Page 16 of Kiss of Steele (The Royal Occult Bureau #9)

SIXTEEN

AS WE WALKED along the corridor towards Oliver’s cabin, Norton brushed past us, his glasses askew on his nose.

He offered a bow, a daft smile on his face. “Good afternoon, Miss Williams, Mr Satchwell.”

“Actually, we are... never mind. Thank you, Detective.” I bobbed a curtsy.

“Goodbye.” He trotted away, waving a hand.

I winced, watching him as he muttered under his breath. “Will he return to normal?”

“Give him a few weeks, and he’ll be better.” Rennie knocked on Oliver’s door. “Oliver?” When no reply came, he picked the lock with a metallic rod faster than I could say ‘thief.’

“That’s impressive.”

He grinned. “An agent’s basic skill.”

Since Oliver was double-crossing us, I felt no shame or guilt about rifling through his room.

The air was thick with the smell of Oliver’s cologne. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it was one of those perfumes that stuck in one’s nostrils for a long time. Like Rennie, Oliver had a meticulously organised room. Shirts and trousers were neatly folded in a pile. His shoes formed a row in the wardrobe, and his shaving kit sparkled, as if recently scrubbed.

“Do they teach you how to be perfectly tidy in Sheltenham?” I asked, opening the drawer of the nightstand. “My father is the same. All order and tidiness.”

“The cadets are punished if they leave their clothes around the dormitory. Messy rooms aren’t tolerated. Unshaven chins are considered an abomination. And table manners have to be excellent.”

“Hades, is there anything the cadets aren’t punished for?”

He paused while searching the dresser, brows drawing together. “I don’t think so. Maybe only for not... No, I can’t think of anything.”

“I was joking. Oh, leave it.” A folder fell to the floor when I rummaged through a satchel.

A document with the Royal Occult Bureau’s symbol spilt out of it. The paper was the formal authorisation to catch the lamia alive. All the stamps and signatures from the British office of the bureau in Cairo filled the document.

“Rennie, come here.”

His heat enveloped me when he stood next to me.

I pointed at the bureau’s symbol, the crown with the letters ‘R. O. B.’ underneath. “I think this is a forged document. The gold of the crown isn’t as shiny as it should be. I remember that, when I was a child, I was mesmerised by the way the crown shone in the light, reflecting the colours of a rainbow when tilted at the right angle. Father told me it was printed with a special type of ink to recognise counterfeit documents.”

He took the paper and inspected it in the sunlight. “I think you’re right. It’s a good imitation, but not perfect. It doesn’t mean Oliver is doing anything illegal, though.”

“How can you say that?” I expected a little more enthusiasm from him. “He forged a paper.”

“Maybe someone tricked him, and he honestly thought the document was genuine.”

I pouted. “I don’t believe it.”

“Neither do I, but a man is innocent until proven guilty. We need stronger evidence than this.”

My shoulders slumped. “We’ll keep searching, then.”

He took my chin and tilted it up. “You’ve done a brilliant job.” He brushed his lips against mine, too chastely for my liking.

Before he could pull away, I dug my fingers into his thick hair and held him close for a proper kiss. He responded immediately. His arms circled my waist, and his tongue darted over my lips. The stubble on his chin scratched my cheek when he tilted his head to deepen the kiss. It wasn’t my fault if wetness dampened my drawers. Rennie had the power to ignite my lust with a single, fierce kiss.

The metallic scraping noise coming from the door jolted us. Someone was entering. Rennie took my hand and shoved me under the bed. We snuggled closer as the door opened and someone entered. Judging by the new cloud of perfume hitting my senses, it was Oliver.

“Hell,” he muttered.

When he plonked down onto the bed, the mattress dipped, nearly touching my head. I shot a horrified glance at Rennie and pointed at the forged documents I had left on the nightstand. Rennie gave the slightest shrug.

Oliver removed his shoes and set them in a line next to the nightstand. The bed groaned as he shifted. Then there was silence. He shot to his feet, and the springs in the mattress uncoiled with a snap. A growl came from him.

“Son of a bitch.”

Dash it. He must have seen the documents. I clamped a hand over my mouth.

He paced with long strides, muttering. My nose was tickling from the dust on the floor. I took a deep breath and held it, forcing my muscles to remain still. Instead, Rennie didn’t seem to have any trouble staying motionless. His gaze was focused on Oliver’s feet and his body was tense, but he didn’t look like he’d swallowed wasps, like I was sure I did.

Minutes passed. Oliver stopped pacing. When he slid his shoes on, I wanted to cheer. The moment he left the room, Rennie helped me out of our hiding place and coiled an arm around me as we hurried towards the door. We didn’t speak until we were out of the cabin.

“I’m sorry.” He gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “I shouldn’t have been distracted.”

“I distracted you. So it’s my fault. Where do you think Oliver went?”

“I’ll follow him.” We stopped in front of my cabin. “Stay here. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

“See you later.”

He kissed my cheek before dashing away.

I washed, changed, and read a book, but after an hour, I grew worried about Rennie. What was he doing? Should I search for him? Maybe Oliver caught up with him. I fiddled with my hands, wondering if I should ask Norton, when there was a knock at the door.

“Monia?”

My traitorous heart gave a kick at the sound of Rennie’s voice.

“You’re back.” I opened the door and beamed. “Did you find?—”

He kissed me hard and slid inside the cabin, gently pushing me back. With the heel of his boot, he shut the door behind him. I was lost in the kiss as his tongue explored my mouth and his hands roamed my body with an urgency that weakened my knees. His hands were working on the buttons of my shirt. Yes! My legs touched the bed. A moment later, I was lying on it with Rennie on top of me.

