Page 35 of Kiss of Seduction

“No way!” Blake said. “You didnotdo that.”

Evie grinned. “Stilettos are pointy. And the bouncer wasn’t within earshot. Guy had to hobble out of the club.”

“Good grief.” Flea cringed, his hand going near his groin as if to protect it from an onslaught of sharp heels. “Don’t say stuff like that. You’ll give her ideas.”

“Yeah, she is,” Blake said. She was lying on one of Natalya’s couches, her head in Flea’s lap. “Great ideas.”

“They’ll have to wait. I’m winning tonight.”

Blake slapped his thigh. “No, you’re not.”

“Oh, really?” Flea held up a gold coin, running it over his knuckles. “Then why do I have this?”

“Because you stole it, you dickhead!” Blake tried to grab the coin, but Flea yanked it away. A squabble ensued, with Blake and Flea scratching each other for possession of the coin.

“You’re acting like children,” Lily chided. She was sitting next to Evie on the couch opposite the bickering couple.

Blake scowled at Flea, having managed to pry the coin away from him.

“I’ll remember you did that. And thanks to Evie, I know just how to show my annoyance.”

Flea pulled her onto his lap, laughing into her hair. “Please, no! I was just teasing.”

“Fuck you,” Blake said, but she was smiling. She gave Flea a kiss, biting his lip when he tried to steal the coin out of her hand.

Evie laughed at the couple playfighting. In the weeks since Stefano’s attack, she’d gotten a habit of inviting Blake and Lily over when the two women had a window to see her. That evening, Blake had brought Flea, and the two almost never stopped squabbling.

Evie noticed Lily looking at them. She was smiling, but the sadness in her eyes made it look pitiful. Evie nudged her shoulder.

“You alright?”

“It’s nothing.” She looked back at the dining table where Natalya and Aleksander were sitting. “I just miss him. We haven’t been together in a while. Everything’s been so busy.”

Evie followed her gaze. Natalya and Aleksander were engaged in conversation, sitting next to one another so they could face the couches Evie and her guests were sitting on. The vampire was as imposing as ever, his face dour and dark.

In the time Evie had lived in Natalya’s apartment, the King of Chains had been there several times. He barely looked at her, and Evie still tensed whenever she saw him.

“Aren’t you scared of him?”

“He’s scary.” Lily smiled, the sadness fading from her face. “But he doesn’t scare me. He did at first, and sometimes he does frightening things. But he wouldn’t hurt me.”

Evie’s eyes trailed to the fresh bite marks on Lily’s wrist.

“I don’t mind that he feeds on me,” she said, having noticed the look. She blushed. “I like it, actually. He’s always careful, even when he pretends not to be.”

“He scaresme,” Evie admitted. “They all do. A little, at least.”

“Even Natalya?”

“Not Natalya.” Evie thought about the pouch of salt she still slept with every night. Since the evening in the kitchen weeks before, she considered it a charm. Like holding it would keep the strange thoughts about Natalya at bay. It didn’t really work. “Not all the time.”

“If you’re scared, you should talk to her. Let her know if you need some distance. Natalya can be harsh, but if she’s scaring you, I’m sure—”

“It doesn’t matter,” Evie interjected. “I just need to get used to things being different. And Georgina says I’m doing fine, so…”

She didn’t share what was really going on. That the sessions with Georgina had turned into hours of spiteful small talk as the therapist tried to get Evie to open up about the Varro discussions. About how they made herfeel.

Occasionally patrol members would come and ask Evie about certain names and words. They still didn’t know why Varro wanted her so badly, and there had been so many conversations she’d overheard at his estate. Recounting them was painful, and while it provided interesting information for the Chains, they still weren’t satisfied.