Page 71 of Seduction in Blood
"With a bodyguard, I suppose."
"Yes. You'll require guidance until you learn more of our world."
"All right." If Lucas was my assigned babysitter, I could find a way around the rules.
"And you'll avoid Underwood."
"I don't need help with Christopher."
"I can't have him interfering with my business."
I understood his reasoning, as misguided as it was, but there was no way Christopher could have anything to do with Devon's business. I buried the niggling seed of doubt that struggled for sunshine. I bit my lip, unable to find a logical reason to turn down his deal, as if I had a choice. But it was a good deal. I ignored the hole opening in my chest and asked the next obvious question.
"Then we'll be done?"
"Yes, Cressa, then we'll be done."
His expression didn't match his solemn tone. I didn't believe a word he said. "Spend some time in the gym, take a swim, and get some sleep. Let your body finish healing."
I waited until he was almost to the door before I asked, "What is the mission? You never said."
He paused as if he was unsure what to tell me or not wanting to. "To remove my censure on the Council."
Then he was gone.
I stumbled to the window, holding on to the frame as I glanced out to sea—its turbulence matching my spirit. My gaze traveled to the two gravestones. Clear his censure. I couldn't fathom what that would entail, but a cold shiver coursed through me. It must involve Lorenzo. How long would this job take? Owing Devon might end worse than being indebted to The Wolf.
I touched my lips, sorry he hadn't kissed me, remembering damn well how it would taste. Under all the misgivings about Devon's offer, I feared something else could be my undoing. My dreams. My hunger for them. My impatience when they didn't materialize. The unimaginable passion that inflamed me when they did.
I gripped the window frame as a flash of pain pierced my temple. My vision blurred as a memory flashed. The dream. I’d been with Devon in his bedroom at Oasis. Then the location had changed, and I was staring at the night sky, my body riddled with pain. The dream had come true. How had I not remembered that? The better question was how Devon could have seen my fall before it happened.
I shook my head.
One thing was certain. I needed an exit strategy. I contemplated my next move, though it was pretty obvious. If I was going to survive, I would need to learn everything I could about vampires. It appeared I was in this for the long game.
Then a second memory rocked me. Devon’s whispered words the day of the mission, and while they’d been mysterious at the time, now they flipped my world upside down.
“What are you, Cressa Langtry?”
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