Page 60 of The Duplicity of Thieves

“When I asked to see you again, I wasn’t asking for you to search my house.” I flip the light on.

“Well, you didn’t give me a tour.”

The room is empty except for a plain bed with a chest at the end. She throws it open to find blankets folded neatly. Then she moves to the next room, which is the same. Then there’s the linen closet and a laundry room.

“You do your own laundry?” she asks.

I lean against the wall next to the dryer. “What answer impresses you?”

“Stop worrying about impressing me. The sex was enough.” She flips the light off with me still inside and heads back toward the living room.

“Oh, really? It was that good?” I give her a triumphant grin.

“Yes, Aedon.” The corner of her mouth quirks up into a smirk, her dark eyes taunting me. She’s a temptress playing with fire.

There are so many questions spinning around in my head, but I can’t focus on any of them because she is looking at me with those seductive silver eyes. “You learn quickly.”

“I know how to adapt,” she corrects me.

“You are, by far, the most interesting person I have ever met.” I head into the kitchen, sizing up the bar cart. She hops up onto the counter and crosses her legs, looking like a statue that belongs in the palace.

“Where were you?” she asks.

I pour each of us a glass of bourbon. “Did you think I would sit here waiting for you to return?”

“Hard day?”

“You work all the time. You understand.”

“I’m on vacation.” She grabs the glass and takes a sip.

“You’re bored. That’s why you keep running into me.”

I uncross her legs and pull them apart, settling myself between her knees. She doesn’t resist, but she doesn’t lean into me either. Fuck the bourbon. I want to drink her instead.

“I’ve got to go.” She pushes me away and hops to the floor.

A confused laugh escapes my throat. “What? You just got here?”

“I got here a while ago. Now I’ve got something to do.” She sashays out of the room. I chase her. I’ll always be chasing her.

I round the corner into the foyer as Josie presses the button summoning the elevator. She’s staring off into the distance with her boots in her hands, and I can see wheels turning in her head, but I have no idea what it’s about. She’s a complex creature. I see what Vivian was saying.

The elevator doors open, snapping her from her daydream. She steps toward them, and I pull her back, kissing her. She smirks.

“When will I see you again?” I’m so desperate for her. Hermes and Minos would never let me live it down if they saw me right now.

“Later, pretty boy.”

She steps into the elevator, and then she’s gone. Again.

Chapter twelve

Josephine

After I saw the old storybook in Aedon’s house, I had a realization. The story near the middle had always been my favorite, but not for the reasons I remembered. It’s because Kate would get excited when she read it. She would infuse drama and make Magic sound enticing.

Kate would always get excited when Magic was involved, but she never directly said it. Even in our home, she was always worried about if someone would hear, just like I was quiet about my skin. Killian never spoke on the matter, but I could always tell it made him uncomfortable.

---