Page 22 of A Blade of Air and Darkness

Tall, dark, attractive—and no longer in Silver’s office.

Damn it. Trouble had just walked in my door.

ChapterEight

ALYS

Whoever he was, bureaucrat or investigator, my heart-rate increased, thrumming a beat of hope. When he removed his coat, he turned to talk to the proprietor, and I enjoyed the unimpeded view of his ass. Hisverynice ass.

Still, the nice view didn’t distract me from the fact that it was strange that he was here at all. It would be a rather large coincidence if he were here by chance, so my gut told me that there was more than chance at work here. The feeling was confirmed when his gaze swung around and connected with mine, like I was exactly who he was looking for.

Which couldn’t be a good thing. Could it?

He walked toward my table. No, not walked,strodetoward me like I’d been here waiting for him all along. I eyed him with unease, trying to ignore how handsome he was and focused on the fact that his presence here could only complicate things.

A dimple flickered at the edge of his mouth as he drew closer, but I wouldn’t let it sway me. I wanted an explanation. As attractive as he was, I smelled a rodent with white-blond hair lurking about. The tension in my mouth relaxed as he stopped in front of me. Despite the alarms going off in my head, I liked the way he smelled: hints of sage and pine.

“Greene kick you out too?” He spoke with an accent, southern mixed with something else. He hadn’t spoken that way before.

“Nope. I’d need to be invited to get kicked out.”

His smile broadened, lifting his chiseled cheekbones. “Do you mind if I join you?”

I stared at him for a moment. His long black hair was pulled away from his face, his red jewel glowed from his warm bronze skin. Desire mixed with liquor was burning its way through my body in a way that was almost pleasant. A way that tempted me to just grab this man and haul him upstairs. Yet, I was trying to push away my normally impulsive way of handling every situation to figure this man out first. Not only was he one of the few men I’d found attractive in quite awhile, but he was powerful enough for me not to accidentally kill if we fucked. I knew that because my geas wasn’t trying to prevent me from being near him.

Which was… far too exciting.

“Sure,” I said, kicking out the chair opposite me with my foot.

He seated himself, and there was something in his expression I couldn’t quite read. Maybe… curiosity? About me? A lot of people were curious when they learned who and what I was, so I didn’t blame him for it. Chances were that this man had read my file, if he’d been sent here after me. Which explained his reaction, but not the flicker of desire I saw burning beneath his gaze.

The server swished up, smiling, pale eyes sparkling at the man speaking to me. “Sir?” There was an edge of a flirty note in her tone that she hadn’t used with me.

“I’ll have what she had.” He indicated the crumbs remaining on the table and my drink.

She whisked her cloth on his side of the table, clearing crumbs, paying me no attention. “The roast is very good today, too.”

“Really. I’ll have some of that too, then.”

She bustled off, and I tried my best to ignore the fact that this man’s good looks were likely noticed by every woman who saw him. Being attractive wasn’t a crime. If he wanted another woman over me, I’d try to accept his decision gracefully. Even if the thought pained me more than I wanted to admit.

“What’s your name? Why are you here?” Straight to the point, if the answer pleased me, then I’d proceed. After a dry spell of two years and some months, anything short of ‘I’m here to kill you’ would be pleasing and likely lead to him being in my bed, if he was willing. And given the way his gaze was subtly running over me, I could bet he’d be willing.

He smiled at me. I was surprised that dimples like that weren’t illegal in the Guild—most everything fun was. “I’m Walker. You asked for me to come.”

I laughed. Both at the unintentional pun and at his nickname. It suited him. He had long legs, and from what little I’d seen, he moved well. “I did?”

“Sent a message earlier today about potential tax evasion. I’m a forensic accountant.”

Interesting. He was the forensic accountant? Silver had sent someone this fast? I’d assumed it’d take a lot longer to get this manner straightened out, and that they’d send someone with far more years than this Walker fellow, with a far worse attitude.

But, of course, I couldn’t just say that. “That was fast.” I sipped my drink. “Don’t your type normally come with bodyguards?”

Because they did. Normally his type came with bodyguards, nice clothing, and a heck of a better setup than this. Instead, he seemed to be trying to blend in with the other people around us, which was strange. It also made me like him a little more.

He shrugged in response to my question. “Your check-in came late; Silver read it immediately and decided I’d be better with something to do other than be bored in the offices. I’ve never had a need for guards; I’ve had some training.”

I was back to studying him. He hadsometraining? I had to hold back a laugh at the thought. With the power buzzing off of him, I believed it was a little more thansome.

---