And yet, the firefly doesn’t allow the male to bleed the toxins from her veins.
Revenge lives in my blood.
As more days pass, I’ve started to notice Orion’s agitation. The increasing mood swings. The darkness deepening the gray ring around his irises, dulling the vivid blue-green waters.
The closer the eclipse draws, the more withdrawn he becomes.
Beyond the heated glances and charged near-touches in shadowy corridors, he’s spent the past few days locked in his observatory with his research. I could push him into a session, but he’s volatile, unstable. And with Banner content for the time being, it’s safer to wait until the last moment.
Lips buried in my scarf for warmth, I cross underneath the arches of the colonnade as birds take flight overhead, my hurried steps echoing against the stone. I’m almost to the entrance when Prescott appears from my periphery.
“Collins,” he calls out.
Straightening my backbone, I turn his way and force a smile. My teeth chatter too hard to correct him on the informal use of my name. “Dr. Prescott, how was your day?”
The rigid set to his jaw clashes with his smile. “You never took me up on my offer,” he says, disregarding the pleasantry.
“Oh.” I touch my forehead, then give a soft laugh. “Time has really gotten away from me. There’s so much going on with the upcoming symposium?—”
“We need to talk,” he cuts me short with a sharp look. “You know, I’ve been here for a year now. I’ve put in a lot of time, a lot of hard work.”
Something in the way he says this feels off, and my senses go on high alert. “No one’s discrediting that.”
“Look, you need to be careful around Night.” A pensiveness settles in his gaze. “The fact is, he’s dangerous. I worry you’re not safe.”
There’s an anxious quality to his tone that gives me pause. Pushing past the unnerving feeling, I tell him, “I assure you, I’ve worked with far more challenging individuals.”
A smug smile pulls into place. “That’s unfortunate.” He pushes in too close, towering over me. “Here’s the thing. By having me removed from the observatory, you’re interfering with my progress. But for your own safety, I think it’s best if you leave.”
My grip tightens instinctively around the umbrella handle, a defensive reflex. This is the second attempt from a man to cow me into leaving.
“Thank you for your concern,” I say evenly, adjusting my briefcase in my other hand, “but I’m perfectly capable of managing myself.”
Ending our conversation right here, I turn to leave. He takes hold of my upper arm, drawing me to a stop. “Collins, I need you to stop the sessions with Dr. Night.”
Alarm rings through my bones. My sudden shortness of breath clips my words, too many of them rushing out in my panic. “It’s harmful to abruptly end sessions with a patient working through loss…especially when it’s someone close in the same field?—”
“Who are you talking about—?” he cuts in, his dark brows drawing together. “Ah, you mean Dr. Calloway.” He releases a derisive breath. “Jesus, she died years ago. Their engagement was well over by then.”
My mouth parts. The sandstone beneath my feet shifts, unsteady. “Please remove your hand from me,” I manage to say.
I twist my arm in an attempt to break his grip just as a loud rumble disrupts the altercation.
Prescott’s hand falls away. His reaction is delayed as he jumps back just in time to evade the wheel coming into contact with his leg. “What the hell?—?”
The roar of the motorcycle is deafening in the covered colonnade. Orion drops his booted feet on either side of his bike and kills the engine. Helmet visor shielding his face, he straightens on the seat. “Sorry. Lost control for a moment.”
Heat blooms in the center of my chest. I’ve spent days trying to figure out how to crack his defenses, and all it took was one threat from Prescott asserting his dominance.
The lowering sun reflects off his black visor as he briefly turns his head in my direction, and I feel his thorough inspection cover every inch of me.
“Not a problem, Night.” Prescott drops his hands into his coat pockets, his annoyance evident in the curl of his upper lip. “But you should be more careful. Someone could get hurt.”
Orion lifts the visor and stares dead at him. “That warning goes both ways.” The steely tone of his voice provokes a shiver. There’s a crazed gleam to his eyes I’ve never seen, and the danger there shallows my breath.
Prescott nods curtly, then glances my way once imploringly, before he stalks off amid the lingering threat. I watch him for a moment longer, still unsettled.
“You actually should remove the bike from the walkway,” I say, giving Orion my full attention. “Dr. Banner won’t be too impressed by this display.”
