Page 61 of Until the End of Ever
“Gods, no. I found it in a particularly dusty Latin spellbook. It must be centuries old. I’d wager it fell out of fashion with the invention of the watch—or phones.”
“Handy all the same.”
“You can set an alarm,” he said, moving on to washing my hair. “Kronogium. Be cautious with the level of power you give that one—it could make you hear drums in your head for a half hour and give you a hell of a migraine. But necessary, in my case, when I had to get up for the Guard.”
“You should have been given a night shift.”
“There are no protectors taking night shifts, only runners and inquisitors.”
I frowned. “Don’t most demons and whatever else protectors hunt operate mostly at night?”
“Precisely. It’s always easier to catch us evil dark dwellers during the day.” He said it with amusement, but I grimaced all the same, displeased by the unfairness of it all.
“There should be night protectors. Maybe there would be more unders in the Guard, then.”
Lucian chuckled as he rinsed my hair, gently summoning water up from the bath to wash off all the soap. “And likely precisely why the position doesn’t exist. You’re all clean, love. Hop out, it’s my turn.”
I looked up at his bare broad shoulders, reluctant to move. “I could return the favor. It was nice. You washing me.”
His smile showed all his teeth. “If you start touching me, we’re going to get dirty all over again.”
That made me want to leave even less.
“Insatiable,” he teased, reading me like an open book. “But we truly do have to get going.”
I pouted, reluctantly making myself stand. “Fine.”
I could feel Lucian’s eyes on my naked form, taking in every inch, as though he hadn’t touched, and tasted, and seen it all before. Then his mouth was on mine, in one sudden, harsh, hard, possessive kiss that was over all too soon.
Lucian rarely seemed serious, relying on his amused affect to hide most of his thoughts, but now those gray eyes bored into mine, searching them, all lightness gone. “So we’re doing this. You’re not running this time.”
“I’m not running unless you chase me away,” I countered, still refusing to interpret my retreat on Sunday as my own doing.
He drew a line. I merely accepted it.
“I never chased you away.”
“Learn to value your soul,” I echoed, lowering my voice to mimic his. “This is serious. And permanent.You made it clear you wanted neither serious or permanent with me. Which is fine. But a girl can only take so much rejection before she needs some space."
Lucian threw his head back. “May the gods spare me from stubborn witches. I waswarning you.”
“You do that a lot,” I muttered, frustrated. “Maybe pay attention to what I say instead. I like you, stubborn ass.”
He grunted, his arms circling my waist and pulling me close. But he let go. “All right. Out of here, naughty little witch, before I lock us in for the rest of the day. Wear something absolutely boring, ideally hiding every single inch of your skin, or we’ll never get anything done today.”
Armed with a fluffy towel, I made my way to the guest wardrobe, opening it, in search of the skimpiest article of clothing allowable in public Cassiopeia stored.
25
LUCIAN
Behind the smiles, the sweetness, the healing energy, Kleos was evil. That was the only explanation for why she decided to torture me with that backless silky top.
She’d wrapped herself in her shawl, but I saw peeks of her bare skin every time she moved at brunch. In public. Where I was supposed to keep my hands to myself.
She liked me. Kleos Valesco liked me, Lucian Regis. And she wasn’t running. Not after hearing words like permanent and serious.
I was going to keep her. I was going to bind us together until the end of time. I was going to spend the rest of my life adoring her, worshipping her.
