“Eve’s a sculptor. She debuts her work Saturday night.”
“Wonderful. Do I get to see it?”
“Sure, I don’t see why not,” Eve told Aerén and pushed away from the small dining table, needing coffee more than food.
“No, you can’t,” Reynner said, sounding a little terse. “I need you here to keep an eye on things. The Darkreans won’t give up. We are too close to finding the Stone to make careless mistakes now.”
Eve left them to their talks, headed to the galley kitchen, and put on the coffee pot.
“Are we going to dematerialize to these places to begin our search?” North asked.
“No. The distance is too far, and Eve doesn’t care for that mode of transport. I’ll lease an SUV or something. And no, Aerén, you cannot drive that or the Porsche,” Reynner said.
Aerén evidently had already done so.
A chair scraped against the wooden floor, then Aerén said, “Before I leave this realm, it will be my personal quest to do just that.”
Eve glanced at them. He winked at her as he crossed to the kitchen. Smiling, she opened the cupboard above her head and reached for the mug when Aerén grasped her by the waist and set her aside.
A low, ferocious growl echoed through the apartment. Startled, Eve dropped the mug. Only Aerén’s quick reflexes stopped it from crashing to the floor. She spun around to witness Reynner pinning Aerén with a lethal glare.
Aerén didn’t seem fazed at the warning. He cocked a taunting brow at Reynner, set the mug on the counter, and sauntered over to the fridge. He nabbed an orange soda and headed back for the dining table.
“You’re asking for trouble,” North muttered to him.
Reynner’s gaze stayed on her. Biting her lip at his show of aggression, Eve turned to take out the rest of the mugs, except the other two sat on the higher shelf. Darn, she’d have to hop on the counter.
A powerful forearm reached from behind her for the elusive cups. And a cool, heart-poundingly familiar scent of wild forest surrounded her. Reynner set them down on the counter.
Eve twisted around in the narrow space and was enclosed by his body heat. She had to force the words out. “Thank you.”
He nodded.
However, meeting his dark gaze, uneasiness tugged at her. And standing so close, the tension in him vibrated through her like a taut rubber band. She couldn’t stop herself from asking, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
She wasn’t buying it. Something was off with him, had been since they got back from Exilum.
North collected the dishes and leftovers and brought them over. “Do we start scouting this evening?”
“No, not tonight. After Eve’s showing.”
Reynner’s clipped tone pushed her to act. She grabbed his forearm when he would have walked away. He didn’t speak, just looked at her.
She took in the light sheen of perspiration on his face, almost like... “You’re in pain.”
“You’re imagining things, Eve. I’m fine.”
***
Reynner leaned against the counter a few feet from Eve, and struggled to breathe through the pain garroting him.
He shouldn’t have said what he had when she’d asked about Inanna’s scent on him. Eve didn't deserve his anger. But seeing her with Aerén, and jealousy, that capricious bastard reared its ugly head that she turned to Aerén, not him for her needs.
Because you weren't around, dumbass!
How the hell could he reveal to his mate his unending shame? One moment of weakness that had bound him for eternity to a vicious goddess. Forever at her beck and call.
