Page 27 of A Promise of Peridot
“Fine. But I’ll need that word with you first.” Kane’s eyes held such lethal command I didn’t dare argue.
“Fine,” I mimicked, following his towering form through the door and out into the café.
10
arwen
The café had closed for the night. Candles had all been snuffed out, the front door locked, even the intertwined couple had left, likely off to knot themselves into one in the privacy of their own bedroom. My gaze lifted to Kane, my breath hitching in my lungs. As usual, it was an effort to tear my eyes away. His unruly dark hair was hardly tamed by the hand he so often ran through it, that broad hand always adorned in sleek, masculine silver rings that matched his piercing eyes.
But he only cut me a cursory glance with that same bored, if not slightly annoyed expression I had come to hate all those months ago in Shadowhold. “Dessert and dancing, huh? Where was my invitation?”
“I had others to keep me company. The men here are impressive dancers. Verysensual.”
Kane’s eyes were hard and bright, but his expression stayed the same. “How titillating.”
His dismissal caught me off guard, and silence bloomed as I couldn’t think of a witty retort.
“Nice catching up. Time to go.”
“What is your issue?” I hissed at him. “Mari and I can’t join your little boys-only card game? I didn’t realize Amelia was the only woman you deemed acceptable to socialize with.”
I could tell by his rigid jaw that Kane had been about to lay into me, until amusement seized his eyes. He ran a hand down his face—a habit of his that still had a shameful effect on me—and took a deep, soothing inhale. “Let’s come back to your jealously over the time I spend with Amelia later. I’d like to dig into that. Maybe over dinner tomorrow night?”
I scoffed, rolled my eyes, and might have even snorted as well—just to make sure he really understood my lack of interest in such a proposal—but he continued as if I hadn’t done anything at all.
“Those men are dangerous. Crawford Switch isn’t just a Citrine noble; he’s a crime lord. And Rhett and Trevyn are his thugs.” His expression softened only slightly. “I’d rather you and the witch were nowhere near them.”
“Why are you here, then? Playing cards with crooks?”
His smile was cruel. “Is that not behavior fitting of a monster like me?”
I wouldn’t dignify that with a response. It was too easy.
His jaw tightened. “We think Crawford might know where the Blade of the Sun is. He’s a... collector, of sorts. Procurer of fine and rare objects. His card game was the only way to get near him without risking Broderick and Isolde’s fury. The three of them are close.”
“Why is Fedrik here?”
“Your lapdog plays in the monthly games.” Kane made a tutting noise as he straightened a ring on his thumb. “Horrible habit, really.”
I couldn’t roll my eyes at Kane anymore; I’d go cross-eyed soon. “And Ryder?”
“I invited him. The kid seemed like he could use a break.”
“You brought him just to torture Griffin?”
“I can’t help it—their feud over the witch tickles me.”
“You really are a monster.”
“So I’ve been told.” His smirk was wicked as he leaned closer. “Now go grab your inebriated little friend and get back to the palace.”
But I didn’t want to go back there. I didn’t want to sleep for days anymore. Or lie awake in bed, beside a sleeping Leigh, and think of nothing. To toss and turn as if I could roll away from all the emptiness.
No, I wanted the delicious, exhilarating spike in my bloodstream every time Kane was angry with me. Every time his eyes bored into mine in reprimand or thinly veiled ire. The light and airy warmth I felt around Fedrik was a summer sprinkle compared to the heart-rattling monsoon of chemistry that doused Kane and me. We had been speaking again for less than two days and already it was wreaking havoc on my psyche.
“Now, Arwen,” he said, taking my wrist in his hand gently, but firmly enough to convey his severity.
The touch sent stars through my veins. Humming. Combusting. He could probably feel my pulse as it raced.
