Page 40 of The Illuminated
When morning came, I was greeted by the smell of coffee and pastries. My eyes fluttered open to Daelon staring at me way too intently, a tray in his lap with croissants and various spreads, a small French press, and two mugs.
He smiled. “You’re adorable when you sleep.”
“I thought we decided that was creepy, Daelon,” I chastised, narrowing my eyes.
“I do seem to remember you telling me that. But I wasn’t sure how else to entertain myself before you woke up.”
I rolled my eyes and sat up, happily accepting his offerings as he pushed the tray toward me.
“I love the French,” I sighed, savoring the sweet, flaky bread as it melted like butter in my mouth. “Or at least their food and wine.”
“The metal tower thing isn’t half bad either.”
“So true!”
We laughed, and for the briefest of moments it felt we were just lovers on vacation, with no one to answer to and nowhere to be.
I swallowed a sip of coffee, and when memories of last night floated to the surface of my mind, their intensity was enough to make me flush. At my small smile, Daelon quirked a brow. His eyes darkened when I stayed silent, and I knew without reading him that his mind had traveled to the same location.
“I have a question.” I tilted my head as I watched him closely.
“Yes?”
“What if I wanted to tieyouto the bed?”
He stilled for a moment, the surprise in his features quickly shifting to amusement. He grinned. “Is that something you want to do?”
I shrugged. “What if it was?”
He rolled his eyes. “Áine, I would let you do just about anything to me. Literally anything. Tell me what you want, and I’ll see what I can do.” The tilt of his lips was dangerous, his gaze holding a kind of magnetism that made the rest of the world fade away.
“I don’t want to tie you up,” I admitted, picking back up my croissant.
The look in his eyes was toe-curling. “I know you don’t.” He opened his mouth to say something more but seemed to remember where we were—whowe were. “When the sun goes down, we have to visit our mark,” he said softly, and the moment that was just aboutuswas over quicker than it had begun. “Amos sent me his location.”
“By pigeon?” I asked while taking another sip of coffee. I wanted to go back to flirting. It wasn’t fair that we couldn’t be a normal couple, learning and exploring the bounds of our relationship—free to spend our time just being together, doing normal couple things like staying up all night talking, or spending the whole day in bed if we so desired.
None of it was even remotely fair.
“Via Lucius’s ability to use telepathy across dimensions,” he answered.
Oh, perfect. Lucius was back in bed with us. I sighed, setting down my half-eaten croissant.
“Finish your food,” he commanded. “We need to go scope out the area. I wish I could do it myself, but I don’t like the idea of leaving you behind. I don’t want energy vampires to pick up on your power.”
“And you know I would never just stay behind.”
He rolled his eyes again. “That too. So much for doing anything I ask, huh?”
I smiled and shrugged. I made a show of picking my croissant back up and waving it before taking another bite, showing I would at least follow his direction to finish my food.
This earned me a snort, and I watched him bend down to go through my bag. Piece by piece he picked out my outfit—black skinny jeans and an oversized, off-the-shoulder, white sweater. And, of course, a lacy, black bra.
Chapter13
Iwas surprised to find the haggard witch we were to question lived in the young, fashionable Marais district in the fourth arrondissement. The sky was overcast, compounding the chill of the cool breeze that whispered through the city. Parisians were on their lunch break, filling the trendy cafes and restaurants nestled between gay bars and nightclubs that had recoiled from the light of day.
We passed over another rainbow-colored crosswalk, taking in the beautiful French architecture reminiscent of a time long passed. The linking buildings flirted with modernity, with neon signs advertising tobacco and pride flags adorning them like ornaments.
