I swallowed as my eyes narrowed. “But I don’t want to see your face ever again.”
The almost teasing smile began to fade. “Well, that’s rude.”
The irritation gave way to reckless fury. “If you don’t give me my damn phone right now, I will call the police.” I glanced down at the leather cuff he wore before meeting his gaze head-on. I hated saying what I did next, because I would never do what I was about to threaten, but I was willing to say just about anything to get my phone so I could leave and forget all about Luc and this damn place. “I doubt the Luxen back in that room would want that to happen, would they?”
Luc’s eyes widened slightly as he faced me. A measure of surprise splashed across his striking features, parting his full lips. “Are you actually threatening me?”
I had the common sense to recognize I was treading on thin ice with lead boots. Like the kind of thin ice that was already cracking under my feet. “It’s not a threat.” I managed to keep my voice level. “It’s a warning.”
“That’s the same thing, Evie.” Luc stepped toward me, the pupils of his eyes seeming to expand. “It’s a threat.”
The air stalled in my lungs and my body moved without thought. I took a step back, but he came forward once more. I kept going until I was against a damn wall again.
“No one has even the tiniest inclination to threaten me,” he said, the pupils of his eyes starting to turn white. An icy chill ran down my spine. “Because they know better.”
My chest rose sharply.
“They especially know better than to threaten what I’m trying to do here.” His chin dipped, and he was right back in my space, eye to eye. Several seconds passed, and the stupidest, absolute dumbest thoughts occurred. I thought about that meaningless kiss that wasn’t even a kiss—about how those full lips had felt.
How they were soft yet hard, and I—
What in the world was wrong with me? Had I hit my head and damaged my brain earlier? The answer was yes, a resounding yes.
“Dammit,” he growled, and then he did the strangest thing—stranger than me thinking about kissing him, which was next-level bizarre.
He dropped his forehead to mine as he breathed in deeply. “Peaches. I am really beginning to have a thing for peaches.”
I tensed as my eyes widened. What was happening? And why was I standing here? At this point I probably shouldn’t even be trusted to own a phone. “It’s j-just lotion.”
A breath shuddered through Luc. “You were never supposed to be here. Do you understand that? That was the deal.”
My heart lurched in my chest. “What are you talking about?”
The tips of his fingers brushed my cheek, and my entire body jolted as if I’d touched a live wire. He pulled back. A stark intensity filled his stare, and I thought maybe his gaze dropped again, to my mouth. He tilted his head to the side, almost like he was lining up his mouth with mine, and whispered, “The deal was I would stay away . . .” He paused, the brilliant light of his pupils increasing. “If you stayed away.”
“What?” I said breathlessly.
Tension filled the air, popping and sparking around us. Static cracked, and the overhead lights flickered, dimming briefly before roaring back to life, becoming ultra bright.
I sucked in a sharp gasp.
Luc smiled.
Just a few feet away, the door at the end of the hall opened. The lights in the hall returned to normal. The acute pressure and edginess seeped slowly out of the hall, but my pulse was pounding so fast, I felt like I’d run up five flights of stairs. I broke eye contact with Luc and saw the blue-haired guy standing in the doorway. His name was Ken or Kent.
He checked out Luc and then me. “I was wondering what was taking so long.”
Luc took a step back, but even though I wasn’t looking at him, I could feel the intensity of his stare still focused on me. “What’s up, Kent?”
“He’s getting worse,” he replied.
Swearing under his breath, Luc stalked off. For a moment I didn’t move—I couldn’t. I was stuck to the wall. What had just happened there? And what deal was he talking about? None of that made sense.
And none of that mattered.
All I needed—all I wanted—was my phone and then to be out of here.
I sprung off the wall, hurrying to catch up to Luc as Kent stepped aside. He held the door open. I half expected both of them to shut the door in my face, but Kent just arched a reddish-brown brow at me as Luc prowled into the room.
It wasn’t empty.
There was a guy standing in the corner, and it took me a moment to recognize him. I’d seen him last night with Luc. It was the guy with the military haircut who had sat down next to Luc.