Page 67 of Lies (Wicked Empire 1)

“A great flavor. I’ll have that.”

I quickly prepared a serving and handed it to him.

His fingers grazed mine and sent a spark of electricity through me.

My heart started to beat faster, and I pulled my hand away quickly, then wiped it against my pants, hoping to kill that feeling.

It didn’t work, but that wasn’t much of a surprise.

Josh Kelley was a force in his own right, but I was reminded again that Davit Petrosyan was something else altogether.

“You don’t usually come to these things, Josh,” I said.

“Well, I made an exception. It seems that everyone is having a great time.”

He looked around the atrium, smiled, nodded at a couple of people who acknowledged him.

“It looks that way. Though looks can be deceiving,” I said, my voice strong.

He glanced over at me. “You think so, Amy?”

I didn’t miss the emphasis he’d placed on Amy, nor the warning that was present in it. But I felt compelled to answer the challenge I sensed.

“I know it,” I responded.

Not smart.

Not at all.

But still, even though I was a little scared of him—and far too attracted—I wouldn’t cower.

Well, wouldn’t cower any more than I already had.

“Amy, you—”

“Hey, Ames!”

Keenan ambled up, and whatever Davit had been going to say was lost.

I smiled brightly, not imagining there would ever be a day when I was happy to see Keenan, but here it was.

“Keenan! It’s good to see you.” I sounded genuinely excited, and I was.

“You too,” he responded.

“You still like sherbet?”

“You know it,” he said, a smile playing on his lips.

The camel-colored suit he wore highlighted his skin tone perfectly, and the low lighting in the atrium gave him an almost ethereal look. I could see the appreciative glances coming across the atrium, but almost everything was lost on me.

Because Davit was still standing there, and though his posture hadn’t changed, I could sense a difference in him, felt more of that same presence—menace, really—that I’d sensed sometimes after I’d found out who he was.

Keenan shifted his attention to my very distracting companion. “Josh, it’s good to see you, man,” he said.

Keenan extended his hand and Davit gave it a shake.

“You tech guys don’t usually come to these things,” Keenan said.

---