Page 13 of A Sin So Pure

He hops over the bar with ease, peacocking his strength for the patrons around us, but nearly knocks over our drinks in the process.

How many times have I told him not to do that?

“Thank goodness.” Josie snatches her cocktail off the counter, taking a sip and humming when she finds it satisfactory. She jabs a thumb at Nora and me. “These two are no help.”

“Hey, I used to be an excellent wingwoman,” Nora says.

“Sure. But then you two started fucking, and now your poor Seconds are nothing but chopped liver,” Leo says.

Bold, Leo. Bold.

Nora shoots him a glare that could shatter glass, but Leo throws his arm around Josie, unaffected. “C’mon, Josie, let’s leave before they start pawing at each other.”

Josie snorts, waving goodbye as Leo guides her to a booth across the bar where the other members of House Pride gather. Only the ones closest to Nora and Josie were invited, so it’s an intimate affair.

Nora sets her glass down on the bar top and turns. She leans back and perches her elbows on the lipped edge. Digging into the pocket of her wide-leg trousers, she pulls out a cigarette and a silver lighter. I’m entranced, watching her mouth circle the bud of the cigarette. She holds it there, hands-free, while she clicks the lighter on. The flame flickers as the tobacco burns, smoke curling around her teeth.

I never enjoyed the bitter tang of smoke until I tasted it on her.

She pulls the cigarette back between two fingers, a red stain is left in the wake of her lips. And when her eyes meet mine, I quickly fall into their depths, an anchor plummeting into the emerald sea. Nora gives me the tiniest smirk—the kind that screams ofknowingsomeone, that speaks to a secret that’s just ours.

She touches me with her gaze; I never thought a look could be tangible before.

“Did everything go okay tonight?” I ask.

She huffs, smoke unfurling from her nose like a dragon.

“It’s been handled.”

Annoyance pricks at my skin at how I can’t tell if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

“Another human raid?” I ask, needing the specifics.

“No.”

“But somethingdidhappen?”

She takes another drag of her cigarette and watches me watching her. The silent stare off ends with a sigh parting my lips.

“Fine, don’t tell me,” I say. And though I don’t mean to let it, my frustration slips into my tone. My jaw is tense as I whisper, “Is it wrong for me to care about your safety?”

“You know it’s not that.”

I do know.

And I still don’t like it.

We may be friends—more than friends—but we’re still both House Heads. And that comes with holding our own secrets. On top of that, she’s said how bloody the Human Realm can be. She doesn’t want to bring that on this side of the Veil.

My gut twists as white hair and black eyes flash in the back of my mind.

“You didn’t invite the other Sins?” Nora changes the subject, crushing her cigarette into the glass ashtray on the bar top.

“I know you well enough that if you had to see Wrath’s face outside of work…” I let the sentence trail off. She can fill in the blanks.

She laughs, deep from within her chest. “Yeah, he’s not my favorite.”

The man’s picture should be listed in the dictionary under the definition of asshole, yet he somehow charmed his way into our king’s good graces.

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