APRIL
Outside the club, the air was cold and crisp.
April drank in deep breaths of it as Khall placed her gently on her feet.
“Get in,” he growled through a clenched jaw, indicating a droid-conducted hover car.
She straightened her dress and crawled in.
A moment later, he climbed in after her.
She waited while he gave the droid directions and checked the flight path.
The car’s interior felt so small with Khall in it. His scent, his warmth, and his larger-than-life presence overwhelmed her.
She felt safe and overpowered all at once.
And the effect of those sweet drinks she’d been sipping had her feeling warm and languid…
Stop that this instant, her better angels demanded.
But she couldn’t help caressing his wide shoulders with her eyes. He was leaned forward, talking to the droid, he wouldn’t see.
Suddenly he turned around and she had to look quickly down at her hands so he wouldn’t catch the lust in her eyes.
“What the hell were you thinking?” he demanded. “And why would Toxfylt bring you here?”
“Toxfylt?” she echoed, not understanding.
“This is one of the most dangerous clubs on Ulfgard,” Khall roared. “The wrong kind of men come here, hoping for one extremely unlikely thing to happen. And you show up in that dress, and Toxfylt doesn’t even have the courtesy to stick with you all night?”
“I wasn’t with—” she began.
“You’re lucky they didn’t tear you apart,” he cried.
She looked up at the emotion in his voice and was shocked to see pain in his eyes.
His wife, you idiot. He lost his wife.
“I’m sorry I scared you,” she told him sincerely. “But I didn’t go with Toxfylt. I went with a friend from the agency, Emilia.”
“Emilia?” he echoed, looking dazed.
“We just wanted to dance and blow off steam,” she said, nodding. “I didn’t know what I was getting into until it was too late. I was heading into that cage because I thought it would be easier to deal with one guy than a dozen.”
“If you weren’t going out with Toxfylt, then why would he have bought you that negligee?” Khall demanded.
“What?” she said, shocked.
“He left it for you at the front desk and they called me down, thinking the box was for me,” Khall said, his eyes stormy with anger. “I opened it before I realized. It looked like nothing more than a spiderweb. You were supposed to be out with my daughter today, helping her enjoy the zoo. But…” He trailed off, as if knowing he shouldn’t say what was on his mind.
But it was clear. He thought she had spent the day flirting with Mrs. Ginger’s nephew.
She would have been more offended if she hadn’t had the same moment of frustration herself, having to share Bo’s special day with a virtual stranger.
But surely Khall knew her well enough by now to know that.
“I gave Zyr absolutely no reason to believe I was interested in anything other than a friendship,” April said carefully, determined to keep her temper in check. “And I was one hundred percent focused on Bo all day.”