Page 31 of Shadow Warrior
Nine
Kash’s suite was impressive. Huge bay windows with a window seat, and a bed that was made to roll around on. Damn.
I hovered by the door. “I guess you entertain a lot.”
He followed my gaze to the bed. “Actually, you’re the first woman I’ve brought home.”
He sounded almost reflective.
Well, that shut me up. With all his swagger, I’d taken Kash to be a ladies’ man.
He canted his head slightly. “Brought home, Justice. That doesn’t mean I’m a choir boy. I’ve had girlfriends.”
“Then you got stonewalled by Fiona.”
His jaw hardened. “Yes.”
“Shit, shouldn’t have brought her up.”
“It’s fine.” His smile was dangerous. “She’ll get her just rewards. Karma’s a bitch, and in our world, the weaver world, bad energy expelled always comes back to smack you in the face at some point.”
“And Karishma? How do you know her?”
He kicked off his boots. “Distant cousin, several times removed. Her mother and mine are good friends.”
Ah yes, his mother, the one that didn’t want me here. “Your mother mentioned your grandmother wanted me here. What about your father?”
He shrugged. “Dudes don’t get much of a say in anything. Weavers are matriarchal. Some take several lovers and marry the one that gives them a child first. The children take the mother’s name, as does the husband.”
Well, this was new information. “So, Payne only kept his name because he never married?”
“Yes. The Raj family has a few Payne males in our family tree, Paynes that married Raj females. But mostly, we ally with Latrou. The Paynes have a history of sticking to their own, distant cousins marrying each other to keep the shadow caster ability in the Payne family tree.”
“So, why would she want me to make babies with you?”
Kash made a strangled sound. “Shit, Justice, you don’t pull any punches, do you?”
“Waste of time. I mean, based on what you just said, the babies would be Payne.”
“You’re not a Payne, not really, because your mother isn’t a Payne. So, as far as the weaver community is concerned, you’re up for grabs.”
Whoever got me up the duff got to claim me? Nice. No wonder his grandma was eager to have me stay.
Procreation worked strangely for supernaturals. For two nightbloods, it was more than biology; it was intent. We had to want a child to potentially have one, but if we procreated outside of our race, all bets were off. In some cases, the pairings would prove infertile and in others not. There was no telling until you tried. Supes couldn’t catch or carry sexually transmitted illnesses, and so nightbloods rarely used protection. I wasn’t sure how things worked for weavers, but I knew it couldn’t be via intent, because otherwise, Payne would have suspected I was his when my mother had me.
Kash was looking thoughtful.
“What is it?”
He frowned. “I don’t want you to think that’s why I’m helping you.”
“Huh?”
“I’m not helping you to find out about Payne so I can get into your pants. It’s not who I am.”
I fixed an offended look on my face. “So, you don’t want to get in my pants?”
He smiled that slow-burn, sexy smile that had me melting. “I didn’t say that.” He padded toward a door to the left, tugging off his T-shirt along the way. “I’m going to take a shower.”
