Page 73 of Carnal Urges
It’s not a sexual thing. He’s just hiding.
Looking down at his dark head, I say quietly, “What did you promise him?”
“Nothing.”
He doesn’t look up when he speaks. That’s how I know he’s lying.
I sink a hand into his hair and tug. Finally, he glances up at me,biting his lip. His hands tighten around the backs of my thighs. He looks about ten years old.
“Whatever it was, Kage will find out. And when he does, he’ll kill you.”
“I don’t care. I saved you. That’s all that matters to me. That you’re safe.”
My smile must look very sad, because Stavros’s brows draw together. I murmur, “Sweet boy. What makes you think I needed saving?”
He says angrily, “He took you. Hetookyou.”
“I know what he did.”
The anger fades. Gazing up at me with pleading eyes, he swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I thought if I… if you… that maybe we…”
I sigh, stroking his hair. “Oh, Stavi.”
That’s all I have to say before he goes back to hiding his face between my legs. “Come on,” I say, smoothing a hand over his hair. “Get up. We have to talk.”
His voice turns petulant. “I don’t want to talk. I know what you’re going to say.”
“Stavi—”
“No!”
I used to hate it when he’d get like this, stubborn as a child denied his favorite toy. I also hate the only thing that can budge him.
“If you’re good, I’ll let you do it.”
He goes still. His voice comes out small. “You will?”
“Yes. Get up.”
In one swift unbending of limbs, he’s standing, looking down at me with his heart in his eyes.
No, not his heart. The organ he’s looking at me with is farther south than that.
I point to the nearest chair. “Sit.”
He obeys without hesitation. I sit across from him in another one of the cream-colored leather captain’s chairs. The jet’s engines roar to life. “Buckle up.”
He fastens the safety belt over his lap, then sits there staring at me, fidgeting.
“Tell me what you promised him.”
“I can’t.”
“When Kage finds out, I’m the only one who might be able to help you.”
“He won’t find out.”
He gazes longingly at my shoes. I have to force myself not to heave a sigh.
