His head tilted. ‘Well, now you have it,’ he said smoothly, low and deadly. ‘Do you not know what to do with me now you have me, Vayle?’
She licked her lips, the connotations making her thighs clench, her nipples hard. Crossing her arms to hide his visceral effect on her, she shrugged. ‘This isn’t about me. It’s about your mother. And, if I knew you could be summoned so easily, I would’ve done it ages ago.’
His gaze swung to her then, almost taken aback by her forced, glib tone. She would’ve smiled but, far from hoping she would be spared this time from the effect of the electric forcefield Nelios carried with him wherever he went, Vayle discovered she was very much caught in the sizzling static.
‘For someone treading on dangerous ground, you don’t seem too worried,’ he rasped, his eyes still boring daggers into her.
She shrugged. ‘I know what it’s like to be caught in an emotional wind tunnel, when all around you is a force-five tornado, so no, I’m not worried. I am perfectly fine right now. Happy, even, despite these circumstances,’ she tossed out because far be it for him to think she was still fixated on thehumiliation of the morning after their night before. ‘So, yes, I can be sceptical as to whether anyone on earth has the power to summon you anywhere without a little…incentive.’
‘Believe me, you have no idea what I’m feeling right now.’
‘Okay, feel free to share it, then,’ she invited softly.
He opened his mouth, then seemed to change his mind. He looked around, as if to remind himself of why he’d come. A detached kind of bleakness descended over his face and this time the expression wasn’t quickly dispatched.
‘You could’ve waited till tomorrow. Why the rush?’ Her heart thumped, hoping. She knew what she wanted, at least where he and Agnes were concerned. Beyond that…no, she wasn’t going to think about her son who slept out of sight in his portable cot. It was a waste of time. Nelios hadn’t come here for him. ‘Because if you’ve come not to talk to Agnes, but to cause further injury to her, then—’
‘Cause injury—?’ He cut himself off in near wonder. ‘What about the injuryshecausedme?’ he seethed. But again, it wasn’t just fury rolling across his face. It was deep, ingrained anguish, like a wound, buried deep and newly ripped wide open.
‘If it’s retribution you’re looking for, isn’t what you’ve already done enough? You took away your own mother’s purpose by blacklisting her. And I won’t even start on how you stabbed me in the back as well. What did I ever do to you, Nelios?’ Her breath hitched a tiny bit and she hated herself, and him, for it.
His eyes raked her face, once, twice. And, heaven help her hopelessness, but she thought she saw him lose a shade of colour, maybe even experience a flash of remorse, before his expression froze into neutrality again.
‘Where is my… Where is she?’ he repeated through barely moving lips.
‘I told you, she’s resting. If you’d bothered to tell me you’d changed the time…’
A shadow crossed his face. ‘Andreas responded without my input. I prefer to face some threats head-on, even empty ones.’
Her mouth twisted in a mockery of a smile that seemed to have a direct link to the vice around her heart. ‘Some?’ she echoed, hating herself for thinking about how he’d left her sleeping in his bed without even the courtesy of a goodbye.
Was it her imagination or had he winced just then? She hoped he had. That he had other emotions over and above the vengeance locked in his heart for the mother who’d brought him into the world. Over and above the wild desire he’d let loose that night in Buenos Aires, followed by the sheer cruelty he’d displayed the morning after.
‘Don’t test me,’ he warned far too coolly.
‘Or what? Haven’t you already done your worst to me, Nelios?’
He stiffened. And just like that every last emotion was stripped from his face, leaving a cold mask with glinting eyes. ‘Don’t presume you know what I’m fully capable of,glikia mou—’
‘Don’t call me that,’ she snapped before she could stop herself. ‘I’m not your sweet anything.’
His nostrils flared but his expression didn’t change. ‘Ne, you’re right. You’re not.’ His dismissive gaze landed on the two doors down the short hallway. ‘This is the only time I can spare. Or I walk out the door and any more of her incessant attempts to hound me will be treated as harassment.’
Her mouth gaped. ‘Agnes is still reaching out to you?’ Vayle had believed she’d stopped after Nelios’s stony silence.
His eyes turned flint-hard. ‘I see she’s still keeping things from you.’
She snapped her mouth shut. ‘Don’t start. Or I’ll…’
One eyebrow arched. ‘Or you’ll what?’
She pursed her lips, knowing there were no further threats to make.
‘A word of advice, Vayle. Get your head out of the sand before it’s too late. Or you will–’
The small cry interrupted his unwelcome advice. His gaze darted around the room, surprise dousing his face. The cry came again, and his sharp eyes captured hers. ‘What is that?’
Her heart leapt into her throat, but she fought the apprehension wrapping around her whole being. ‘Thatis exactly what it sounds like.’
