Page 18 of Shadow Warrior
“Oh, haha. Yeah, sure.” She popped her head out the door and pointed down the corridor. “Second to last door across the hall.”
“Thanks.”
I left her to pack and headed to Kash’s door. What if he wasn’t here? I knocked and waited.
Nothing.
I knocked again to be sure. A muffled curse was followed by the thud of feet. The door opened, and Kash stood on the threshold. His hair fell across his forehead in a tousled bedhead style, his T-shirt was rumpled, and he was dressed in jeans hanging low on his slender hips, but my eyes were drawn to the amulet around his neck. Looked like Madam Latrou had come through. With the amulet, he wasn’t siphoning constantly off everyone. He could control his ability all the time by finally connecting to the weave. He’d needed my help to act as a valve to relieve the pressure when he’d siphoned the energy from the cadets and knights. He’d needed me to feed the energy back to the weave, and in doing so, I’d finally found my own two-way connection to the weave.
But he didn’t need me now.
He had the amulet.
He stretched and yawned. “Fuck, must have fallen asleep.” He backed up. “Come in.”
His room smelled sweet, like honeysuckle. There was a dresser, slightly rumpled bed, computer, and a bookcase filled with books. There was also a chill-out area and a mini-fridge.
“Nice room.”
He shrugged. “Pretty standard.”
“You obviously haven’t seen how the other half lives then.”
He tucked his hands into his pockets and studied me from beneath his dark brows. “You saying I have it cushy?”
“Hell, yes, you do. You have a mini-fridge and a television in your room.”
“You don’t?”
“Me?” I let out a harsh laugh. “Shadow cadets don’t have a fixed abode. Most of the time, I’m sleeping in a dorm with a bunch of guys.”
His brows shot up. “Really?”
I guess that wasn’t classified information kept at bay by the shadow oath. It had tripped off my tongue easily enough. “Trust me, this is cushy.”
“In that case, you should see my quarters back home.”
It was my turn to raise my brows. “I have no interest in seeing your quarters.”
His eyes dimmed. “So, you won’t be coming to the weaver ball?”
“What? No. I want to go.”
He smiled, and there was a hint of smugness to that action. “In that case, you’ll be seeing my quarters. The weaver ball is a big deal. I told them I was bringing you, a Payne. I told them you were my … date.”
Why had he hesitated like that? “Kash … do they think we’re a couple?”
He caught his bottom lip between his teeth. “Would that be so awful? I mean …” He bridged the distance between us. “Do you not find me attractive?”
That damn peachy smell had me taking deep, hungry breaths. Yummy. “You’re attractive, Kash. You’re just not my type.”
He arched a dark brow. “Oh, and what is your type? Brawn and testosterone?”
I bobbed my head from side to side, mouth turned down as if considering this. “Pretty much.”
His tongue peeked out to touch the corner of his mouth as if he was tasting his own lip balm, and why did that make me want to taste it too?
“Shame,” he said. “I’ve got skills.”