“I can’t fight it anymore,” he whispered, tracing my jaw with his lips. “But if you want me to leave, just say it.”

“No.” I gripped his biceps. “Don’t leave.”

A sinful smirk twitched his lips. He kissed me again, one hand cupping my breast. The hard length of his erection rubbed exactly where I wanted it to, but it only made me wilder. He scattered kisses on my neck while undoing my shirt. When his hot mouth closed around my nipple, I arched my back, begging for more. A jolt of desire went through me when he slipped a hand under my skirt.

His deft fingers were so close to my throbbing nub. I sighed as he sucked my nipple gently. His shaven chin... shaven? I remembered feeling his stubble earlier. He could have shaved meanwhile, but the smell of the after-shave cologne he used was missing.

I froze, my eyes flaring open. Oh, no. Oh. No. “You aren’t Rennie.”

He lifted his head, and for a terrible split second, his pupils became two vertical slits and his eyes turned black.

I screamed. I couldn’t help it. Yes, it was pretty useless. I should have hit him in the bollocks, although I had no idea if such a move would hurt a lamia. But at that moment, freezing and screaming sounded like a jolly good idea.

He froze too, as if confused. “Stop screaming.”

“Let me go!” I shoved him... it. But it didn’t budge.

“Stop it.”

The door to my cabin was flung open, and Rennie, the real one, barged inside. There was a moment of chilled silence during which we remained still, watching each other. Then Rennie grabbed the lamia by the shoulders and hurled it away. With shaky fingers, I buttoned my shirt and adjusted my skirt. They fought, rolling on the floor, with their identical grey jackets flapping around. I snatched the oil lamp from the nightstand and lifted my arm, ready to strike... but who? Confound it. Who was the real Rennie?

“Hit him!” one of the two yelled.

But what if he was the wrong one? From here, I couldn’t see Rennie’s stubble.

“Monia, hit him!” the other one said.

Oh, blast it. I shifted my weight as Rennie One punched Rennie Two in the temple. I didn’t know if I should cheer or despair. Rennie One straddled Rennie Two and rained punches on his face. Groans and grunts filled the room.

“Monia!” Rennie Two, the one being punched, said.

“Lawrence?” I called, taken by a sudden inspiration.

Rennie Two nodded. “It’s me.”

A thud ricocheted off the walls when I smashed the oil lamp onto the nape of Rennie One. His eyes rolled back into his skull, and he dropped to the floor in a heap of limbs.

“Ha! Take that!” I smiled at Rennie. “I knew you would have answered if I’d called you Lawrence.”

Rennie’s eyes flashed black, the colour of onyx. “Thank you, darling.” He sprang up and darted out of the room, which meant the unconscious Rennie on the floor was the real one. And I had bludgeoned him into oblivion.

Oops.

I crouched next to him and brushed his hair from his bruised face. “Rennie, please say something.”

He didn’t stir. I touched his neck. His heartbeat was slow but steady. I took the basin of water and cleaned the blood from his face. A lump was clogging my throat.

“Rennie?” Fear drummed in my chest. I was about to call the doctor when he blinked and groaned.

“Hellfire.” He rubbed his face.

Relief washed over me. I knelt next to him and took his hand. “I’m so sorry.”

“My head.”

“I know, I know.” I put the wet cloth on his nape.

“Bloody hell, woman. You knocked me out.”

“I thought the other one was the real Rennie when I called him Lawrence and he answered.”

He shot me a glare. No lamia could imitate that look. “I was in the middle of a fight. Why would I reply if you called me Lawrence?”

“I didn’t know what to do, all right? We should discuss a watchword, something that will identify you.”

He sat up, groaning. “I almost caught it.”

“Sorry.”

He waved a dismissive hand. “I’m grateful you didn’t kill me.” Rubbing the back of his neck, he eyed the bed. “Were you and the lamia... ?”

Heat flushed my face, which was ridiculous. Rennie and I had enjoyed some intimate moments, but being caught doing the same things with someone else caused my chest to tighten in shame.

“Well, a bit. I thought it was you. I did wonder, though, why you wanted to have a proper fumble right in the middle of the day.” I cleared my throat. “Admittedly, I didn’t question that part much. I was too enthralled by the activity.”

He chuckled, his chest rising and falling quickly. “Was it any good?”

“No!” I wiped more blood from his chin. “Something was missing. You are inimitable. Unique. My only one.”

His smile vanished. “Am I? Your only one?”

I caressed his cheek. “You are.”

Holding my hand, he kissed my wrist. “So are you. You have wrapped me around your little finger.”

“Not as much as I’d like, since you don’t want to have a proper fumble with me.”

“Who says I don’t want to? It’s only the bloody work that keeps me away from you. Speaking of which. Sorry it took me so long. I left the ship to send a wire to the bureau.” He kissed my wrist again. “Apparently, Oliver has a hefty debt due to some unwise financial investments. The man Oliver met in Bellini Garden is most likely an Unnatural smuggler, willing to pay Oliver a large sum of money for the lamia.”

I sat back, shocked by the fact a man like Oliver, who was supposed to protect innocent people, was selling Unnaturals. “How awful.” I dabbed another cut on Rennie’s chin.

I shifted next to him on the floor. My arm was sore after I’d used all my strength to hit Rennie. If it hadn’t been for the shaven chin, I would have left the lamia to keep going. The devil was in the details. The lamia should have known Rennie had stubble today. The last time his cheeks had been shaven was when we—“Oh, my gosh. I think I know where the lamia is.”