No—no,not green—topaz. His gut twisted in pain at the truth. Revulsion tearing through him, he shoved away. Next time, he’d fucking chain himself in his dungeon like he usually did to avoid her calls.
Desperate for clean air, he flung open the windows with his mind, then grabbed the black bowl with smoke rising from it—and hurled it outside. He should have known she’d try her shit again.
“Say what the fuck you have to. You have five seconds,” he forced out through clenched teeth.
“Reynner…” Low. Sultry. “Let me make it up to you. I know I can. Give me a day, it’s all I want.”
“Once was a mistake that will never be repeated,” he told her, his voice flat as the desert beyond the temple.
Her face darkened with frustrated desire. “Don’t push me aside, Reynner. You won’t like what I will do.”
In response, he turned away and looked for his shirt, then remembered she’d torn it off him.
“Whoever keeps you from me will regret it. Do you honestly think I don’t know where you spend most of your time?” she spat at him.
His gaze hardened. “Once again, you waste my time. I have work to do.”
At his dismissal, her shriek reverberated through the chambers. A blast of her power sent him slamming into the wall. She leaped at him and slapped her hand over his heart. The searing pressure of her touch had him grunting in pain. Her power pulsed through the mark she’d branded him with when he’d first tried to leave her eons ago.
Breathing hard, he shoved her off him. She stumbled and landed on the couch.
“Do not threaten me.”
Rage sparked off her. She tossed her hair away from her flushed face, her expression lethal. “I will never let you go.”
Of that, he had little doubt. Two millennia had already proven that. Reynner walked out of her boudoir, weary of her games. He desperately wanted the god-awful stench of this place—and her—off him.
***
The truck arrived on time the next morning. Eve had made the arrangements with Eric several days ago for her sculptures to be transported to his gallery. He liked things in early so he could prep the place and lay out each piece to its best advantage.
Eve cast a quick look down the short passage and bit her lip as she slipped her cell into the pocket of her jeans, after answering the driver’s call.
Reynner was still in the shower, and she had to leave for the studio. But she refused to bang on the door like some demented woman, one she was close to becoming if last night were an indicator of her emotions.
It was humiliating enough to know she’d lain awake in her bed, listening for his return. He’d come back in the early hours of the morning and had made no sound, but instinct had alerted her to his presence. She heard the soft click when the door opposite her room closed. But a faint whiff of an exotic scent drifted to her as if to let her know where he’d been.
Another woman.
A hollow pit opened in her stomach.
Christ, she wasn’t doing this to herself. Reynner’s life was his own, as he’d made it known.
She grabbed a pen, jotted a short note, and set it on the kitchen counter before leaving her apartment.
At her studio, Eve dismantled the larger art pieces first, then tried to keep out of the men’s way. She watched anxiously as they bubble-wrapped and crated each sculpture, making sure her precious cargo wouldn’t bounce around. She trusted Eric to take care of her future.
“Hey, girl, you coming to the gallery today?”
Eve glanced at the enormous man who’d been humming some kind of jazzy tune. A flirty grin rode his wide, dark face. He’d tied the sleeves of his overalls around his waist to reveal a navy tee with ripped-off sleeves and thick, tattooed arms.
Eric used Joe Livingstone whenever he wanted work carted around the city.
“No, Joe. I know you’ll take care of my babies. I have some work to complete. I’ll pop in tomorrow.”
“Don’t you worry, I’ll make real sure it’s all safe.” Joe called out instructions for the crates to be carried out to the truck.
Eve followed the men. She stood to the side and watched while they loaded the vehicle with the smaller crates, when Joe abruptly stopped singing and looked past her.
