Eventually, he loosened up, and our eyes met.
“Please—” I started.
He cut me off with a deep, passionate kiss, and I arched against him. In an instant, we were back to where we’d left off, then racing beyond into virgin territory.
Well, not exactlyvirgin, but I’d never been possessed by such a deep, driving need, or by the certainty that this was the real thing.
Too bad daylight was chasing away the darkness. Soon, the others would stir and find us.
Let them,I felt like growling. We had every right to ride this thrilling, runaway train.
But this wasn’t just any morning. It was the morning after a horrific murder, and we were scheduled to travel to Paris to investigate an art theft. Two terribly imbalanced things that seemed connected, though I couldn’t explain how.
Slowly, we drew apart. Roux gently traced the curve of my cheek with his thumb, as if imprinting the moment into his memory.
“Promise me this isn’t the end of this,” I whispered.
He gulped — hard — and thought long enough for my hopes to fade.
“I promise I don’t want it to be.”
Ah, Roux. A principled man who didn’t make vows he couldn’t keep.
Which made it my turn to gulp as I imagined all the terrible ways fate could intervene.
He wrapped his arms around me, and I was happy to hide against his chest for a while, listening to his heart beat. Then I forced myself to pull away and stand on unsteady feet.
Roux stayed on the couch a moment longer, flooding my mind with a thousand luscious fantasies.
I held out a hand, and he rose in one smooth, rippling moment that hinted at the tiger within.
“All right, then,” I said, none too enthusiastically. “Paris, here we come.”
Chapter Thirteen
ROUX
“I still don’t understand,” Mina griped as the five of us made our way down the street along the Canal Saint-Martin.
The wind blew at our backs, toying with loose strands of Gen’s hair. My eyes traced each section of her braid, and my fingers itched to comb through it, just to be able to watch her weave them all over again.
“Gordon always took pains not to involve me or Gen,” Mina continued. “Now, he specifically wants us to come along?”
“Fucking Gordon,” Marius muttered.
I couldn’t agree more. Gordon was up to something — as usual.
“Now, now. Not a way to talk about your godfather-in-law,” Bene said. “Even if he’s on the wrong side of the law.”
Gen had stuck by my side throughout our trip from Burgundy to Paris, which I loved. But her stride hitched at Bene’s comment. Apparently, she was still clinging to the misconception that Gordon wasn’t such a bad guy.
She figured out Clement wasn’t worth her time,my tiger decided.She’ll figure out Gordon too.
Of course she would. I just didn’t want that to happen the hard way.
A snarl escaped my throat, and Bene looked over.
“What did you say?”
