasantly surprised by that,” she reported as her eyebrows quirked up. “Perhaps I should return the favor.”

“I detest surprises.”

“Noted.”

With the sun rising behind her, the pull of sleep had already started to hang on her eyelids, the bed calling her name. She had to level with the man before her—she owed him that much.

With him sharing her personal space and the scent of sandalwood lacing the air, she could barely concentrate. Everything within her yearned to close the distance between them and press her body into his once more, taste his lips as they descended on hers.

She unintentionally swayed toward him, but Zeke mistook it as weariness. Instantly, his hands gripped her shoulders. Heart melting as concern splashed across his features, Nina shifted to right herself before he spoke.

“Are you okay?”

No. “Yes. Just tired.”

“Come to bed,” he beckoned, taking a step back but holding out a hand to her in invitation.

Tired as she was, she didn’t resist the urge to appreciate the lean lines of his musculature, the masculine angle of his jaw. Nina had appreciated him from afar for centuries, spying on him in the Quint Treaty meetings when he wasn’t looking. The last few years had seen an increase in their contact with the Peace Accords, and she’d be lying if she claimed seeing him more often wasn’t cathartic.

Her mind wandered to the kiss only hours beforehand, treacherous thoughts spiking through her brain. But she couldn’t be distracted, not when something of such importance was on the line.

Over the last few hours, she’d come to realize one thing: that she needed to be honest with Zeke. If she lost a challenge or was eliminated by an assassin, the secrets she carried would only end up hurting him.

“You asked me why I had black market weaponry.”

Zeke startled, the rapid change of topic throwing him, but he recovered quickly. “I did.”

“And you remember Luther.”

Though Zeke didn’t outwardly respond, the wave of hostility that came rushing through their mating bond made a shiver skate across Nina’s skin.

“At the end of our relationship,” she whispered, hating the way the word made Zeke flinch, “I discovered something about him.”

Zeke was already connecting the dots. “Luther was tied up in the black market, wasn’t he?”

“He was. He sold merjha weaponry and—” her voice cracked, “—and Raeth children.”

His expression crumpled. Horror and revulsion twisted her mate’s features as he attempted to process what she’d revealed. Reeling, Zeke grasped the back of a nearby chair as though he was lightheaded, and she instantly wrapped her arms around his waist. Breathing him in, she realized the truth of it.

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