Page 37 of A Lion's Heart
He pointed to a crowded glass bar where two bartenders were creating drinks in fluorescent colors. It was only about ten feet away from where they were standing.
“Fine,” Nisa said because, yes, only about ten feet away. He was acting as if he were leaving her on another planet.
Gold did not speak again, but walked away after looking in Kyss’s direction. The second he was out of earshot, Kyss moved closer to Nisa.
“Good job,” she whispered in her ear. “He doesn’t have a clue that you were trying to figure out how to get away from him the moment you stepped into this room.”
Nisa wasn’t going to insult either of them by denying that fact. She did want to roam on her own. Jordin and Zion had walked in their own direction once in the room and a part of her had detested the idea that she had to stay with a chaperon.
“I can see more without him breathing down my neck. Besides, having anyone guard me that close is ridiculous considering nobody in here knows who I am,” she said.
“I agree,” Kyss stated. “And I see something we can do to occupy ourselves while he’s away.”
She was staring straight ahead, to where a man dressed in a gray suit was standing. He looked like he’d just stepped out of a boardroom meeting with his neat yellow tie and carefully pressed white shirt. His head lifted and the quick smile that ghosted his lips said he knew they were staring at him.
“That’s Graham Parker. He’s second in command to Ewen Mackey in the Ruling Cabinet,” Kyss said just before snagging two neon green drinks with limes stuck to the side of the glass.
She handed Nisa one and despite not knowing what it was, Nisa lifted it to her lips for a sip.
“No one in his family has been targeted,” she said with the glass blocking her mouth just in case Graham could read lips.
“Correct. He and Mackey are the only two of the eight members who hasn’t had anything happen to one of their family members,” Kyss continued, holding her glass up in the same position as Nisa. “We should go talk to him.”
“Why?” Nisa asked.
Kyss was actually taking a sip of her drink now, so Nisa answered her own question.
“Because he’s the second in command. So if anyone in the Cabinet was working with a shifter, either it was him, or he would know who it was. Add to that his family’s been safe, and he looks like the one,” she said.
Kyss lowered her glass and smiled brightly. “Let’s go.”
Nisa didn’t think twice. Well, yes, she did because that was her nature. She thought that going over to speak to Graham Parker was harmless because again, he had no idea who she was. Kyss didn’t look like a shifter and there was a room full of people. All they would do is talk and sniff because if Graham was working with a shifter, the scent would stick to him like lint.
“Hi darlin’,” Kyss spoke the moment they were close enough.
Nisa easily dismissed the accent Kyss had adopted and smiled as Graham looked from Kyss to her.
“Hello ladies,” he said and lifted a hand to smooth down his goatee. “Are you alone this evening?”
Kyss had already moved in, to the point that she was now standing right beside him. “We’re together, silly,” she said and then giggled. “And we’re trying to figure out how to have a good time at one of these things. Everyone in here looks so stuffy.”
Nisa watched her working. This was how the cheetah was able to get so much information. She was practically leaning on Graham now, bending just enough so that her halter top gaped open, giving him—and Nisa, for that matter—an unfettered view of her bare breast. Graham did what Nisa suspected any man would do, he looked.
“What type of fun are you interested in?” he asked and lifted a finger to trace along the bared skin just an inch or two away from Kyss’s breast.
“That depends,” Kyss replied and tapped her glass lightly against her chest so that condensation from the glass rolled down her skin.
Nisa was doing good holding her shock at bay until Graham leaned down and licked the droplet of water before asking, “Depends on what?”
Over his head Kyss winked at Nisa.
“Whether or not you have a friend for my friend,” she answered.
Graham stood up straight then and looked at Nisa. “Sure,” he said and licked his lips. “I’ve got lots of friends. Just let me get my keys and we can get to that fun.”
Kyss pouted and stomped her foot. “I don’t like waiting.”
“Oh no,” Graham said and laced an arm around Kyss’s waist, pulling her up close to him. “I won’t keep you waiting, sexy. Stay right here.”
