Page 21 of Dark Shaman: Love Found (The Children Of The Gods #99)

"I know." She cupped his cheek, and he leaned into the touch. "We have to be careful. You heard the butler. This place has eyes everywhere, and if we cause the lord humiliation…"

He shivered. "He'll have us both executed."

"We just need to be careful." She kissed him again, softer this time, savoring rather than devouring. "And we actually need to look through some boxes to make it look legitimate."

He sighed. "You're right."

They walked over to the wall of boxes, selecting one at random. Inside were crystal glasses, carefully encased in bubble wrap. Another held silver candlesticks tarnished with age. A third revealed painted plates depicting pastoral Italian scenes.

"It feels like an archaeological dig," Tamira murmured, lifting out a delicate figurine of a shepherdess. "Uncovering layers of the house's history."

"This must have been beautiful," Elias said, examining an ornate frame. "All this classical elegance stripped away for..." He gestured upward, indicating the stark modernity above them.

"Navuh must have gone through a phase." Tamira rewrapped the shepherdess. "I wonder if immortals get midlife crises. Or maybe someone told him that the Italian villa style was outdated and that he needed to modernize."

"He did that without consulting any of you?"

She snorted. "Haven't you realized by now that everything in the lord's domain is compartmentalized?

We don't belong in his mansion. We belong in the harem.

Over there, Lady Areana has nearly complete control over everything that's happening on the inside, but she has no say here.

I'm surprised that he's allowing her to redecorate.

Perhaps he hates the new decor just as much as we do. "

They opened several more boxes, and Tamira made mental notes of items she might want to take to her room or that might somehow blend with the modern art in the public areas.

A pair of bronze bookends shaped like lions was definitely going to her room.

The set of paintings depicting mythological scenes would look great in the dining room.

The throw pillows in rich burgundy might add warmth to her stark white couch.

"We should take something up," Elias suggested. "Evidence of our productivity."

"The bookends," Tamira decided. "They are small enough to carry, and I actually want to take them to my room."

As she reached for them, Elias caught her hand. "Wait. We don't know when we'll get another chance like this."

The raw need in his voice matched hers. Without discussion, they ducked behind a large piece of furniture, and this time, the kiss was accompanied by hands going under clothing.

"We need to stop," he murmured against her lips. "The scent you are emitting will make it obvious what we've been up to."

She pulled back to look at him. "You can smell me?"

"Of course. "

"You shouldn't be able to. Only immortals and dogs have such a sharpened sense of smell."

He chuckled, but it sounded forced. "Aren't all men dogs? I've heard that somewhere."

"Seriously, Elias. How can you smell me?"

"How can I not? I'm hyper aware of everything about you."

He didn't have fangs, she reminded herself. He wasn't an immortal. Just a human with extraordinary senses, speed, and strength.

The man she had fallen in love with had all the characteristics of an immortal except for the most obvious ones.

"What do you think they're building over there?" he asked.

It was a misdirection, but Tamira took it since she knew Elias wouldn't tell her anything more about himself and what made him different than any human she'd ever been with.

"Judging by the butler's reaction, nothing good," Tamira said. "But what could be so terrible that even the inner circle fears it? A nuclear bomb?"

Elias chuckled. "He wouldn't be storing it under his own house. It's probably a fancy safe for the treasures he had removed from the harem."

"Right. It's obviously super important to him, and what better place to hide it than here?"

"Perhaps those things need special storage, and that's what he's building over there. We can investigate when we come down here for more archeological finds."

She smiled. "This could be the perfect excuse to steal a few private moments, and I won't waste them on investigating a mystery building project. Whatever he's doing over there is none of our business because there is nothing we can do about whatever it is."

"The butler won't leave us alone again," Elias said.

"He will." She pressed closer, unwilling to waste these precious moments on logistics. "He has his chores to attend to. He can't babysit us."

The sound of footsteps echoing through the basement made them spring apart. By the time the butler appeared, they were both examining the bronze bookends, discussing their potential placement in the seating area of her suite.

"Lunch is about to be served," the butler announced.

"We are taking these." Tamira lifted one of the bookends. "I hope that's okay."

"If Lord Navuh said it is, then who am I to say no?"