Page 73 of Secrets of the Six

He smiles, though I sense sadness in his words. "You have always been free to walk away, Ines. You're the only person keeping yourself here."

"The house in the Golden District is keeping me here."

"Take mine then, I don't care." He offers flippantly.

"I'll take the one promised."

"So, the house is all you're staying for? It has nothing to do with us at all? With me?"

I furrow my brow. "No."

He pulls a silver container from his pocket and extracts a cig. "For someone who has spent a lifetime lying, you're awfully bad at it." He lights it up and takes a long draw before blowing smoke above us.

"I'm not lying."

"Oh, but you are." He pushes up from his side of the lane, pinching the cig between his index and middle fingers, and stalks toward me. "You think I don't see it?"

"See what?"

"The way you look at me." His voice is low, seductive, and it propels my stomach to flutter. "The way your chest rises and falls when you hear my voice or how your bottom lip puffs up when I draw near to you, as if your body is aching for my touch."

"You flatter yourself," I make a point to keep my breathing even as he closes the gap between us. "You aren't Don Rafael."

"No, I'm not." He readily agrees, planting his palm flush against the stone facade of the building I'm leaning against. "But you were never interested in him. You were taken by Salvador."

"Salvador was taken by me." I amend his statement, and he flashes a wicked smirk.

Taking one last swig of his cig before flicking it to the ground and grinding it beneath his boot, he nods. "Yes, I dare say he was."

"What do you want from me, Remus?" I whisper as he leans close, and I bite my lip to keep a moan from escaping when he drags his lips from the crook of my neck up to my ear.

His fingers slide from my waist down to my thigh. "Whatever you're willing to give me."

"Who goes there?" A gruff male voice barks out at the opposite end of the narrow street drawing our gaze. The Black Guard.

We're out past curfew in a very compromising position. The Night District is the only place where patrons can be out late, but they still have to be home before two in the morning. As it so happens, it's now almost three and we're the only ones stupid enough to be out this late. And the black masks aren't doing us any favors.

"Stay right where you are!" The patrolman points at us and motions for two other guards to join him.

"Shit," I hiss.

"Language, Vibora." He teases, not at all worried about the patrol. "Do you trust me?"

"What other choice do I have?"

"I'll take it." He chuckles. "When they get closer, we will have to incapacitate them and make a run for it."

I slip my hand to my pistol, but he grabs my wrist. "We don't kill, remember?"

"An unfortunate rule if you ask me."

"I didn't ask you." His gaze narrows. "No killing. Clear?"

"Perfectly." I release my hold on the handle of my revolver.

"What are you two doing out this late? It's past curfew." The lead soldier grumbles, as if our existence is majorly inconvenient for him and his buddies. He stops. "Why are you wearing those masks? I think we have a couple burglars on our hands."

The three patrolmen beeline for us, drawing their rapiers as if those will do them any good. Remus huffs and pushes away from me, squaring his shoulders to the three men. I don't know what propels me to do it, but I take my stance beside him, ready to fight.