Page 13 of Licence To Howl
‘It’s fine, Simon. I’ve got this.’
‘But –’
Scarlett’s eyes flashed and her voice turned to sharp steel. ‘Get out,’ she ordered.
The guard twitched. Then he did as he was told. Devereau waited until he’d gone before speaking again. ‘He’s no vamp.’
‘How very observant of you,’ Scarlett drawled.
Devereau shrugged. ‘Are you branching out?’
‘No. I’m merely keeping a low profile.’ Her eyes narrowed. ‘Not low enough, it appears.’
His smile grew and he took a step towards her. Scarlett stayed where she was. ‘You were told not to move.’
He paused, pretending to be a good boy, and watched her.
‘I shouldn’t have to ask you this aloud,’ Scarlett said, ‘but it appears that I’m going to do it anyway. Why have you climbed up the outside of my building and then appeared naked in my living room?’
Devereau took another step towards her. ‘It’s a very ugly building, Scarlett.’ He took one more step.
She folded her arms across her chest. ‘I know it’s an ugly building,’ she said. ‘I didn’t design it and I don’t own it. It’s part of the vampires’ property portfolio. We own places like this all over the world. Ugly or not, believe me, your dangling balls didn’t make its exterior look any prettier and they’re certainly not enhancing the appearance of this room either.’
He raised his eyebrows. ‘Are you quite sure about that?’
She chose to ignore his question. ‘Why did you follow me here?’
‘I didn’t.’
Scarlett sniffed. ‘You don’t seriously expect me to believe that you’re here in this apartment in Rome by accident?’
‘Well,’ he said, with an arch grin, ‘kinda.’ He closed the distance between them. ‘But it is good to see you, Scarlett.’ His eyes dropped to her mouth.
‘Whatever was between us is over, Devereau. We’ve been through this. We had fun for a few weeks. That’s all it was. That’s all it ever was.’
He raised his gaze to meet hers. ‘I’m truly sorry about that,’ he said softly.
‘If you think that stalking me will make me change my mind …’
‘I’m not stalking you,’ he interrupted. ‘In fact, if anyone’s stalking, it’s you. Why were you at Regent’s Park last week?’
‘I wasn’tatRegent’s Park. I was outside it.’
Devereau reached out and brushed an errant curl away from her cheek. He was inordinately pleased that she didn’t pull away but he couldn’t fail to spot the flicker of fearful worry in her gaze. Disturbed by her reaction, he moved back, giving her the space she needed. He also picked up a throw from the back of one of the chairs and wrapped it round his body. ‘Now you’re splitting hairs.’
Scarlett’s mouth tightened. ‘We are done, Devereau.’
Damn it. ‘I won’t argue with you.’ He watched her as she looked down at the floor. Huh. Maybe things between them weren’t quite as clear cut as they seemed. ‘I won’t make any move on you. When you change your mind about us,’ his eyes glittered and he took a painful gamble, ‘and, Scarlett, youwillchange your mind, you’ll have to approach me yourself.’
‘This lady is not for turning,’ she said in a surprisingly prim tone of voice.
He tried to ignore the bitter surge of disappointment which suddenly flared deep in his chest. ‘Very well.’
Scarlett opened her mouth to say something then seemed to think better of it. ‘How is Martina?’
‘She’s well. Her dad is still an arse. And she could do with a decent female role model in her life.’
Scarlett gave him a long look. ‘She has your sister. And Dr Yara. And Rachel Foster.’
