Page 76 of Cast in Shadow
“So they can see us tangled up and naked together? No thanks.”
A subtle tension filled the air. “No one else gets to see you naked.”
And just like that, my broody, possessive demon was back. I peeled out of his arms and turned to face him. “Which is precisely why I need to go.”
“Can’t you just call?”
Technically? Yes, but there was a reason I left my phone in my suite and drove my personal vehicle. I’d come here not knowing what to expect, and I sure as hell wasn’t ready to share whatever this thing between us—whatever it was—with anyone else.
“No. Plus, we still have a few things to sort out if we’re going to corner Megan.”
“Right. The witch.” Emerson rolled back against the soft pillows and stretched out his long, naked body in a blatant enticement.
Forget being a demon. This man was the devil incarnate.
My gaze trailed down his muscled chest and abs to where his heavy cock rested against his stomach. It took me longer than it should have to drag my attention back up to relatively safe ground.
“Have you been spreading the word?” I asked, praying he couldn’t sense the way seeing him like that had my blood warming again.
He eyed me without responding.
“Come on. This is the plan we all agreed to.”
His job was to warn others in the magical community that a witch was planning to reach out to the veil. That kind of news would spread quickly, especially coming from one of the Brethren. The smart ones would keep their distance, but it would be sure to draw Megan’s attention.
He ran his tongue over the ridge of his teeth before dipping his head. “I’ve been doing my part, but I still don’t like this.”
“And I still don’t see a better option. Unless you have something you’d like to share with the class?”
He stared back at me in silence.
“That’s what I thought.” I climbed out of his sinfully soft bed and started gathering my clothes off the floor.
Emerson watched without saying a word, at least not until Iwas fully dressed and looking at him through the massive hole in the wall between his living room and bedroom. At least he’d cleaned up the mess from his short tangle with Nguyen.
“Remember what I said,” he warned, his voice dipping low.
“About?”
“Running.”
I rolled my bottom lip between my teeth. “Hypothetically, what happens if I do decide to run?”
He sat up slowly, a threat glinting in his blue eyes. “I will hunt you to the end of this world and into the next.”
Damn. I was tempted to fan myself. “That’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think?” I teased despite the tightness in my chest.
Before I could blink, he was off the bed, across the room, and holding me captive to his kiss. When he pulled back, any hint of playfulness I might have imagined in his expression was gone. “I lost you once, Senna. I won’t let it happen again.”
I swallowed hard. “I’m not running, but things are bound to get complicated.”
“I can do complicated. What I can’t do is spend another century without you.”
Way to grab the blade and twist.
What was I supposed to say? I’d changed so much in the years in between, more than he knew, but he was different too. The old Emerson never would have let me see this side of him.
He pressed a gentler kiss to my lips. “Come back tonight.”
