Dark Beauty (The Deadly Beauties Live On 1)

I sit up, trying to keep this as platonic and… not sexually charged as possible, but sometimes I swear the air crackles around us.

Ella laughs before hanging up, and I toss my phone aside.

“I assume that was Ella,” he says, leaning back and studying me.

“Um. Yeah.”

I know I look guilty, because I feel guilty. I really wasn’t expecting him to walk in and overhear our conversation, and he knows I was asking about him.

“Can I ask you something?” he asks while steepling his hands in front of his face.

“Sure,” I say unsurely.

“You told Dice and Karma that you would never sleep with someone Ella slept with. Care if I ask why?”

Oh damn. That means he heard all of what I said. I really hate Dice right now.

“Why do you want to know?”

He shrugs, keeping his hands steepled.

“Just curious. I’ll answer a question you have if you answer that one. I’m not sure why, but it’s bugging me.”

Considering this is a golden opportunity to help out with my issue, I decide to go with it.

“Because Ella has only been with one guy one time. He used her to get closer to Alyssa and Kane, but she didn’t figure it out until after she was bonded to him—she was still mortal he was immortal. It was messy.”

“Define messy,” he says, his eyes still on mine. When I don’t answer right away, he smiles and adds, “You’ll get two questions if you explain.”

I want to ask why he’s asking questions about Ella, because it’s sort of pissing me off, but I don’t want to waste my questions.

“She had two options to break the bond, as you’re well aware,” I say, remembering the story about when Gage had to free Alyssa from the bond with Kane. Now that was messy.

“I’m aware,” he says tightly, looking uncomfortable for the first time since he came in here.

“Either you have sex with another immortal, or you kill the source of the problem. We couldn’t do either. Ella guarded him. She was lost under his spell and tied unforgivingly to the bond. We couldn’t go after him without hurting her. Fortunately, a third option presented itself.”

His eyes shift to realization. “She turned immortal and the bond broke on its own,” he says, drawing the conclusion for

himself.

“And she almost killed him herself once the effects of the bond wore off. He went from being part of the council to being a nobody for trying to rise high in the ranks by using the queen’s daughter. Stupid idiot. I wish they had just killed him and been done with it.”

His lips twitch as he nods. “Alyssa doesn’t like to kill unless absolutely necessary.”

“Now will you tell me why you don’t have a last name?” I ask mildly, trying not to let him see that the mystery there is driving me absolutely crazy.

He sighs while standing up. I slump in defeat when I think he’s about to walk out, but he reaches behind his neck and grabs his shirt, pulling it over his head. What the…

My thoughts trail off as I stare at the golden, tight skin that is rippled with muscle and painted with various forms of ink. He moves closer, and my breath catches in my throat as my eyes come up to meet his.

“Here,” he says, pointing to a tattoo just above his pants. “Do you know what that is?”

I shake my head as I try to study the intricate details of the odd symbol. But the fact he’s shirtless and alone in the house with me is distracting.

“I was born into mortal slavery,” he says at last, and my eyes widen before snapping up to meet his. He gives me a grim smile. “Centuries ago, my mother made a deal with a mortal witch coven. Though mortal magic has been reduced to nothing more than a few flashy parlor tricks these days, at one time it rivaled immortal magic.”

He takes my hand in his, and my breaths become labored when he draws my index finger to the symbol. He traces one of the lines, but it’s all so distracting.