Page 44 of A City of Hearts and Feathers

Zoe held on to him a little tighter. "Please, don't leave me alone in this place, Kahil."

"Not a chance." He leaned down until his lips brushed against her ear. Zoe's fingers curled into the soft fabric of his shirt, her eyes fluttering closed at the sensation. "If I have my way, your sun and the rest of you are going to be mine and no one else's."

"Kahil, I…" she began, but he shook his head.

"Not here,balim. There are too many ears in this room for me to want to share moments that matter with them." Kahil ran his nose up the side of her neck. "We really need to get this meeting over with so we can move on to more important things."

"Like what?"

"I'll let you wonder." Kahil placed a kiss on her neck and smiled at her. Zoe's heart pounded hard enough to make herchest hurt. She didn't trust what would come out of her mouth, so she only swallowed hard and pointed to the stairs.

Kahil kept her close as they moved around the dancefloor. It was bathed in a purple red light, the dancers writhing together in a wine-soaked worship.

Zoe had to look away from them, the light and the movement hypnotic, trying to draw her in. The beat of the music called to her, begging her to kick off her shoes and go and dance and stomp with the others.

Magic, magic everywhere.Zoe wrapped her hand around the talisman on her necklace, and the impulse to dance lessened until she could think straight again.

They walked past another set of guards before moving up the polished set of ebony stairs. At the top was a private sitting area that overlooked the dancefloor and the bar beneath.

There were red velvet chairs arranged around a table with candles burning at the center of it. Sitting in one of the chairs was the most stunningly beautiful man that Zoe had ever seen. His skin was bronze, and his hair was long, straight, and the color of blood. Bright orange eyes heavily lined in black kohl looked her over from head to toe. Sensual lips lifted in a delighted smile that knocked the breath right out of her.

"Zoe Kartal, you are all grown up," he said, his voice a deep, accented purr against her skin. His orange gaze went to Kahil. "Nice to see you again too, Aurelio."

"Akamos, you know I haven't gone by that name in over five hundred years," Kahil replied with a sigh.

Akamos gave a nonchalant wave of his hand. "A blink of an eye to me, my boy. Come sit with me, Zoe, so that I may look at your splendor more closely."

Zoe took a seat beside him, crossing her legs. "My father used to play chess withyouevery week. I thought Akamos was some old man."

She didn't mean to blurt it out loud, but she was having trouble reconciling someone like this being friends with her bookish father.

Akamos laughed delightedly. "Oh, I'm a very old man. Oman was a friend indeed. He was a very kind man, but an absolutely savage chess player. Do you play?"

"Only a little, and very badly," she replied honestly.

"I would happily teach you. I so enjoyed your father's company, and I hope that we can continue that relationship."

Zoe smiled politely but knew better than to make promises. "Time will tell. I am enjoying being back in Istanbul although I believe it will take me a little while to settle in and find my feet."

A waiter appeared and placed three glasses of wine down on the table in front of them. Another arrived through the shadows with something square wrapped in black paper.

"A gift for you," Akamos said, and Zoe took the package. Kahil leaned forward in his chair. "Now, now, don't get all uppity, Aurelio. There is no obligation attached to it. I merely thought that she would want it back."

Zoe unwrapped the present, and her heart skipped. "Baba'schess set? Thank you so much."

"He gave it to me to hold onto after our last game. It was the day he died," Akamos said and picked up his wine glass. "I don't suppose you know who killed him yet?"

"No. Anita refused to let us investigate at the time. The leads we had, or could have had, are long gone," Kahil replied.

Akamos hummed. "Interesting that she didn't want anybody looking into it. Don't you think?"

What the fuck did that mean?

"My mother was grieving, sir. She isn't the strongest person emotionally at the best of times. If you are implying that she had anything to do with his death, I would ask you to please stop," Zoe said firmly.

"My darling, I meant no offense. Of course I don't believe Anita was capable of such a thing. All I know is that when murders occur, especially when a man as loved as your father dies, the culprit is usually someone he knows or was close to," Akamos replied before sipping his wine.

"And what else do you know?" Zoe said. Clearly, he had summoned her for more than curiosity.

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