She shook her head. “No, I guess not. Notnow.”
“Did I…overstep when I cast him out?”
It had felt like the right thing to do. I wanted us to get a fresh start, and him being here was an obstacle. I mean, I wasn’t stupid. She was the Maiden and she had escaped. He probably would have revealed things I was looking into. After all, she did mention that he had helped her run away from that situation…
And yet, she had looked ready to burst into flames if it could have avoided him to talk about anything in front of me.
“You didn’t.”
I pulled her closer against me as I leaned back against the backrest of the chair. She was all tense in my arms. Fuck, was it awkward? I had no idea what I was doing.
“Are you staying for the night?”
There was a silence and my phone buzzed in my pocket against my thigh.Not now.
“I’m not sure it’s agood—”
“You can take whatever room you want,” I interrupted. “I’m not asking you to stay inmine, even though I’d like that. I know it’s not—you’re not…I mean, we’re not there yet.”
She seemed to relax against me, nestling closer, rubbing her nose in the crook of my neck.Do not. Get. Hard. Now.
My stupid phone buzzed again.
“I guess something requires my attention anyway,” I said, lifting my hips to be able to slide my hand in my pocket and retrieve the source of my current frustration.
Lola stood up.Noooo, please stay, I almost begged.
Instead, I gave her a weak smile. “I guess I’ll find you in Dimitri’s?”
She gave me a slight nod. “Yes. Thank you, Carter. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
Before she had the chance to take too many steps away, I jumped up and dropped my phone on the seat, grabbing her hand and pulling her back in my arms. The skirt of her flowy dress swirled around her with the motion and she gasped right before our mouths collided.
She responded to the kiss eagerly, but her hands were shy as they landed softly on my chest.
“You might sleep in someone else’s bed, but if you thought I’d let you go without atleasta goodnight kiss—”
She chuckled, rolling her eyes. The heavy mood her brother’s appearance provoked now gone. I gave her hip one last squeeze before reluctantly letting her go.
Only once she had disappeared at the top of the stairs did I let out a heavy breath and turned my gaze to my phone, which kept buzzing on the cushioned seat.
What now?
“You took your sweet time,” Jeremiah said from Lola’s seat, feet up on the Archives’ desk. I kicked his legs away and he had the nerve to scoff. “Really? It takes your best friend disappearing with the shady Nephilim for you to give a shit about your mate?”
I didn’t bother to correct him on the fact that, at the moment, my best friend was the shady one, and took a seat on the armchair facing him.
“Get to the point, I’ve had a shit night.”
Well. Not shit, but it didn’t go the way I hoped it would. Damn Vampire.
“Out of Datura?” he teased.
“Out ofpatience.”
Jeremiah chuckled, distractedly grabbed a pen next to the keyboard and started fumbling with it.
“Angels scouts just came back,” he said, tone suddenly more serious. “They flew to the area Dimitri pointed out, and there was thehugefacility. I mean, if it’s just a prison, it must be able to hold thousands of people. But I don’t think it’s only that, there are two distinct buildings.”
