Page 28 of Shadow Master
He strode out of the room, leaving me with Kash and a bunch of weavers shooting bolts of magic at each other.
“I’m sorry.” Kash and I spoke at the same time.
He chuckled. “Great minds, eh?”
“I shouldn’t have said what I did. I didn’t mean it.”
He looked toward the empty arch. “You were pissed at Hyde, weren’t you …? You and him—”
“No.” I cut him off. “There is nothing going on between me and Hyde.”
He studied me carefully. “But you want there to be. You have feelings for him, and from the way he was looking at me just now, he feels the same way about you.”
“It doesn’t matter. It can’t happen.”
Kash’s mouth parted. “Oh, man, so it’s true?”
“What?”
“The rumor that Hydes aren’t permitted to have liaisons outside of their kind.”
My gaze snapped up to his. “There’s a rumor.”
His eyes narrowed. “So, itistrue.”
I grabbed his arm and tugged him from the room into a shadowy corner in the hallway.
“Shhh. Yes. It’s true. But it’s a secret, and outsiders aren’t meant to know.”
“Fuck.” Kash ran a hand over his face. “Poor Hyde. Unrequited love is one thing, but requited love that you can’t act on sucks like a bitch.”
Hadn’t I said the exact same thing to Deana? “You don’t mind?”
He touched my cheek lightly. “I mind that it’s causing you pain, but I’d have no problem sharing you with Hyde. I can’t say the same about him, though.” He grinned. “If looks could kill …”
His humor was infectious, and I couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, Hyde isn’t the sharing type. I figure it would take a lot of effort on his part.”
“But if the alternative is losing you …” Kash leaned in, so his lips were mere centimeters from mine. “The choice is easy.” He kissed me softly, his pillowy lips cushioning mine. It was too short and too sweet. “Once this is over, I want a weekend away, just you and me, the open road, and the bike.”
His optimism was infectious, too, and the prospect of an afterward, a reward, was a strange and effective fuel.
“It sounds like heaven.”
“Go now.” He stepped back. “Get packed. I’ll see you at dawn when the runes are ready.”
I left him standing by the arch and headed out to meet Hyde.
Yeah. Hyde was coming with me, and honestly, I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Relieved, excited, wary.
None of that mattered. I needed to focus on what was best for Brady. What was best for our little mission, and there was no denying Hyde’s combat and tactical skills. Having him on my team was a good thing.
I found him petting Athos, and the hound looked like he was loving the attention. Hyde crooned in a low baritone that had me wanting to melt against him. The hound whisperer, they’d called him. Of course. He had a way with the beasts.
I climbed down the steps, and he turned to face me, the calm on his face shifting into irritation.
“Nice public display with the weaver. Is this a ploy to hurt me? To get back at me?”
Oh, boy. “Kash and I have nothing to do with you. I care about him. I’m attracted to him.”
