Page 16 of The Death Dealer (Sentinels of Magic Book 2)

“So, who do you think has it out for me?” Soleil asked.

Trevor almost swallowed his tongue. “How the hell can you be so blasé about it?”

“Honestly?”

He nodded, but realizing she couldn’t see him with her head resting on his chest, he said, “I can’t wait to hear this.”

Soleil sighed. “I believe it’s a case of mistaken identity.”

Her reasoning escaped him, and he told her as much.

“Think about it, Trevor. I don’t go anywhere or do anything other than to a novelty shop in my small town and grow plants. By your own words, I putter around a greenhouse all day.”

“Dalli—”

“Let me finish.” She rolled toward him, and the feel of her full breasts against his chest distracted him. So much that he almost missed hernextwords. “I think the incident at the restaurant was an isolated accident.”

Weaving his fingers in her thick dark curls, he held her still as he stole a kiss. “And the shooting? Seems to me you were the only one on that beach, babe. Theytook aim.”

“What if whoever itwas believedI was Gene’s girlfriend or someone important to him? Maybe it had to do with revenge on him for some reason.”

As much as Trev hated to admit it, she had a point. “Okay. Let’s assume you’re right, and I’m not saying you are because my gut is telling me differently. But suppose it is a case of mistaken identity. You’re still not safe here. Please, let’s get your plant from Stockton and get the fuck off this island.”

“I can do that.” Her grin was too charming for his liking or his peace of mind.

He stroked his fingertips along her healed arm. “Are you in pain?”

“No. I’m okay, Trevor. Truly.”

“When I think about what might’ve happened had you not created that bubble…” Suppressing a grimace along with his shudder, he stared moodily into her worried eyes.

“Are you okay?” she asked. “It seems you care awfully much about?—”

“I don’t,” he stated coldly. “Don’t mistake anything I do for caring, Dalli. It’s a surefire way to get your heart broken.”

“I only meant?—”

Feeling exposed, like his innermost feelings were on display, he pulled away and sat up, presenting his back to her. “I have to meet the others to discuss a second healing session for Lily.”

“Trevor.”

“What?” He winced at his waspish tone. “Sorry. I…” But what could he say? He couldn’t care about her. She was his mark, and when the time came for him to tell the Authority to stuff it up their ass, she’d be someone else’s. The thought created such pain in his gut that he sat on the floor beside the bed and drew up his knees.

“Trevor!” Soleil was beside himin an instant, cradling his face between her palms and staring at him with her large, worried eyes.

After tugging her hands down, he grudgingly acknowledged her concern. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not. You’re pale and sweaty.” Her lips thinned into a straight line, and she looked like she wanted to be anywhere but there. Inhaling deeply, she said, “Tell me why the Authority has it out for me. Maybe we can?—”

“Stay out of my head.”

“But you?—”

“For fuck’s sake, Soleil! Leave it alone!”

The hurt on her face was crushing. Shuttinghislids over tired eyes,hereared back and smackedhishead on the mattress’s edge, doing it a second and third time for good measure.

She drew away, mentally and physically.

“Dalli—”

“No, you’re right. Caring—for either of us—is off the table.”

He fucking hated her icy expression. “It’s not like that. I...”

But it was.

“You should’ve left me to my fate on the beach, Trevor.”

A snap of her fingers clothed her in couture and applied model-perfect makeup. Her hair was swept up in a sleek ponytail, resting high on her head. The neatest he’d ever seen it. Come to think of it, he didn’t care for the form-fitting dress or high heels she’d conjured. Theoveralllook made her appear like just another desperate woman striving for perfection.

But it wasn’t her.

Not his Dalli.

“What… Where…Why…” He scrambled to his feet. “Why are you decked out?”

She followed his gaze to her breasts and gave them a boost with her hands, positioning them higher and causing an abundance of cleavage above the U-shape opening.As shesmoothed her palms down her waist and hips, sheshot him a challenging glare, glamouring her body into runway-ready.

“Isn’t this what you’re used to, Trevor? Incomparable women like Mattie Price.”

“Stop it.” He didn’t care for how sick her pretense made him. There was nothing she needed to prove, and she was as beautiful as ten Matties. “You don’t need to do this for me, Dalli. You’re perfect the way you are.”

“Oh, this isn’t for you. We both know you’re not interested after our single hit-it-and-quit-it encounter.Thisis for me. And perhaps Gene.”

Trevor jumped up and pressed his nose to hers.

“I’ll kill him,” he warned with a growl. “Believe me. I’m capable.”

“Not with Damian and the others present, you won’t.”

She smirked. Fucking smirked like she had the upper hand! And perhaps she did. It annoyed him when he couldn’t read her intent.

“How did you block me?” he demanded.

“Maybe our interlude changed the Fates’ design, and we aren’t meant to be mates, after all.” She gave a dismissive sniff. With a careless shrug, she pivoted andminced her waytoward the door. Halfway there, she tripped overair, barely catching herself from face-planting on the antique Persian carpet.

He laughed.

That would teach her to pretend to be someone she wasn’t!

“You’re a punkass, Trevor Blane!” Her exposed skin flushed a ripe berry shade.

A tchotchke sailed by his head and landed on the bed.

He laughed harder.

When he had his humor under control, he tsked and said, “When we leave here, I’ll take you to a ballpark, and you can practice your aim. Maybe next time, you can hit the side of a barn.”

Her narrowed eyes promised retribution.

It came faster than expected.

Recently,as Soleil and Spring toiled away in the Thorne greenhouse, her friend told her about when she’d filled Knox Carlyle’s mouth with dirt during one of their fights. Without giving it further thought or Trevor any warning, Soleil did the same to him.

