Page 72 of Rogue's Pawn (Covenant of Thorns 1)

“How do you imagine anyone can dance all night long without a little assistance that way?”

“Oh.” I glanced at Darling. “I hadn’t thought.”

“You never do.”

“Ha-ha.”

He was watching the lily again, its inverted dance dying out. He looked almost sorrowful. I felt the urge to apologize but clamped down on it ruthlessly.

“Why are you here, Rogue? How do you know what’s been going on—the necklace from Falcon and me saying Darling could help with the dancing?” I asked it softly.How could you let them do all that to me?I tucked that last question away where he couldn’t hear it.

Not something I wanted to hear the answer to.

“I pay attention to my investments.”

“Thanks for that illuminating response.”

He grinned at me, a bright flash of teeth twisting the sharp lines around his mouth. “Maybe I’ve missed you, Lovely Gwynn.” He stepped toward me, reaching to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “The black is ravishing, but you didn’t have to do it for me.”

“I didn’t. And we’re not flirting—we haven’t dealt with Darling.”

“He’s not going anywhere. And you failed to define ‘deal’—he’s been dealt with.”

I looked at the cat’s body on the table, inert, lifeless. Tears pricked my eyes and I stuffed them back. “But now what? What was Falcon’s plan if it had been me? Why not just kill me?”

“Falcon doesn’t forget what I am owed, even if you do.”

My eyes flew to Rogue’s—which were too damn close. I walked away, pacing. He leaned against the workbench, booted ankles crossed, an amused look on his face.

“That’s a little under six and a half years away.”

“Ah, my lady has been counting the days.”

I glared at him. “So I know how much time I have to figure a way out of it.”

He was at my side in a movement so fast I didn’t see it. I must have thrown up a hand to ward him off, because he seized my wrist and pulled the hand up over my head, while his other arm crushed me against his chest. Had I thought Falcon’s gaze was sharp? Rogue’s predatory eyes bored into me, midnight space, the sable lines stark against his skin.

“Don’t even imagine the possibility,” he whispered.

“Let me go.”

“That’s the point—my answer is no.”

“I won’t be your brood mare.”

“No, you’ll be infinitely more than that.”

He almost crooned the words. I closed my eyes against his proximity and I felt his lips, blazing hot against my cheek. I tried to yank my hand away but failed to move it even slightly. My whole body arched against him, thrumming with tension. Emotion rocked through me. The rollercoaster of the day had left me unbalanced. More so than usual, anyway. Rogue’s lips trailed to my throat, the light brushing singing through my nerves, burning through me. But I managed to hold myself still, as if uninterested.

I felt Rogue raise his head and I opened my eyes to find his, dark Pacific blue, nearly black and swimming deep. The three-three beat of his heart pounded in counterpoint to mine.

“You promised to flirt, Gwynn. This feels like resistance.”

“Doesn’t it bother you that I hate you with all my heart?”

“But I know you don’t.”

I had no response to that. Except to open that little door between us and let him feel the hot rush of it.

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