Page 197 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

Replacing it, she picked up another. This one was more intricate. Fine detailing was etched into the bronze band with tiny red rubies interspersed.

The frame itself was nothing special either. Ivory and gold. Like everything else in the Faven Palace.

She closed the drawer when she heard the bathroom door open, and she turned to find Luka leaning in the doorway. He’d changed into loose pants, and he was shirtless.

His eyes narrowed when he found her near the dresser. “What are you doing?”

“Wondering why you brought me back here instead of my room,” she replied, leaning back on her elbows where they rested on the dresser. His gaze roamed over her, but when he didn’t say anything, she found herself saying, “Do you want to talk about it?”

His eyes snapped back to hers. “Talk about what?”

“Being the grandchild of a god.”

“No,” he growled immediately.

“Then what do you want?”

His hair was down, the strands falling to his shoulders. It was rare to see it completely down like that, and she suddenly wanted to run her fingers through it. That was always comforting to her.

And why was she thinking of a way to comfort him right now?

But his gaze was fixed on her bare legs again, and she suddenly knew exactly what he was looking for.

A distraction.

He didn’t want to think about Razik or his heritage right now. He didn’t want to contemplate being the grandchild of a god or what that could mean. He wanted to think about anything but that. Get lost in something that wasn’t their wretched reality.

One of her hands dropped to her side where she toyed with the hem of the sweatshirt. Because for whatever reason, shewanted to be the one to make him feel better. She wanted to be the distraction.

“You have to ask for it,” she said, her voice sultry.

“Ask for what?” Luka replied, but she watched his pupils shift to vertical slits. Watching his eyes glowing softly only spurred her on.

“I owe you,” she said. “But I’m not going to make such aharddecision for you. You need to ask for what you want.”

Recognition of his own words flashed across his features, and a small, cold sneer curled on his lips. “And if I asked you to crawl across the floor and beg sweetly from your knees?”

“This is about what you need right now,” she retorted. She watched him swallow down whatever he was going to say next, and when he didn’t speak, she added, “Thank you, by the way.”

“For what?”

“Taking me with you tonight. I know you didn’t have to.”

“That was Theon.”

She arched a brow. “Really?”

“Yes. He told me to ask you if you wanted to be included.”

“So I should be thanking him? Askinghimwhat he wants?”

“No,” Luka growled.

She smirked, and he straightened to his full height. All dominance and predatory, and something inside of her lifted its head to meet the challenge. She knew her eyes were glowing to match his, and every part of her wanted this as much as he did now.

Her head tilted as she watched him. “Are you worried about Theon finding out? Is that why you won’t ask for it?”

Luka didn’t say a word, and she knew that was exactly what was stopping him.

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