His rage gave the phrase “spitting mad” a whole new meaning. Asshewatched him gag, sputter, and spit,sheexchangedherheels for flats and offered him a middle-finger wave asshesailed out the door. It felt damned good to get the upper hand for a change.To win in their battle of wits.

“You haven’t won anything, Dalli.”

“Get out of my head!”

“Looks like the Fates prefer us together, after all, so maybe I’ll hang outinhere a bit.”

His irritating voice sounded way too smug for her taste. Picturing Gene naked, she envisioned a long, thick penis.

“For the love of—! That’s just plain disgusting, Soleil Stephens. I threw up in my mouth!”

She giggled but sobered quickly. Sure, she’d scored one againsthim, but beatinghimin one battle didn’t win the entire war. Halting mid-stride, she pressed the flat of her hand to her chest. Were they at war? Why did it have to be that way at all? She’d only ever wanted peace in her life.

The truth was, she liked Trevor Blane.More than she should.Yet he repeatedly shoved her away. It boiled down to one thing: he didn’t want to care about her, so he wouldn’t. At least she had one rocking sexual encounter to remember him by. From their first kiss, she’d known their joining would be epic, and it was. Hopefully, as time passed, she wouldn’t compare all other men to him. Maybe her memory would fade, and she’d find her soulmate. A man to love her as she was. One who was perfect for her and so sweet it gave a person cavities to see them together.

Closing her eyes, she sighed. Wishful thinking was all well and good, but it was pointless at present. A consultation with Damian was in order, and finding out why the Authority would assign a Death Dealer to watch her was paramount. What had she done to deserve to die?Was her aim to repopulate dying or extinct plants all that terrible?Was shereallyso horrible that she needed tobe extinguished?

Large, warm hands encircled her shoulders, and she jumped.

“Trevor!” she gasped. “What the fuck?”

“I felt your freak-out building.” He turned her to face him. “It’s going to be okay, Dalli. No one is going to hurt you.”

“You can’t assure my safety. Hell, you’re the onetheysent to do me in.”

“About that, I’m not sure they did.” With a dark frown, his eyes trailed across her face, up to her ponytail, and back down to grimace at her cleavage. “Can you change back into you, please?”

“No.” She knocked his hands from her shoulders. “Explain your reasoning.”

“You’re pretending to be someone you aren’t?—”

“Not that. The reason why you aren’t sure the Authority sent you to kill me.”

He scowled.

She glared.

The corner of his mouth ticked up as his irritation melted away. His was a faceshecould watch all day and never tire of.

“Same,” he murmured as his gaze flitted about, touching her every feature until it finally landed on her gloss-coated lips.

“Same? Oh!”

Ah, her thought about watching him. She was flattered to think he might find her asfascinating,but not so gratified that it wasonlywhen she’d layered on face paint he’d found it so.

“The makeup has nothing to do with how lovely you are, Dalli.” Using his fingertips, he traced the lines of her face, ending with her nose. “It’s hard to believe Ieverthought you were provincial or plain. Or that I’ve only known youa short timewhen it feels like I’ve known you forever.”

She sucked in a breath. With careful precision, she blanked her thoughts and expression. It wouldn’t do to lethimknow how easilyhecould weave the seductive spell over her or how fast she could succumb.

“There are people I meet and think the same thing about,” she said with a tight smile. “Similar personalities and a strange familiarity are all it is.”

Drawing away, she headed toward the stairs.Hedropped into place beside her, matching her stride. “Maybe, but you can’t discount the attraction we feel.”

“I can’t. But I can certainly ignore it.” She stopped and waited until he retraced his steps back to her. When they were facing one another, she shook her head. “You’re hot and cold, Trevor. You don’t know what you want or why you want it. No oneis ever going totell you what to do because you’ll rebel.”

“That’s not true.” His indignation scraped along her nerve endings.

“It is. You hate your chosen career path,the factyou’re alone without a partner to love, and you resent having to babysit me.”

“Dalli—”

“Zip it.” Seeing the wariness in his expression tugged at her heartstrings. “Let me finish.None of it’sabadthing, and I’m not criticizing you.I’m stating the obvious.” His uncomfortableness built, and hers did to feel it. Whatthe helldid it mean that they were now sensing each other’s stronger emotions? “Trevor, you won’t let yourself care because you believe you’re cursed. There’s no such thing. You’ve bought into a made-up notion. Witches are the worst with that crap, and they fall prey to superstition and what might be nothing more than coincidence.”

“There is no such thing as coincidence in myline ofwork.”

“Circumstance, then.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” The gruffness in his tone was born from his hurt and the convictions he’d clung to his entire adult life.

“I do know. I’ve seen enough of it throughout the rainforest tribes. People cling to what they believe—good or bad—and become dogmatic.You’re convincedthere’s a time limit on love for anyone with the last name Blane. It’s just not true.”

“Christ, Dalli!It must be nice to livein your perfect world, where nothing bad happens, and everything is roses.Or, in your case, orchids. But it’s not the case in the real world.”

His scorn stung, but she lifted her chin.

“I’ve experienced your real world, Trevor. My parents died when I was young. My sisters, Josie and Taryn, are constantly at each other’s throats because Josie took it upon herself to protect us by sleeping with Morcant. Iwas almost run down, and today,I was shot.” She inhaled deeply and looked him dead in the eye. “I’m falling hard for a guy who is a complete coward when it comes to love. It’s not all orchids, babe. Far from it, if you ask me.”