Ezra goes back up the stairs and Solon watches his every move. Finally, he comes away from the door, walking toward me.
“You came,” Solon notes, gesturing to the blue velvet couch behind me. “Have a seat.”
I don’t move. “I came to get my purse.”
A smoky look takes over his eyes. “That’s not why you’re here.”
“You think I’m propositioning you?”
His brows go up. “I didn’t think that.” Then he smiles. “Now I do.”
I scowl at him as he takes a few steps toward me, his eyes coasting over every inch of me. “You really should sit down,” he says. “You look tired. Vampires rarely look tired.”
Then he turns and takes a seat in the leather armchair across from me. Reluctantly, I sit down on the couch, both relieved and disappointed that there’s some distance between us, unlike the last time I saw him.
“You shouldn’t have shown up at our lunch like that,” I tell him, still pissed.
“I told you,” he says calmly. “Had to keep an eye on you. You’d be foolish to think I haven’t been watching you these past few days.”
I sw
allow, averting my eyes to the indigo carpet, trying to focus on the designs on it. “You must have better things to do with your time.”
“How I spend my time is up to me, moonshine. When you’ve got an eternity waiting for you, time tends to lose all meaning.”
I glance at him, once again stricken by his carnal beauty. “You’re not immortal.”
“You’re right. I’m not immortal. But I do excel at living.”
I think that over for a moment. “Still, you put me in danger by showing up.”
“You’re the one who put herself in danger by leaving the hotel,” he replies simply. “You also put the both of us in danger by trying to reveal who we really are.”
“Well, how am I supposed to know you aren’t even supposed to joke about it? There’s no rule book.”
“But there is me.” He gives me a pointed look. “Perhaps you should be staying here instead of all alone and unprotected, with only your helpless witchy parents as company.”
“Maybe staying here sounds just as dangerous as staying anywhere else.”
But it’s a lie the moment it leaves my lips. Because, despite Ezra giving me the heebie-jeebies, I feel calm here. Safe. Even sitting on this couch I feel like my body is melding into it, letting go of so much tension and anxiety. I have to force myself to stay alert.
“You don’t worry about Ezra,” Solon says, his face darkening for a moment. “He knows I’ll kill him if he touches you again.”
My heart thumps loudly at that.
“Don’t romanticise my words,” he adds. “I’m merely possessive over what’s mine.”
“I’m not yours,” I remind him stiffly. “Though clearly you treat me like I am, think you can just touch me any time you want.”
He gives me a twisted smile, his eyes glittering. “I’m sorry, am I not supposed to get you off in the span of ten seconds?”
My whole body burns from the memory and I take in a deep, shaky breath to steady my nerves—and my hormones. “No.”
But also, yes. My body wants it, my heart does too, but my brain says otherwise; my brain says he needs to keep his distance at all times.
He makes a sound of irritation. “Don’t think about it too deeply. I’m just exerting my power over you.”
I give him a sharp look. “Yeah, well maybe one day I’ll get to exert my power over you.”