Page 74 of Kiss the Dawn
I swallowed past the dryness in my throat. “Okay, so we’re good, then.”
He released me and tucked his hands into his pockets.Yes. I better get back to the office, but I’ll be in touch and…He sighed.About last night and the text message I sent?—
You don’t have to explain. It’s fine. I’m fine.
His gaze dropped to my mouth for a beat, and then he looked away, twin spots of color blooming high on his cheeks, and damn did it feel good to know I affected him. He wanted me. He just thought he was doing the right thing by keeping his distance.
I could live with that.
For now.
I backed up with a smile. “I best get back to work.”
Yes, of course.He picked up his umbrella, tore his gaze from me, and headed for the door.
I took pleasure in watching him leave because that man had the nicest ass.
The package arrived justafter three.
A small rectangular machine that looked like a cross between a mobile phone and a tablet, except it was embedded with crystals.
I carried it into one of the interrogation rooms and used the instructions to activate it. Mouth dry, pulse racing, I pressed the open channel button, set it on the table, and stood several feet away.
A couple of seconds passed, and then the air began to hum. The crystals lit up, and a cone of blue light shot up from the contraption.
The haze cleared a little, and a face appeared, wide dark eyes looking this way and that from an oval face framed in silvery locks.
“Is it working?” she asked, her voice soft and breathless. “Is it—” She blinked sharply and focused on me. “Oh…”
I lifted a hand in greeting. “Hi.”
She smiled shyly. “Hello, Orina. What a lovely name. I’m so glad to see you, finally…” Her gaze tracked over me. “You’re so beautiful.”
“I guess I take after my mother,” I said wryly.
He cheeks pinkened. “I, um…that’s very sweet.” She looked away at something I couldn’t see and nodded. “I’m told you wished to speak to me. To see me. That you have questions. I’ll do my best to answer them.”
My heart sank, because hadn’t she wanted to see me too? My face must have reflected my thoughts because she shook her head quickly.
“I wanted to see you too, of course I did, I just…I never expected it to be a possibility and—” She broke off again to look to the side, and her mouth tightened slightly in annoyance—the first flash of fire I’d seen on her face. The first sign of me. “I know,” she bit out. Then to me, “We don’t have much time. The connection won’t hold for long. I assume you want to know why I gave you to the Order?”
“Yes.”
“I wanted to save you from this life. The duty of procreation. I wanted to free you, so when he found me and offered to take you off the Isle, I jumped at the chance.”
“Who was he? What was his name?”
“I don’t know. He never gave a name.”
“And you just gave him your baby?”
“He had a blessing on his arm. Hewaswith the Order. I could feel his power.”
“And he just happened to cross your path.”
She looked away, her gaze almost shifty, then up again at the person out of my view. Her jaw hardened, and she exhaled. “Fine. I knew him from before I was mated. We met when an Order envoy came to the Isle. We were lovers for a brief time and even after…we kept in touch. I spoke to him of my worries and my grief when I lost your father. I told him I feared for you, and he offered to take you. It went from there.”
“His name. I need his name.”
