My gaze flicked briefly toward Torin.
A simple tilt of my chin was enough to get him to step away immediately, leaving us standing alone in the center of the room. One that had suddenly become very quiet indeed.
“Inanna,”I murmured softly.
A name that belonged only to her.
I extended my hand toward her, not to claim but to invite, allowing the choice to remain entirely hers. When she finally placed her hand in mine, the contact sent a quiet surge of heat through my palm, just like the first time I touched her. A heat that had nothing to do with the demonic energy I continued to sense lingering faintly around her.
I lifted her hand slowly, turning it slightly as I examined the satin glove encasing it, before lowering my mouth to brush my lips across her knuckles.
“You are exquisite.”The words left me more quietly than I intended, though the truth of them struck far deeper than mere flattery. She was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen, and fate had nothing to do with the intense attraction I felt toward her.
I released her hand slowly, allowing my thumb to brush once across the back of it before letting the contact fade entirely. Even through the thin satin separating our skin, the heat between us remained unmistakable.
Then I felt it.
The demonic signature flared slightly stronger.
He was closer than I had anticipated, and it was enough to bring me back to my plan to eradicate him, once and for all. My gaze flicked briefly toward the marble floor beneath us, where the dormant runes awaited my command. If she took two more steps forward, she would stand directly at the center of the spell.
Exactly where I needed her to be.
Perfect.
“Thank you for joining me,” I said smoothly, allowing the formality to return to my voice as though nothing unusual were about to unfold.
When, in truth, I was merely seconds from getting exactly what I wanted…
My Siren all to myself.
2
KEYS TO THE CAGE
“There is something I wish to show you,” I told her, and the confused little wrinkle of her nose was adorable enough that I had to suppress a chuckle.
“I thought you asked me to join you for the evening?” she asked, trying for composure, though the tension in her voice gave her away. Her pulse had quickened again. The rhythm echoed faintly through the space between us, as though her body instinctively recognized that something about the situation had shifted.
A faint grin touched my mouth, although the satisfaction behind it belonged entirely to my demon.
“And I am most pleased that you accepted,” I replied with what was a gross understatement. I was more than pleased that she had come, despite knowing that once the purpose of this evening revealed itself, she would likely feel very differently about standing here beside me. Because for reasons I had yet to uncover, she had chosen to protect the creature attached to her. Whether that silence came from loyalty or fear, I couldn’t yet say. I just knew that I would not allow anything or anyone to come between us.
Even so, the possibility lingered that she would see this for what it might look like.
A trap.
And I didn’t particularly enjoy the thought of her believing I had lured her into it. I also knew that, had she refused the invitation tonight, I would have been…far less civil.
I released her hand and moved past her, taking my time as I did. The steps taken placed me directly behind her. Exactly where I needed to be. One prompted step forward, and she stood unknowingly at the center of the concealed runes.
My hands rose slowly before they settled lightly against the tops of her arms. My grip was gentle, but firm enough to make it clear she wouldn’t be stepping away without my permission. Her instincts recognized my possessiveness immediately. A subtle tension rippled through her shoulders as my touch anchored her in place, yet she didn’t try to pull away. Her breath caught faintly instead, and all I could think about then was how she might sound when those soft, breathy moans finally belonged to me.
The runes beneath our feet were close enough now that I could feel the faint stir of their dormant energy. They were beginning to respond to the demonic signature attached to her, which meant the trap was ready.
“And the evening can now fully begin,” I said, the words carrying far more weight than she realized. Because now I could feel him clearly. He was not within the room itself, but close enough that the lingering connection between them stirred the spell work beneath the marble. Whatever contact he had made with her today, it had been recent enough for the magic to recognize it.
“What do you mean… Oblivion, what’s going on?” The fear in her voice was unmistakable now. But a moment of irritation flared sharply through me at the sound of my name on her lips.
