As they walked toward an empty hallway Nia hoped would give them some privacy, she caught the first man’s whisper: “I can’t believe she married him. He’s always been so awkward.”
Nia flushed.
She sent a tendril of shadow slithering through the air, unseen, to coil around the man’s arm. His drink splashed over his suit as he jerked in surprise, sputtering while the others around him erupted into startled laughter.
Satisfied, she dragged Lochlan deeper into the abandoned hallway and spun to face him. Her finger jabbed into his chest. “What the fuck was that?”
“The truth.” His gaze flickered to her lips before darting away. “Wasn’t it?”
This conversation wasn’t going the way Nia had planned. “I thought?—”
“That I wouldn’t care you were putting yourself in danger?” Lochlan kept his voice low, but each word was edged with anger, frustration. “Or that I wouldn’t care that you’re using blackmail or entrapment or who knows what else to fund your initiatives?”
“You didn’t say anything. I thought you didn’t have a problem with it,” Nia admitted. “Or, at least, that you accepted what you saw and that it wasn’t any of your business.”
His gaze locked with hers, his expression unreadable. His voice grew softer, lower as he stepped closer. “What did I see, Nia?”
She licked her lips. Nia hadn’t even told Ivy how she secured donations for their charities, let alone why she did it. Still, she leaned in, meeting his intensity head-on. “What do you think you saw?”
He ignored her question. “Have you killed anyone?”
“No.” The word came fast, defensive. “Why would you think that?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. His hands flexed at his sides, restless. “I was so worried when I first saw you, with him. Then… it seemed like you could’ve ended it so quickly if you’d wanted to.” His eyes searched her face, his expression intense. “Has anyone hurt you before?”
The question hit her like a punch to the chest.
She sucked in a breath and turned away, her gaze dropping to the floor as the tension built between them until it felt suffocating.
“Only once, when I was young,” she admitted softly, “and too quick to act. I’ve learned over the years how to be safer.”
Lochlan’s silence gnawed at her already frayed nerves, his eyes dark and guarded. “Nia…”
“What?” she snapped, irritated at herself for how vulnerable she felt, angry they were even having this conversation. “What do you want from me? What do you want me to?—”
Then his arms were wrapping around her, pulling her gently but firmly against his chest. She froze for half a beat, her breath catching as his warmth enveloped her, his breath uneven against her neck.
Slowly, tentatively, she brought her arms around him, returning the embrace.
It felt extraordinary.
Their bodies fit together as if they’d been made for this moment, and she let herself melt into him. His hands were steady and reassuring against her back, anchoring her in place. As they each pulled back, their breaths mingled in the small space between them. Lochlan didn’t let her go entirely; his hands still lingered lightly on her arms as he held her gaze with an intensity that sent a shiver down her spine.
“Nothing matters more to me than your honesty. And your safety. I need you to trust me enough to tell me if you’re in trouble, or if there’s anything you need.”
His words struck something deep within her, loosening the tension in her chest.
Her gaze locked with his, the intensity in his light brown eyes and the determination in his expression made her heart thud harder, her breath catching in response.
“I want you to swear,” he whispered, gruffly, but before he’d even finished she heard herself blurting out?—
“Yes. Yes, I’ll tell you.”
He bit his lip, like there was more he wanted to say, but was holding back. Her gaze caught and lingered on his mouth, wondering if he looked at her lips with the same hunger she felt stirring, or if it was just her own desperation. Warmth spread through her chest as they drew closer, curling low in her stomach as she realized she was about to find out what it was like to kiss?—
“There you two are.”
Becket appeared in the hallway entrance, grinning mischievously.
