“How the fuck did he manage that?” Titus frowned. “It’s notoriously membership only, and usually reserved by the dark elite of the Undercity. So how the fuck did Riley get us a reservation?”
“His name.” Kace shrugged. “How the fuck am I supposed to know? I’ve never been interested in staying at that snobby place. He’s sent a tux too, and a dress.” His eyes briefly touched hers before returning to Titus. “We’re going to lock down the unit. You need anything, call. Marsh will be downstairs keeping the witch company.” He left without another word, leaving them alone.
“Well, it’s bigger than my room back at the guild.” Rae placed Titus’s rucksack onto the pull out bed, moving to touch the dress hanging beside the jet black tuxedo. The fabric was stunning, the beading subtle, and she already knew it would hug every curve. She’d never worn anything like it. “You really think they’re still tracking me?”
“It’s possible.” Titus leaned against the wall, arms folded. He watched her move around the room, his attention warming her skin. “It’s why we can only stay here tonight, and then tomorrow –”
“Tomorrow we give the Ravyns to my brother,” she finished for him. “You release him from the safehouse, and only then do we chat with the Councilman.”
“He’s not a prisoner, we’re not forcing him to stay there.”
“Promise me.” She turned to face him fully, her shoulders rigid. “I’m giving you my trust, so promise me I can give him the money before anything else. I need to know he’ll be okay. Just in case something happens to me.”
“Nothing’s going to happen to you.”
The mark on her sternum ached, the pendant cold against it. “Promise me.”
“Fine,” he said, the word laced with a growl. “I promise.”
Rae nodded, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. “The Councilman, are we going to kill him?”
“Not yet.”
“Then what’s the point of going if we’re not even going to take him out?” she asked, an ember of irritation sparking to life. “Why the fuck am I here, Ti?”
“What do you want me to say, Rae? I didn’t plan any of this.”
“I want you to tell me why you didn’t delete me when you had the chance!” A pressure was building, one she couldn’t seem to contain. “This could’ve been over. A simple button and I could’ve been free.”
“You think I didn’t want to?” Titus moved until they were toe to toe. “You know if I’d deleted your information, it would’ve only caused you more problems. It’s not as simple as removing the data, not when you’re bound to your guild through some type of magic.”
Panic made her tone harsh. “I have nothing left. Everything I have, everything I’ve worked for I have to give to those fucking arseholes.” Her eyes closed, bottom lip trembling. “Why is everything always taken from me? My mum? My childhood? My fucking life? When do I get a choice?”
Titus gripped her jaw, forcing her attention back on him. “We’re going to figure it out.”
“Again with the fucking‘we’?” She was struggling to breathe, Titus seeming to swallow up the surrounding oxygen. “Why do you even care?”
“Because –”
“Because what? We’re nothing, you’re just an assignment.” Her words sounded weak, even to her.
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
Rae hated the single tear that burned down her face. “What are we doing here, Ti?” He seemed so calm while she was steadily breaking apart. She wanted to hurt him, to make him feel the same pain, the helplessness. “I’ve tried to kill you so many times. I’ve lied, and yet here you are. So tell me, why do you care so much?”
A slip of his mask, something flashing across those beautiful, unique eyes.
His voice was a growl, a deep rumble that surprised her at its harshness. “Because you’re mine.”
Chapter24
Titus
He didn’t expect to kiss her, not until he caught her breathy moan, lips crushing hers in desperation. Her nails scraped down his arms, and he was sure she was going to push him away, her anger vicious when she wanted it to be, but instead she pulled him closer. The answer was there, the truth of why the idea of her hurting sent jagged claws though his soul. She was his, and he was finally ready to accept it, even if it meant the end of them both.
“Look what you do to me,” he said, lifting her until her legs wrapped around his waist, her pussy pressing against his painful erection. “This wasn’t something I wanted.”
She cried out, rubbing herself against him. Her pupils were blown, lips parted as she sought out his next kiss. But he wasn’t going to give it to her, not yet.
