She scowled. “Let’s get one thing straight. You're here for one reason only, and that’s to find your artifact. When it comes tomylife—mywork, it’s off limits!”
She spun away in frustration. God, he made her so mad. All his little rules, one would think he was jealous. But she knew better. He just didn’t want her distracted until she found his precious Stone!
“You’re angry.”
“You think?” She swung back, snatched her soda from him. “Shouldn’t you go home? You’ll want to be well rested before the big B&E.”
He shrugged off her snarky comment about breaking and entering to say, “I'm staying here with you.”
Eve choked on her drink she just sipped. Coughing, she swiped at her mouth with the back of her hand and glared at him. “No, you’re not. Exilum is just a portal away from this world. You even don’t have clothes here.”
He cut her a bland look. “That’s covered. Izzeri will bring my things over later. Until this is over, I will remain with you. For your own safety.”
“My safety? Who’d want to harm me?” The only hazardous thing in this entire venture, besides ruining her untarnished reputation, was getting her heart broken. And she had a feeling she was already on the path leading to heartache.
“We have enemies, Eve. Dangerous ones.”
“Who?”
“Darkreans. I came across one of them following me this evening. Bastard got your image from my mind. I won't leave you unprotected.”
“Soyouput me danger?”
His expression darkened. “You are the foretold one. If I hadn’t found you first, they would have.”
Eve pressed a hand to her tummy, a thread of fear slithering through her.
Reynner slid a warm, calloused palm on her nape and gently kneaded the tension there with his fingers. His gaze held hers in promise. “I will keep you safe.”
The sheer magnetism of him constricted her chest. With Reynner living in her apartment, how was she to pretend he was just another person—when he was all she wanted?
Breaking away from his hold, Eve picked up her keys, pushed her cell into her sweats pocket and headed for the door. Right now, distance was safer. “I'm done for the night.”
After she’d locked up her studio, they walked up the alley. Reynner said, “And just so you know, we’retakingthe scroll. Not stealing it.”
“Not where the museum is concerned,” she retorted. “In their minds, it belongs to them. And what are the plans for this heist? All thieves have something concocted. If I'm to become one, I demand to know the details. I won’t walk in blindly.”
“Why are you being difficult?” His voice held a note of impatience. “We’re not stealing the damn thing. It did once belong to us. When the Stone vanished, the scroll disappeared from the mage’s tower only to resurface several centuries ago in this world.”
She cut him a curious glance…then understanding dawned. “And you’ve been keeping track of it all this time.”
A terse nod, even though it wasn't a question. “It remained in the Louvre. Except for the odd times it’s been on loan to other institutes. Now, it’s on exhibit here as part of the Ancient Artifact collection. Tomorrow night, we’ll get it.”
“I remember reading about the exhibition. No—” She halted beneath a streetlight. “Tell me you're not planning to steal the thing while it’s still on exhibit?”
***
“No. The exhibition ended today.” Reynner dragged in a deep breath, then another, and concentrated on Eve.
The flare of pain on his left pec felt like he was being doused in acid. It had been growing steadily ever since he’d fought the Darkrean. Damn Inanna!
When he could speak again, he said, “The scroll will go into storage, ready for shipping. It’s safer to get into the storerooms than the main museum.”
“Good.”
At the sudden chagrined expression on her face when she realized what she’d just said, amusement tugged at his lips. She glowered like a riled kitten. “My life’s truly screwed now. I have just agreed to your insane idea.” She stomped off.
By the heavens, pissed off or not, everything about her drew him in like a magnet. One he had little resistance against. He pushed his hands into his pockets and caught up with her.
