Page 28 of The Serpent's Bride
“I’m engaged, is all.” She brushed his hand away from her.
He laughed as if that was the cutest thing in the world she could have said. Like a child insisting they knew how the world worked. “You’ll learn.”
Lana came back carrying two drinks. “Oneboringold fashioned,” she teased as she handed one of the glasses to Nadi. Lana sat down on the other side of Azazel. “I see you two are already getting acquainted.”
“Someone was very keen to remind me that she’s getting married.” Azazel was grinning like the cat who ate the canary.
“Well…can you blame her? She’s not from here, and she’s a human. I’m sure she doesn’t know what our customs are.” There was a wicked glint in Lana’s eyes. The Sweetheart Mistress was plotting something, that much was painfully clear.
“Oh?” Nadi played dumb. She had a sense of where the conversation was going.
“In our family, it’s tradition for a bride-to-be to sleep with a stranger before their wedding. A last hurrah.” Lana reached out and stroked some of Azazel’s chin-length, curly blond hair away from his face to tuck it behind his ear. “It’s rude not to.”
Bullshit.“Is that a vampire thing? Or a…Nostrom thing?” She sipped her drink. Seemed like Lana had stayed true to her word—there wasn’t the usual tang of chemical drugs.
“Does it matter?” Azazel asked.
“I don’t want to be rude, but…also, Raziel asked me not to—y’know, get into the mix with anybody tonight. That’s all.”
“Well, what Raziel doesn’t know about won’t hurt him.” Lana leaned forward, showing off her own “assets” that were squeezedinto a sparkling pink and black sequined dress. “I bet you could have the pick of any man—or woman—here, but I figured Raziel would cause a fuss, so…I found you someone discreet.” She placed her hand on Azazel’s inner thigh.
The man didn’t flinch, just kept those orange eyes on Nadi.
“I—I mean—I’m sorry, but—” She played up the scared-girl-from-the-farm routine. She didn’t want to have to kill Azazel so early into her game. There was no way she could think of to make it look like an accident.Oops, he fell and landed on that lamp. Repeatedly. Until it bashed in his skull.
“Don’t worry, baby—I’m good at keeping things a secret.” Azazel stood, and took her hand, pulling her up to her feet. “Come on. Before someone else gets a hold of you.”
“I—”
He started pulling her off into the rest of the building. He wasn’t giving her a choice. She could cause a scene, but that would complicate matters.Fine. So he dies tonight.She’d have to think fast and come up with a way to hide his corpse. But it wouldn’t be the first time she’d had to do that in her life.
She was plotting her way forward and out of the situation as Azazel pulled her into one of Raziel’s guest rooms. He shut the door behind them, threw the lock, and let out a long, exaggerated sigh. “Fuck,I hate her.”
Nadi blinked.
Azazel walked to the bed and threw himself down onto it on his back. He stretched his arms out at his sides before letting out a long groan and shutting his eyes. Hardly the actions of a man trying to seduce a nervous bachelorette.
Something about his actions felt…familiar. Tired. Just a weary soul doing their job. And tonight was one night too many. Or perhaps that day had come and gone years ago. Studying him, Nadi stood by the door and leaned against the wall. “Lana told me she deals in cars.”
“Did she, now.” He sounded so bored.
“You must be the company car.”
That surprised him. He lifted his head to look at her in disbelief for a moment before howling in laughter and flopping his head back down on the bed. “Oh, thankfuckyou aren’t an idiot.”
“I’m glad they think I am, though.” She sipped her drink. “Makes it easier.”
“Ain’t that right.”
“I’d rather not fuck you, if it’s all the same to you.”
“Usually, I’m the one doing the fucking, but either way I get your meaning. And that is fine by me.” He sat up with a grunt, watching her with renewed curiosity. “Lana will assume we did the dirty, which gets her what she wants. You can go back to Raziel with a clean conscience.”
“It wasn’t my conscience I’m worried about. If he finds out—or even hears a rumor—he’ll probably kill me. Or you. Or both.” Nadi sighed.
“Hm. Nah. He’ll be able to smell it on you. Or rather, thelackof me on you. We’ll rumple up your clothes and hair and get you off to bed before anyone else figures out that you’reunspoiled.” He snorted.
She laughed. If he only knew.
