Page 43 of Clash of Sin and Secret

“But we might find other ways to break a sweat,” Huntley adds.

I bite my lip and shake out my hands before gripping the weight bar again. “Sorry. I forgot you all have a freakishly keen sense of smell. You could always be gentlemen and pretend you smell nothing.”

Zane chuckles. “Or we could press the matter and find out which one of us you were imagining in that daydream of yours.”

I meet the curious gazes around the room and arch a brow. “And what if I told you it was all three?”

The shocked look on their faces is too fun. I leave them to consider that and go back to my workout. Tucker was raised in a shifter pack and vampires don’t cling to any kind of human proprieties, so their surprise must be with me.

That’s fine. They need to learn I’m full of surprises.

“Is that something you’d enjoy, princess?” Huntley strides over to look down on me, the corner of his mouth quirking up ever so slightly.

“I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t imagined it.”

“No hedging, Scots.” Zane calls over from where he’s doing pull-ups like they’re nothing. “From now on, everything is out in the open. If you want something, you need to tell us.”

I laugh. “We should focus on the tasks at hand and not get ahead of ourselves. Daeva and Lazarus won’t wait around for us to explore the dynamics of our love lives.”

Tucker moves to stretch, reaching forward with his extensive grip as if preparing for an impending fight. The way his musclesflex and release make me want to whimper and climb him like a personal jungle gym.

It’s a beautiful thing.

He catches me staring and winks. “You’re doing it again.”

I swallow and focus on the ceiling above my weight bar. “Okay, what do we know for sure?”

Zane drops from his pull-up bar and swings his arms to loosen his shoulders. “The technomancer we met with has been useful. Tripp confirmed that every penny stolen from us has been returned. Also, Brandon halted that alternative market proposal before it could push through any regulations.”

“So, our enemies will know we’re on to them,” I say. “Is that good or bad?”

“It’s good,” Huntley says. “Knowing that we’re closing in and taking back what they stole from us might give them pause.”

We can only hope.“If that knocks them off balance, they’ll make a mistake, and we can find them or get the upper hand.”

Zane grabs a towel from the supply cabinet and hangs it around the back of his neck, patting his face dry. “It’s a nice thought, but I have a feeling this guy has contingencies planned out. At most, we’re pissing him off.”

Huntley leans against the wall, arms crossed over his bare chest. “That’s still progress. And once we recover the king’s head…all bets are off.”

My heart squeezes in my chest at the thought of Francesco’s head being someone’s gruesome trophy. I set the weight bar into its cradle, my focus lost. “It’s disgusting.”

Tucker comes over and sets his hand on my shoulder. As always, his touch eases the chaos of the squire magic simmering in my veins. It’s like what’s in me recognizes what’s in him and I’m at peace.

He meets my gaze, warm understanding swirling languidly in those caramel-gold eyes of his. I let out a long breath and the tension in my chest eases.

What this man does to me.

Zane clears his throat and shifts my attention back to business. “It’s safe to say Daeva delivered my father’s head to her sire. So, we find him, retrieve my father’s head, kill Daeva, and slaughter their army of mutts.”

“I want the burgundy-haired bitch,” I say.

Zane nods. “If the opportunity presents itself, she’s yours to kill. If not, she will be made to pay.”

That doesn’t make me feel any better. After watching her taunt my father in his last moments, I want to be the one to take Daeva down. But I hear what Zane is saying. If the opportunity presents itself is really saying ‘if you’re there and you’re ready to take her on’.

Oh, I will be.

As if being called by my desire to make that happen, Jack steps into the room carrying a long, elaborately jeweled box and waves a hand in the air. “Good, you’re all here. Scottie, are you moving forward with what we spoke about?”

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