Page 42 of Magic of Sins

Caden nods. “Smart girl.”

Was this a trap? I shouldn’t have just gotten in the car with him. He’s a sin mage, for crying out loud. And just because he saved me from that strip club doesn’t mean I can trust him.

My gaze goes to the door. I consider yanking it open, but jumping out of a moving car is probably not a good idea. That kind of thing only works in books.

“Where are you taking me?” I ask and can’t stop a spark ofpanic from rising and settling in my throat, making my voice tremble.

The corners of Caden’s mouth twitch with anticipation.

“To my house.”

Chapter Twelve

“This is called kidnapping,” I protest as the limo stops and Caden opens the door.

He gets out and offers me a hand, probably hoping that I will take it. Forget it! I don’t move an inch. Caden has promised to take me back to the palace, and that’s where I want to go.

He leans down toward me. Something flashes in his gray-blue eyes. I don’t know if it’s amusement or a threat. Or maybe both.

“You’re right, this is a kidnapping. And unless you want me to grab you and throw you over my shoulder, you should get out of there real quick, love.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

I give him an incensed look, but my resolve cracks at the sight of his cheeky grin. He’s a sin mage. Of course he would dare.

“What am I doing here?” I ask, to at least buy myself a little more time before Caden drags me out of the car.

I admit, I’m curious to see how he lives. Behind him I can make out the facade of a white house with high windows. It seems to be an old villa. There’s ivy growing on its walls, and the stucco decoration has been knocked off, but the building still looks quite stately.

“I want to show you something.”

Caden winks at me mischievously, and I shake my head.

“Give me one good reason why I should come with you?”

“Well, I don’t know. Maybe because I found out something about your mother.”

Caden’s answer floors me. After that evening in the EastEnd, I had resigned myself to the fact that I would never know anything about her death. Did he actually ask around like he said he would and get those answers I so desperately seek?

“You’re not jerking me around, are you? You’re serious?” I ask. I’m afraid of getting my hopes up, but Caden nods his head and looks serious.

I slowly climb out of the car, ignoring the hand he’s still holding out to me. I follow him up the stairs to the front door. When he puts the key in the lock, I feel a little queasy. Who knows what awaits me inside?

“Isn’t your chauffeur coming?” I ask and cast a glance over my shoulder.

I can’t see the young woman through the dark windows of the limousine.

Caden laughs. “Why should she? Rey is my chauffeur, not my nanny.”

Maybe she would come inside so I wouldn’t be alone in this creepy house with a sin mage? One of the most dangerous sin mages around… who also happens to be pretty good-looking.

I swallow. Caden and I have been alone before, but this is different. I’m not within the safe walls of the palace, where sin has no place. No, I’m about to walk right into the lion’s den.

Once inside, I’m hit by a woody, slightly musty smell, typical of old houses. The floorboards creak under our footsteps.

I expected Caden’s house to be bursting with pomp and decadence, but it’s actually quite cozy. A long hallway leads into the living room, which is dominated by a large jade-green sofa. Books are stacked on high shelves made of dark wood. There are plants everywhere, and I’m reminded of the palace conservatory. Only these rooms are much more personal. Caden’s scent hangs in the room. That mixture of expensive whisky and crackling fireplace.

There’s an old book on the coffee table that he seems to bein the middle of, since a bookmark sticks out of the center. I’m deciphering the faded title—Tristan and Isolde—when I notice a movement out of the corner of my eye.

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