Page 27 of Stalk the Dark
“You mean if anyone found out the triplets were yours?”
“Yes. So, I made an arrangement with the head of the Dracul chapter house to act as guardian of the triplets in my absence.”
“Padma didn’t tell me.”
“She probably expected me to brief you personally since I’m here.”
“But you weren’t going to, were you?”
“With it being a rising year, and the fact I’ll be staying in Dracul territory for a while, it didn’t seem too important.” He threw a quick glance my way. “But now you know…It’s best you know.”
He took a right at the traffic lights, his jaw flexing as if he was chewing something over. I waited for him to continue, but instead he lapsed deeper into silence.
I guessed he was done on the topic. “I’m sorry today was cut short for you.”
He looked over with a small smile, an echo of the sunshine ones of earlier. “Me too, Orina. Me too.” His attention dropped back to the road. “But I know something that will cheer me up.” He took a left at the intersection onto a narrow street lined with shops. Asupermarket, a coffee shop, a bookstore, and right on the corner an ice cream parlor. “Do you like ice cream, Orina?”
I gave him an incredulous look. “Do suckers live in sewers?”
He grinned, a full-blown Ordell grin that made my stomach erupt with butterflies. “I’m buying.”
Chapter 10
Whistlethorpe Ice Cream Parlor was owned by a man named Perry and did every flavor of ice cream I could think of, but I went with my go-to flavor of mint chocolate chip. Ordell settled on the tart flavor of raspberry ripple but had Perry add chocolate sauce.
The cone looked tiny in his hand and his tongue large and flat when he took a swipe of it. I needed to stop staring. I looked away, cheeks hot as I focused on my own cone.
“Let’s sit and eat them here,” Ordell said. “There’s a window table. We can watch the world go by.”
I followed him across the room, suddenly realizing why it felt so good being in his company. Ordell made decisions so I didn’t have to, and in my line of work, that was a luxury that was often denied me. Decision-making was exhausting, and after a while, even thesmall choices were a drain, so being with Ordell was like a vacation.
We settled at the table face-to-face, bodies angled so we could watch the street. The wind had picked up, and people walked faster, clutching at the lapels of their jackets, chins tucked in to hide their faces from the worst of the bitter cold.
There was something deliciously rebellious about eating ice cream in this weather.
“We should pick up some hot chocolates on the way back,” Ordell said. “There’s a place by the carriage park.”
He really did have a sweet tooth. “Ice creamandhot chocolate? This is new. I could get used to this.” My tone was light and teasing, but his expression sobered immediately, ocean blues boring into me searchingly.
“I’m sure you’ve been pampered on your dates plenty of times, haven’t you?”
I dropped my gaze to my cone. “I don’t date. No time.” Not strictly true, but it would do.
“There’s always time to make connections, Orina.” His tone dropped intimately low, inviting me to share.
“I have connections. Some friends for life. My Order. It’s enough.”
“And love?”
My chest ached, but I forced an eye roll. “Yeah, I’m not sure that’s for me.” I wrinkled my nose. “I’ve seen what love can do to people. It’s messy and confusing, not to mention emotionally painful.”
His eyebrows pinched. “And you prefer to keep your emotions in check, don’t you?”
I shrugged. “It works for me.”
“And sex?”
Wow, he didn’t hold back, did he? “What about it?”
