She would kill before she let that happen.
The body retrieved from the river last night was proof enough of that.
“Christ,” Mathias murmured softly, as if sensing the burden she carried. “Who was it that hurt you? Tell me, and I’ll make them pay.”
He reached out to her, his blunt fingertips lightly grazing her cheek. She pulled away at once. “I think you should leave now, Mathias.”
He didn’t speak for a long moment. Didn’t move.
Then he blew out a rough curse. “Yes, it will be for the best if I go now.”
He moved away from her and put his shirt back on. As he dressed, Nova walked to the shop’s front door and opened it. If he didn’t leave soon, she wasn’t sure she could trust herself to let him go.
He crossed the room, pausing in front of her. His sensual mouth was tense, amber light still glowing in irises.
He wanted her, possibly as much as he wanted the truth.
The knowledge should have terrified her. Instead it left her heart pounding frantically in her breast, all the air in the room charged with a current of anticipation. Of heated understanding.
When Mathias spoke, his deep voice was thick, little more than a growl of sound. “What do I owe you for your work?”>“You’ve been with Ozzy for a while, then.”
“Yeah, I have.”
When she didn’t volunteer anything more, Mathias studied her, looking for cracks in her tough exterior. “He seems very protective of you. Does he know about your mark--and what that makes you?”
“He knows everything about me.”
“He cares for you.”
She nodded. “He does. And I care for him too.” She looked at him in silence for a long moment, as if debating how much of herself she needed to reveal in order to satisfy his curiosity. When she finally spoke, her voice was softer than ever. “Not that it’s any of your business, but Oz is family to me. Eddie too. They’re the only true family I’ve got.”
Mathias sensed it was the most honest thing she’d told him all night.
“Look,” she said abruptly, “if you want to talk, then talk. But make it quick. My last client of the night is due in any minute now.” She thought for a moment, and her fine black brows furrowed. “He’s late, in fact.”
Mathias knew good and well the guy wasn’t going to show anytime tonight. He shrugged. “So, I’ll stay until he arrives.”
“No, you won’t,” she said. “I’m still on the clock, and I’ve got plenty of work to do before I close up. You’ve got ten minutes.”
“Are you this unaccommodating with all of your clients?”
She leveled an impatient look on him. “You’re not my client.”
“And if I was?”
She laughed. A real laugh, unrestrained and genuine.
“Why is that funny?”
“You’re hardly the type to want a tattoo.”
He shrugged. “It will be my first.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt that,” she said, her blue eyes lit with humor.
Mathias liked her eyes. He liked her laugh, and he had the fleeting awareness that he was enjoying her company more than he ought to. “What would you suggest?”
She cocked her head at him. “You don’t even know what you want?”