Page 86 of Kiss the Dawn
“What’s wrong?”
She shakes her head “Nothing. Do you want some tea?”
There was nothing else to do right now. “Sure.”
It’slate by the time I leave Jacqueline’s manor, and by the time I get to the chapter house, Merry and Holly are asleep. The news of our breakthrough on thesymbol will have to wait till the morning, and tomorrow night we’ll find it and hopefully the bastards behind it.
I grab a quick bite to eat alone in the kitchen. Haiden, the sweetheart, left a bunch of precooked meals for us, all frozen so all we had to do was pop them in the microwave. I scarf some lasagna and head to bed.
My scrapbook sits on my bedside table. Did I leave it out? It’s open at a photo of me and Edwin. We’re looking at each other and holding back laughter.
I remember the day this was taken, a month before most of our team was decimated. Kimmy’s birthday party. We’d played a game where someone told jokes and you had to try not to laugh. Edwin and I had been the last two standing. In the end he’d laughed and lost, but thinking back on it now, I was sure he’d let me win.
I close the book and tuck it into the dresser drawer, then get ready for bed.
I’m about to climb under the sheets when the temperature drops sharply. I know what this is. It’s the entity.
“Hello?” The room is silent and empty. No indication there’s anyone here but me, and I’m beginning to think the cold is just a draft when the lights flicker.
“Hi. Okay. You’re here. We need to talk.” I sound tougher than I feel. “How about we do this—one flicker for yes and two for no. Does that work?”
One flicker.
“All right. Do you mean me harm?”
Two flickers.
“Good to know.” I can’t ask him who he is or what he wants because those questions require more than yes or no responses. There is one thing he can confirm or deny for me, though. “Are you recharging in some way? Is that why you can’t manifest?” Nothing happens for several beats, then the lights flicker once. I’m right. “Is there something I can do to help?”
The lights go crazy, flickering over and over, and if the temperature was chilly a moment ago, it’s positively arctic now.
A low moan fills the room, and shadows coalesce into a human form by the window. It’s a large and bulky human with piercing amethyst eyes. “You…did…this…” he says, his voice like gravel.
“What?”
“How…free? Tell me…” Ice sinks into my bones as he manifests fully, six-four with eyes like arcane fire. “Tell me the terms, witch.”
“I’m not a witch, what are you?—”
He lunges at me and vanishes. The temperature in the room slowly rises.
What the fuck is going on?
Chapter 31
ORINA
The sun set, and Ezekiel rose from sleep, padding into the sitting room in only his boxers. He had a body made for sin, and I was immediately turned on.
He grabbed a bottle of water and drained it, throat bobbing in a way that made me want to lick it.
Oh God. I needed to get my libido in check.
He set the empty bottle on the counter and prowled toward me. “I’m hungry,” he growled. He dropped to his knees in front of me and gripped my thighs, parting them slowly.
My pussy throbbed. “What are you doing?”
“Getting something to eat.” He licked his lips and slowly dropped his gaze to my panties. Fuck, I was wet already. “I think it’s ready for consumption.” He slid hishands up, parting me further, fingers digging into my flesh as he leaned in so that his mouth was hovering over me, only the thin fabric of my panties between us. His breath warmed me as he spoke.
