Page 73 of Marked
“Do you want me to?”
“Please?”
My eyes close. “Baby girl, you never have to ask.”
She is silent for so long, I wonder if she hung up. “The manor has kitchens, right?”
My brows knit. “Yeah. Why?”
“How about I makeyoubreakfast?” I try not to grin like a fucking fool, but it’s hard. So hard. “Do you like omelets?”
I lean against the rail, my chest aching and my gut in knots. “Baby girl, you can make me a bowl of cereal if that’s what you want to do. But I already know what I want for dessert.”
She inhales, and the sound is breathy. Sexy. “You do? What?”
My eyes cast gold light across the shiny tabletops downstairs, and there is no way to make the glow stop. Not now. “You.”
Chapter 32
Lilah
I wipe down my stationonelast time, and try not to glance at the door for thethousandthtime since I hung up the phone with Ruin. He sounded tired, almost defeated. All I want is for my shift to be over so we can go home.
My head shakes at the absurdity. The manor went from a house of supernatural horrors to home in a matter of days. Between Raina, Ruin, and his team— hell, even Markus, the place feels safe. Warm and inviting. And it’s hard to rationalize the change, so I push it away for now.
Underground’s dining hall has wound down, and only a few calls for burgers go back and forth to the kitchen. Most of the patrons have migrated off towards the dance floor across the way, or back home, bedfellow in tow.
With Larry still missing, tonight’s show, an impromptu soulful act provided by none other than the massive VIP guard, Prisma, went off without a hitch. The man has quite a voice. But the only way we could get him to sing was to drape his wife, Veronica, over the grand piano in a fire-red gown.
And sang he did.
They were so good, Raina is considering upgrading their job titles. Though I wholeheartedly agree, it was hard to look at Veronica after the show she put on the night before.
With nothing left to scrub, I drop my rag in the bucket and hoist it in my grasp. Caine lurks nearby, his sinister façade drawn up. “Hey, Caine?”
He turns, some of that dark emotion fading like you wiped his face clean of it. “Yes, little bird?”
I can’t help but smile. “I’m gonna go dump this and wash up a bit. You need anything?”
He shakes his head, but pushes from the wall to trail after me.
“It’s just to the kitchen.”
His lips tighten. “Little bird...”
“I know. Witness protection,” I say with an eye roll. “But it’s like twenty foot.” Still he hesitates, torn, I know, between whatever Ruin said to him earlier and the fact the front entrance is the only one not locked and barred right now. And he has been standing in front of it for almost six hours.
“Look, I’ll scream if anything happens, fair enough?”
He snorts, but resumes holding the wall upright with a dagger pointed firmly in my direction. “Five minutes, little bird. And then I come after you.”
I laugh. “I’ll make sure Ruin knows you were so dedicated, you scary demon, you.”
His features warp into distaste. “Blasted humans and their infernal sentiment. It would make a weaker demon soft,” he mutters. But I don’t miss the last glance over my frame, either.
I laugh again and slip behind the bar to the kitchen. Inside, bright lights shine down on pristine marble counters and stainless commercial appliances. The delicious aroma of grilled meat fills my nose. My stomach rumbles.
“I heard that,” Teddy calls from the griddle as I pass. He flips the last two patties and glances over. His dark hair is pulled back from a thick face. Not fat, just thick. Meaty. The old shifter appraises me. “You hungry, girly?”
