I turn lazily, forcing him to watch the sway of my hips. I walk to the door and glance over my shoulder as I reply, “You’re mistaken. I just found it.”
Chapter
Twenty-Four
Titus
“You can slap glasses on my face and put a cloak over my amazing body, but I’m not fooling anyone, Titus.” Tristen playfully fixes his hair as he sits at Selene’s vanity. He picks up a bottle of perfume and smells it before he sets it down and continues to snoop, opening the small drawers.
Selene and I plotted; Everett must have wanted us to look in Blackthorn’s library. We don’t want Galen to grow suspicious since Selene has never visited the library, so we’re sending Tristen tonight.
“Have you ever seen scholars?” He grabs her hair comb and brushes the sides of his hair. “They are not muscled and sexy like me.” He sinks a fang into his lip, as if I’m the target he’s seducing.
I snatch the comb from his hand. “Stop touching Selene's things.”Stop putting your scent all over what’s mine!
The color drains from my face. That’s why he’s doing this.
Tristen’s eyes narrow. “We need to leave before you make a public mistake,” he hisses.
“I can’t leave.”
His sigh is a mountain of disappointment that kicks me in the gut. Turning, he grabs one of her makeup brushes and spins it between his fingers. He’s trapped in a role, as am I.
“I will not fit in,” Tristen shrugs dramatically. “And you know me. I hate missions where I’m doomed to fail.”
I look him up and down. “Just pretend you’re chasing tail,” I suggest.
“You want me to sleep with the librarians?” Tristen flashes a flirtatious smirk. “That’s a mission I can nail down, pun intended.”
Scratch that. I’ve had the unfortunate circumstance of being in a room next to Tristen when he has company. No wall is thick enough to stop the screams of pleasure my brother causes. If he does that in the library, he’ll be kicked out and banned.
“No, just pretend,” I correct him.
“Pretend what? That my dick is a bookmark they can slip between their pages—I mean legs?” He winks, then looks back in the bathroom mirror and grins haughtily at his reflection.
“Tristen,” I sigh and close my eyes as I lean against the door.
All I smell is Selene when I inhale. I hear her grabbing clothes off the hanger in her closet.
“We need this. Use your magic, hide in the shadows, and find us any books on Caldara that you can. If you have to flirt to get help, then do it, but keep your dick in your pants,” I order. “I don’t want them to remember you.”
He stands suddenly, grabs my shoulders, and jerks me forward until the tip of my nose hits the mirror of Selene’s vanity.
“Hey!” I shove back. The gold foil of the mirror frame catches my eye. It’s adorned with carved roses. I’m starting to hate those flowers. They’re everywhere, reminding the people that Galen is always watching.
Tristen nudges my eyes towards our reflection. “Have you seen my face?” He grins from ear to ear. “No one can forget perfection.”
I spin around. “You’re an idiot. I take it back; don’t ask for help. Hide in the shadows and look for any books on Caldara you can find.”
He crosses his arms in protest. “The library is huge. Do you know how long it will take me without asking for help?”
“Do what you must.” I walk back to the wall and stand like the guard I am supposed to be portraying.
Selene exits her closet, dressed in her leathers again. “If you two are done bickering, I am ready to go train.”
Look up. Don’t look at her hips.My chest feels too tight for my heart. She’s the key to unleashing the tension, but she’d rather keep me bottled up.
Our eyes clash, feet planted firmly. I wait for Selene to crumble, to admit what’s happening; she waits for me to acknowledge we can never be.
