Page 28 of Stalk the Dark
He lapped at his ice cream, and I couldn’t help but track the motion of his tongue. “Do you have sex often?”
The flutter between my thighs over his ice cream licking action reminded me just how long it had been since I’d seenanykind of action. “That’s a little personal, don’t you think?”
“Maybe.” His eyes darkened, his intimate tone deepening. “But I can tell you that sex is important. Our bodies need it to thrive. You should have it often.” He shrugged. “If you want, you can have sex with me.”
I almost choked on my ice cream, coughing to clear my airways. Had I heard him correctly? The intense look on his face told me that yes, yes, I had. “How generous of you.”
He kept his gaze locked on me as he licked his cone, and my body prickled with desire, nipples hardening painfully, trapped in the confines of my sturdy bra. He licked his lips, and once again I tracked the movement like a depraved hussy. Was he doing it on purpose? To turn me on? Whatever the case, it was working.
Ordell wasn’t the first attractive male I’d come across since being ordained, but he was the first toelicit such powerful physical reactions. This man was going to be a problem.
“Let me rephrase that,” he said finally, tone soft and hushed with words meant only for me. “I find you attractive, and I’d like to have sex with you on a regular basis. I believe we’ll have a rough year ahead of us, and having someone to help relieve the tension with will be healthy. No strings. Just fucking and friendship.”
My stomach flipped, and I dropped my gaze, not wanting him to read the longing in my eyes because sex wasn’t an option. Not for me. Not for any ordained. But it was also something we were forbidden to talk about. It was dangerous information in the wrong hands. Luckily, he took my silence and my lowered gaze as bashfulness.
“I’ve been too forward, haven’t I?” he said with a sigh.
I shook my head. “No. It’s fine.”
“I mean it, though. The offer is on the table. Think on it. No pressure.”
Our gazes locked. Heat zinging between us a live electrical connection that needed to be?—
A shadow slammed into the window. I jerked away from the glass, staring at the huge bird sitting on the sidewalk. It had a silver capsule dangling from its neck. “What the fuck?” It glared at me then flew up and pecked at the glass. “Ordell?” I looked over, but he was gone, and a moment later, he appeared outside. The bird flew up to perch on his arm, and Ordell fiddledwith the capsule. He leaned in and whispered to the bird, then raised his arm for it to take off into the air again.
I sat forward as he rejoined me at the table. “What was that?”
“A raven. It’s how most messages are sent, and it’s used most heavily in Old Town.”
The perch and the bell at the mansion suddenly made sense.
“I have to get back to Old Town,” Ordell said, distracted now. “I’ll drop you back at the mansion.”
I guessed our bonding time was over.
Just as well, really.
The journeyback was mostly silent with Ordell deep in his thoughts while mine drifted to the evening to come. I needed more information on Ezekiel, and the best place to find it would be in the archives.
Mind on the task ahead, I swung myself out of the cab seat as soon as Ordell brought the carriage to a halt.
“So you didn’t need my help after all,” Ordell said.
I looked over my shoulder as I made my way to the house. “Never said I did. You presumed. Or maybe you just wanted to touch me.” Why did I say that?
He let out a bark of laughter. “See you later, angel.”
The clatter of hooves followed me into the house, and even though there was so much yet to sort out and understand about this place, I couldn’t help but take a smile with me.
I found Edwin in the living room with Padma. The fire roared in the hearth, and they sat reading on the cushy sofas. There was no sign of Merry or Haiden. Active Order members who were inactive…Yeah, this wouldn’t do. Not for long.
“Edwin, can you show me the archives?”
He looked up from his book, a dazed expression on his face as he surfaced from whatever story he was immersed in. “Sure.”
“I can take her,” Padma said. “This book is shit anyway.”
Edwin shot her a grateful smile.
