Page 82 of The Guardian's Curse

Anger roared through him. “Did he hurt anyone?”

“I don’t think so,” she said. “So when this is done, I’m back to square one.”

“Why?” he asked. Her head cocked. “Why do you have to start over? I have more money than you could earn in a lifetime, and Eduardo has made you a generous offer to do exactly the kind of work you’re already doing.”

“I don’t want to be owned,” she retorted.

The vehement response felt like a punch to the gut. It was a reminder that this was only temporary, and soon her light would be gone. He wanted to recoil and hide again, but he felt such a powerful pull that he couldn’t. Even if she refused him, she deserved comfort and safety. “You would not be owned,” he said. “The Court is a family. Protection, shelter, fellowship.”

“And obligation, debt, and servitude.”

“Will you go through your whole life refusing to commit to anything?” he asked. “Will you stubbornly fight alone just on principle?”

“I have so far,” she snapped.

He shook his head. “Shoshanna, when you were afraid, you called Dominic for help. When you thought I was in trouble, you called Paris. You already seek the support of the Court when it suits you.”

She slid away from him slightly. Only a hand’s breadth separated them, but it felt like miles. “Can we just play?”

“Certainly,” he said quietly. He flipped the page to an arrangement of the waltz from Tchaikovsksy’s Sleeping Beauty. “Would you like to be on top?”

Her lips quirked into a smile, and it warmed his heart to see that the crude innuendo would still please her. “Slowly,” she said, scanning the page. He was genuinely impressed with her musical skill. Though she had not taken lessons in a few years, she had a natural sense of musicality. They played slowly through the first few pages.

She struck a discordant note and swore. “Sorry,” she said. She squinted and leaned in to look at the page. After tinkling through the passage she’d missed, she shook her head. “One more time.”

They played it again, and she missed another series of notes. He glanced over and caught her scrubbing at her eyes. “Are you all right?”

“I think my eyes are just strained from staring at my drawings for so long,” she said.

“Hmm,” he said. He closed the sheet music and started a playlist of quiet piano music on his phone. Then he grasped her hand and pulled her to her feet to dance. “Then I shall entertain you.”

She smiled and joined him, leaning her head against his chest. The lovely warmth soothed his nerves, washing away the tension between them. “I suppose this will do.”

“You suppose?” he said wryly.

Her laugh rumbled into his chest. “I suppose. I just want you to know that I’m thinking very dirty thoughts about you.”

His cock twitched. “Are you now? Then perhaps you should tell me a few of them. I assure you, I am all ears.”

20

As Shoshanna made her first cup of coffee at two in the afternoon, she realized that Alistair Thorne was a virtuoso at more than the piano. Last night, he’d taken her to bed, worn her out, then rubbed her back until she fell asleep. It wasn’t until she woke to a beam of sunlight across her bed that she realized she’d fallen asleep without telling him good night.

Despite their growing affection, she was always a little wistful to awaken in the morning with no one else there. Or at least, no one that didn’t have four paws and fish breath. Alistair could not join her here because of the morning sun, and he would not let her sleep with him downstairs. But being held at a distance still stung, even if she knew it wasn’t about her. No matter what he thought, she could handle his appearance.

His fear only motivated her further to break the curse. That would set him free, just like it would set Lucia free.

And that was why she was going to keep the caffeine flowing for as long as it took. The bright sunlight was making her blurry vision even worse. The tiny fill lines on the coffee pot were nearly impossible to see. Putting her face close to the glass carafe, she pressed one finger to mark the spot and filled it with water.

She’d managed to convince herself that her poor vision was strain from overusing her magic. Maybe it was connected to the monster headache she’d had yesterday. But it hadn’t gotten better; in fact, it had only gotten worse since last night. She wondered if this was revenge for trying to free Lucia. When she tugged on that red thread, had Armina felt it and dished back a dose of magic?

That was insane. And yet, this witch had managed to curse half a dozen powerful vampires with curses that had lasted over two centuries. Who knew what she could do?

For the first time since she’d arrived at the mansion, Shoshanna considered calling Vivienne, her mentor from the Grand Guild. But if Vivienne knew what she was tinkering with, she’d be furious. It would be one thing to approach the Grand Guild with proof that she’d untangled a complex curse. It would be quite another to come to them helpless and suffering the consequences of dealing with forbidden magic.

Instead, she decided to get back to work. Once she freed Lucia, she could untangle the issue of her eyesight. People dealt with bad vision all the time. When she ordered her next grocery delivery, she’d add a pair of reading glasses to get her by.

Armed with a fresh cup of coffee, she headed to the library to read. Alistair had kept his promise last night by translating for her. Bright blue sticky notes burst from the pages. His handwriting was beautiful, a flowing script with precise loops and swirls. Atop the stack of books was a note:

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