Page 81 of Of Blood and Smoke

If I could’ve shook my head, I would’ve. Instead, I gasped, “No.”

“Mm. Your blood is thrumming so happily for me, like song in your veins only I can hear.” He moved his hand slightly and leaned in, brushing my neck with his lips. “Your unnecessary jealousy tastes like love.” He inhaled deeply, and my skin tingled, goosebumps trailing from my scalp all the way down to my toes.

“Do you have something to confess to me?” he purred. I felt him stretch his mouth, and then the light scratch of his teeth against my flesh.

Cleaning myself up forgotten, the towel dropped to the floor and my hands clasped his shoulders as he softly bit into me. The initial sting zinged through me like a shot of electricity before the light brush of his tongue lulled me, erasing the pain. Gently, he stroked my neck with the organ, little flicks of the muscle gathering whatever drops of blood he coerced from my veins. I whimpered, and he trailed his nails down my back, forcing me to arch into him.

Josiah lifted me onto the counter, moving my legs so I caged him in. He caught my lips with his own while a hand delved down the front of my pants and relieved the ache at my core. I melted against him, shattering around his fingers while he captured my cries with his mouth.

“Josiah,” I whispered, when the trembles stopped shuddering my body. My head rested in the crook of his neck, and I breathed in his smoky scent. “Can you keep me safe?” I wasn’t sure if I meant from unseen enemies, or him.

Massaging the sore spot on my head, he said, “I can’t promise you safety and I don’t think you really want it, but I can promise you my knife and my heart.”

He pulled out a tiny, glistening blade and nicked my neck lightly, before leaning in.

THIRTY-EIGHT

Josiah

Christina claimed she’d acted on her own. She babbled nonstop hatred toward Della while Micha carved her up and she promised me many entertaining scenarios involving her willing body, should I show mercy.

When she was done offering alternatives to spare her useless life, Micha briefly considered tasting her flesh, but then he wisely thought better of it. Who would want a deceitful snake’s flesh churning in their stomach?

Unable to detect any aberrations in her aura, I ordered her execution. I never wanted to touch her again and allowed Micha the honor of performing the execution on my behalf, our traditions be damned. It was hard to resist the urge to sink my blade into her taunt stomach, to watch the wash of red flow over my hand and drip to the floor, but for Della’s sake, I refrained from the pleasure.

Micha would’ve denied himself as well, out of respect for me, but we didn’t want to recruit any of our men. To do so may have caused them discomfort anyway, with their knowledge of the ways of crossbreeds and my prior position as an enforcer. It was my own duty to deal with those who betrayed me or theCourt. The men were stationed throughout the building and our properties, their single goal the security of the facility, not the execution of death sentences. They had their own job to perform.

Security would be even tighter going forward. Occasionally, an employee from downstairs—generally a member of our management team, would arrive on our floor for a multitude of varying reasons. I’d informed the guards we were not to be disturbed under any circumstances before we eliminated the errant assistant.

So, imagine my surprise after we cleared the execution chambers and cleaned out Christina’s desk. I’d returned to my office to find an unfamiliar soul seated in my space.

Thankfully, he was in a visitor’s chair and not on the wrong side of the room. Keeping my eyes on the man, I closed the door behind me and stilled. He wasn’t human, that was immediately obvious to me.

I dropped my innate guards and tried to read him, noting the smoke-like aura that drifted around his being. There was no sense of danger from him, just a mild curiosity coupled with a definitive sense of purpose. Suitably relieved, I asked, “Who are you?”

“Ethan,” the man said.

As I looked him over, I noted the ruby-handled dagger resting on his thigh, his glassy fingernails and glossy, dark hair, its length slightly longer than my own. He was dressed more casually than I, solely in pants and a button-down shirt, sans tie or vest. His hands and neck were nearly black with intricate markings, one curving up behind his ear.

Demon,I decided, although there was something else going on.His aura was mostly cloaked in shadows, making translation difficult.

“What is it you want?” I rounded my desk and sat down, resting my clasped hands on the desk and keeping my back straight.

He stared at me, assessing, most likely, if I posed any threat. His eyes flickered a glowing deep orange, cementing my decision as to his species. “The Ancients discovered me, while I was trespassing the palace grounds.” He flipped the knife in the air and gripped it in his fist, again resting it on his leg.

“Apparently, you and Micha are a hot commodity. Especially you, Josiah. Ezra has a high opinion of you. Something about you reminding him of himself.”

I couldn’t hide the brief look of disdain I knew crossed my face. Ethan didn’t miss it, and chuckled. “He asked me to pass a message, and since he was very persuasive, I agreed.”

“Message?” I asked. “I will not bend.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that.”

“Why were you trespassing?”

Ethan’s eyes burned a little brighter and he met my gaze. “Wraiths. I’m slaughtering them. And you’re down one on your property. I will not replace it.” He stood up.

“You will cease destroying my property,” I ordered the man.

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