“I guess we pay after?” Red asks as the server scurries off.
Yeah, fuck off. She’smine.
“Sai?”
I look at her and… fucking hell, she’s so gorgeous. Sunlight hits her eyes, makes them glitter, and a soft, uncertain smile pulls at her pouty lips.
“We don’t pay.” My voice comes out a little rough, so I tack on a smirk to cover it. “The owners know us.”
Then I wait, seeing what she makes of those little titbits of information.
We promised not to lie. Anything she asks, we answer. But she knows so damn little—about us, this district, the realms. If she never asks certain questions, I’ve got to make sure I find a way to feed her enough without tripping her into a panic.
I want—no, I need her to trust me, but I also can’t let her leave. I can’t handle that absence again.
“But you don’t drink coffee, so how can they know you?” Her brows pull together. “Actually, how did you even know about this place?”
Ah, shit. No lying. So how the hell do I spin this without freaking her out?
“In this district, most people know us.”
She tilts her head, eyes narrowing. Ah, fuck. Too vague. “So what, you’re like… celebrities or something?”
I chuckle low, watching her brows pinch tighter as she hops onto a stool. I lean against the high counter, close enough to feel her warmth.
“Nah. But Kane and Zeek have been here since thefirstowners of these businesses were around.” She catches the weight I put on first,but doesn’t interrupt. “Then me and Julien joined them. And we’ve been here… a while. Zeek’s a Council member, we’re his unit. Word travels.”
She huffs a sound that’s half laugh and shock. “You are like celebrities! I bet you’ve got fan pages and everything.”
Does she like that idea or not?
Her lips curve in a soft smile, brows smooth, but she’s pulled out her phone.
She types something, then stops. “If you tell the guys what I’m about to say, I swear I’ll k—”
I smile when she cuts herself off, her eyes narrowing. Normally, I’d jump in with something. Maybeplease, try and kill me, any excuse to get your hands on me,but she pivots.
“I’ll hurt you, very badly.”
Oh, fuck me.
Now’s probably not the time to tell her I’m a bit of a masochist. That the thought of her hurting me with her hands, her shadows, her teeth…
Fuck.
Come on, Sai. Think about what Julien would say.Behave, Sai. Now isn’t the time.
Imaginary Julien’s right.
So instead of saying any of that, I pinch my thumb and forefinger together and drag across my lips in a zipping motion.
Her gaze flickers, a little hesitant. “I tried to search you up, just to research you guys, see what I could find. But there’s nothing. It’s really weird.”
I grin. “You our little stalker, Red?”
Her eyes widen. “No! I was just trying to—I wanted to see…”
“More pictures of me?” My grin slides into a smirk as I drop my voice. “You want more? I can do that, better yet, I’ll take some now.”
