“Me? Need you?” He scoffed. “You have yet to prove your decoding skills.”
“—and I need toiletries, clothes and laptops loaded with games. For everyone. Don’t be cheap, either. Get e-readers loaded with an assortment of books, too. I prefer romance. The sexy ones. Knitting needles and yarn would be appreciated. So would snacks. If I get hangry or bored, bad things will happen. Finally, I require private quarters. I will not be staying in the bunkhouse.”
Crackling silence.
Thanks to excellent periphery vision, she knew William stared at her with an impassive expression. Talk about false advertising. He rested his elbows on the edge of the desk, his fingers linked and white-knuckled. Impassive? Hardly.
When he finally unlocked his fingers, he scrubbed a trembling hand over his mouth. “I will provide you with a room of your own. I will buy you the things you need, and I will take care of the poachers and collectors. Anything else?”
How sweet. Too sweet? Yes! Why cave mere seconds after he’d claimed she had no bargaining power? Unless... “What price do you expect me to pay?” she asked, her tone drier than desert sands. “My new room will be next to yours, right? For convenient booty-calling?”
More silence. She waited, on edge, and...hopeful?
He grated, “You have only to decode my book in the two-week time frame.”
At last, she cobbled together a defense and pivoted in his direction. Did she look directly at him? Not yet. The urge was too strong. She focused on the desk, the surface crammed with a smorgasbord of food. Oh! A bowl overflowed with different-colored rose petals. Her mouth watered, and her stomach rumbled at a much higher volume.
None of the other codebreakers mentioned a snack, much less an entire meal. Which meant he’d gone to a lot of trouble for Sunny, and Sunny alone.
“Is this our first date?” she asked, curious about how he’d react to the idea.
His fingers jerked. “I do not date.”
Not exactly a denial... “Ever?”
“Ever,” he confirmed.
But you kind of want to date me, Ever Randy? The idea wasn’t unpleasant. In fact, it caused a sultry fog to envelope her mind. Finally she lifted her gaze, because she couldn’t resist the urge a moment longer. Daisy! Undiluted lust flared inside those electric blues. She began to pant.
Somehow, he was more handsome than she remembered. No, not somehow. Science. The more time you spent with someone, the more you got to know them. The more you got to know them, the more or less attractive they became to you, their personality as much a feature as their eyes and nose. William, providing her favorite food...straight-up sexy.
Her tremors returned and redoubled as she cataloged his differences. His dark hair now stuck out in spikes, as if he or a lover had fisted the strands. He had—
Son of a swine-shifter! “Pandora lied,” Sunny snarled. “You actually did it. You slept with someone.”
“Many times,” he said, a wicked grin blooming.
She would tear the office apart piece by piece! He had no right to enjoy himself while a powerful unicorn languished in captivity.
“Just not today,” he added, calming her temper.
Wait. I think he torments me. Still. Feeling magnanimous all of a sudden, she eased into the chair across from him and eyed the bowl of rose petals. Sweet, sweet petals.
“Eat.” He pushed the bowl in her direction.
Suspicions roused, she reared back. “Why? Are they poisoned?”
“Because I don’t have the balls to stab you?”
He’d sounded offended. And...did she perceive a gleam of sadness in his irises?
Oh, yes. Definitely sadness. His called to hers, attempting to raze her sense of calm. But, why would a warlord as confident and successful as William ever feel sad?
“If you do not want the petals,” he said, reaching for the bowl.
She snatched it before he ever made contact. At first, she ate slowly. Properly. The way she’d been trained. Since her parents had betrothed her to Blaze at birth, she’d been raised as a royal, etiquette lessons drilled into her head as soon as she could walk. But all too soon, ravenous hunger pulled her strings, and she shoveled in the remaining petals at lightning speed.
Far from sated, she exchanged the empty bowl for one filled with fruit. “By the way,” she said between bites of oranges, strawberries and pineapple. “I’m newly furious with you. You brought me to Hell. I hate demons, and this is their hub.”
Darkly magnetic, he arched a brow. “If you think I would allow demons to harm someone under my care, you’re a fool.”
“If you think you can control pure evil, you’re an even bigger fool.” She gave him a pitying glance. “How many unicorns have you interacted with over the years?”
“You are the first.”
She nodded. “It shows.” But... “How’d you know what I was?”
“Hades collects rare weapons, artifacts and, yes, even beings. I stay up-to-date on his must-haves. For centuries, a unicorn has topped the list.”
Her stomach twisted. “Does he hope to study or kill us?” In other words, how awful did she need to make his death?
William’s features softened, a true shock. “He hopes to adopt or recruit.”
Gross. “Pass!” She toyed with a lock of hair, asking, “Are you one of his collectables?”
He flicked his tongue against an incisor, raw challenge blazing in his eyes, singeing her. Color tinged his cheek, making her wonder how hot his skin burned, and a muscle jumped in his chiseled jawline. “I am his son.”
A tad bit defensive, eh? ?
??And you can’t be both?” she asked, that raw challenge making different parts of her tingle. For a moment, she yearned to leap into his lap, wrap her arms around him, and...do things. Wanton, wild things. “What kind of—”
“Don’t do it,” he interjected, his tone stern. “Don’t ask what kind of being I am.”
“Why? What kind of being are you?”
He scowled, the picture of annoyed male.
Why so secretive? “Unless...” She gasped. “You don’t know, do you?”
The pen he held? He snapped it in two. “You’re here to decode my book. Let’s get to work.”
A pang ripped through her. He didn’t know his own origins. How awful. Did he ever feel as if he didn’t belong? I know the feeling. “I’m still on my lunch break,” she said, voice soft. Knowledge was power, and she wasn’t done learning about him. “I’d rather talk about you.”
The corners of his mouth quirked up. Why? Had she maybe, perchance...pleased him? “Since I’m a benevolent captor, and you’ve been such a pleasant captive, I’ll grant you a boon. Five minutes to finish your food and ask me anything you’d like, and I’ll answer.”
Ask him to strip. Ask him to strip!
Sage! Mating season made her stupid. “Why is the book of codes so important to you?” she asked.
A terse pause before he admitted, “Centuries ago, I rejected a bitch of a witch, and she cursed me in the worst possible way.” Another pause, the wheels clearly rolling in his mind as he decided what to confess and what to omit. “The day I fall in love is the day the object of my affections kills—attempts to kill—me.”
Interesting. Tapping a finger against her bottom lip, she replayed Pandora’s earlier revelation. I don’t think he’ll ever let himself fall in love, because when he does—so. The curse centered around his affections. “Are you sure you’re cursed? You’ve obviously fallen in love with yourself, yet you haven’t committed suicide.”
“I’m sure?” No doubt he’d meant the words as a statement. Now he scowled. “According to the witch, I can break the curse by deciphering the code.”