I feel her gaze burning. She’s studying my tattoo—again. A lot of people look at the tattoo, but it’s different with her.

“Got something to say?”

She sits up ramrod straight. “Excuse me?”

“My tattoo.” I hold out my arm. “Did you have a good look?”

Her eyes widen. “No—I mean yes. I guess.”

“And? Conclusions?”

“Uh... it’s an interesting design.”

Dardan feels the need to insert an opinion here. “It’s an eagle,” he explains to her. “The symbol of Albania. It’s on the flag.”

“Oh! The flag? Cool!” She gives Dardan a big, bright, fake smile.

Dardan puffs up. The best way to manage a man like Dardan is to puff him up, and she seems to know that.

She definitely knows more than she’s saying. At a table full of people trying to shine the spotlight on themselves—how smart orbadass or attractive they are or how much info they have. But this one? She’s hiding her light under a barrel with the ferocity of a badger.

“No,” I break in. “You have something to say. You’re going to say it.”

She turns to me in shock. I note with some satisfaction that those freckles are more pronounced now.

“I didn’t have anything to say. I just didn’t think that’s what your tattoo was, that’s all.”

“What did youthinkit was?”

“An interesting design.”

“You really are one of the worst liars I’ve ever met. Don’t do it again.”

“W-what?”

“You said, ‘I didn’t think that’s what it was,’ which implies you thought it was something other than the eagle from our flag. And now you’re going to tell me what that something would be.”

Her gaze flares hot.

Dark enjoyment pulses through my veins.

I raise my brows. “Well?”

People have fallen silent. Everybody watches her. Maybe they think I’m going to kill her. Dardan frowns. He doesn’t like his whore talking to me.

“Well, I thought it might be Arianiti’s eagle. Just... whatever?—”

“Excuse me?”

“Arianiti’s eagle. He’s a prince from... some old history book.”

I narrow my eyes. It’s a very obscure thing to know. “What else?”

She furrows her brow. “What do you mean, ‘What else?’”

“When a person uses the phrase ‘what else’ in the way that I just did, it’s a request for elaboration.”

She raises her chin, taking offense now, and, God, there’s that scorn. Something dark and wicked swells inside me.