Page 19 of A City of Smoke and Demons
Her fingers, woven through that white-blond hair.
Analise got to her feet. She put her coat on and bent to collect her boots. What he was doing in her morgue was a mystery foranother day because her only objective was sneaking out before he woke up.
Keeping her eyes on him, she backed carefully towards the door.
It wouldn’t open.
She jiggled the brass knob as much as she dared, but it wouldn’t budge. Desperate, Analise tucked her boots beneath her arm and put her back to the sleeping man, tugging on the door with both hands.
‘Come on, come on,’ she hissed under her breath.
‘Definitely not one for goodbyes,’ a low, husky voice drawled. ‘You’ll need these.’
Analise spun around to find Ezra, on his back now, dangling a set of brass keys from one hand, the other tucked casually beneath his head. His smile was crooked.
‘Let me out,’ she demanded.
He shook his head.
She grit her teeth. ‘Give me those keys!’
The corners of his lips twitched, like this was one big game to him. He waved the keys at her and when she didn’t move, ‘No? Okay, then.’ He went to put them beneath the pillow.
Analise dropped her boots and launched herself at him.
She landed across his chest as he shoved the keys out of her reach, catching both her wrists in strong hands. He held her steady as she struggled, his expression amused, and when she twisted her head to try and sink her teeth into his forearm, he flipped them over. Pinned beneath him, Analise couldn’t move. His lingering warmth on the mattress pressed against her back. Their faces were inches apart, his breath on her face, the heat of his bare chest sinking through her clothes.
‘You fucking bastard!’
‘Insulting my parents, that’s lovely,’ Ezra retorted. ‘They were married, if you must know.’ Up close, his eyes looked likethe sky had collided with a patch of grass. Beautiful, she thought, cheeks heating.
‘You can’t keep me here.’
‘I’ll definitely have fun trying,’ he murmured.
Someone knocked on the door and they both froze. She opened her mouth to scream, and Ezra slammed his hand over it, releasing her wrist. Her fingers wound through his hair and tugged, hard, forcing his head away from her. He gave her a wicked smile.
‘Doesn’t bother me—I don’t mind pain.’
She bit the fingers pressed against her mouth. He yanked his hand away.
‘I’ll pull more than your hair next time.’
‘Please do,’ he whispered, winking.
‘Ez, unlock the bloody door!’ a muffled, male voice called, knocking again. ‘Are you in there? Ezra!’
Ezra released her, backing away from the bed, but not moving any further. Mutinous tears pricked Analise’s eyes. She blinked furiously, determined not to let the bastard see her cry, or see any weakness from her at all. He was looking at her with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion.
The knocking continued. ‘Ezra, for fuck’s sake!’
‘Okay, okay,’ Ezra called back. When he approached the bed, Analise jerked away from him, but he slipped his hand beneath the pillow and retrieved the keys. He strolled to the door, glancing smugly at her over his shoulder.
When the lock clicked, a tall man pushed into the room, face flustered. Analise made a noise of frustration as she tried to untangle herself from the bedclothes.
‘Oh,’ the man said. ‘Sorry, Ez, I …’ He cleared his throat, his eyes narrowing as he swept them over her. ‘Wait. Who’s this?’
‘His prisoner,’ she cut in furiously, ripping the last of the sheets away as Ezra shut the door. ‘Arrest him, or something.’The emblem on the man’s coat—a crested sun, a version of the royal sigil—meant he was Gendarme. Fear nipped at her but she pushed it away.
