Page 10 of A Dagger of Twisted Starlight

Xavier’s gaze turned distant. He readjusted himself in his seat, as if he realized he was uncomfortable with how he sat. Was I annoying him?

“Sorry if I’m asking too many questions.”

He turned his head to look at me. The discomfort appeared to be wiped clean, a gleaming smile in its place. “It’s fine. You can ask as many questions as you want. But yes, she was in human form to receive all of us. We had our human forms from our hatch day.”

“That’s really interesting… Do you want to ask me questions?”

Xavier cocked his head. His grin slanted with him. “What would be your ideal date?”

I choked on my spit. It didn’t cause as big of a show as that damn pizza. “I meant questions about me being a shifter.”

“Oh, I already know all about shifters. I want to get to know more about you.”

Red flag. Red flag. All the warning signs blared at me to STOP. TURN AROUND. THIS IS TROUBLE.

“I like simple with a dash of bougie. Maybe like a private room inside a really nice restaurant. Somewhere with unique food. Nowhere that’s really busy. That makes me nervous. Andthen followed up by a chill night in. Pajamas and cocktails and a movie in the background.”

“And what would be happening in the foreground?” Xavier asked. His voice was almost a purr.

I swallowed. Ignored the heat that swelled inside me. “Crossword puzzles. And, um, crochet.”

We both knew that was all gryphonshit.

I glanced at my watch. I usually didn’t go to bed for another two hours. “Well, I should be going to bed,” I said, standing up on slightly cramped legs. We’d been sitting and talking for longer than I realized. “It’s getting late.”

“Really? It’s only eight thirty.”

“Maybe it was all the work I put in pitching that tent.”

Not the greatest choice of words.

Xavier ran a hand through his loose curls, stopping at his neck. He had a black leather band on his wrist with a golden sun-shaped clasp. “Next time you need help pitching a tent, you let me know.”

The innuendo was loud and clear and hot as fuck. “I will, right, um, I’ll just keep that tutorial video bookmarked.”

He chuckled as he stood. He held a hand toward the fire. Sand streamed from his palm and pooled onto the fire. It left nothing but wisps of smoke trying to rise up from under the sand.

“I’ll be in the tent right next to you. Shout if you need anything. Even if it’s a cuddle.”

I opened the flap of my tent. “I will. Not that I’ll need a cuddle, but I’ll shout… Do all bodyguards offer cuddles?”

He shot me a wink. “Only the good ones.”

Chapter 5

Desert Chase

Xavier

Blake poppedhis head out of the tent, his short hair pushed in one direction. He must have liked to sleep on his right side.

“Ready to head inside?” I asked, picking up some things we had left out overnight.

“Yeah, I guess I should see what I missed out on.”

“Didn’t sleep well?” I asked. It sounded like he had. I’d stayed up, keeping watch. I didn’t particularly like being so out in the open with the vice president’s son, even though this job wasn’t about any kind of particular or known threat. I still wanted to keep alert, so at one point, I went out and sat by the dusty logs, where I looked up at the stars and tried to find my favorite.

“I slept great. I just know that whatever’s on the other side of that rock is going to be way better.”

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