Page 136 of Revenant

The innuendo causes my core to tighten instantly.

“Can you two get a room?” Moriah comments from a few chairs over. I blow her a kiss, and she rolls her eyes. Despite having the talk about Koen, it still makes me a little anxious in situations like this. I never want to make her feel uncomfortable, and though I believed her when she said it was nothing more than attraction, the thought still lingers.

“She’s fine,” Koen assures through a whisper. “You have nothing to be anxious about.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because there’s not a single emotion coming from her that would indicate anything else. She’s happy that you’re happy.” I glance back toward my best friend, and I hope one day she can find someone that makes her happy. That maybe she won’t be confined to the shackles of the pack or ancient obligations that were created before she was born.

“Alicent Calder?” the nurse confirms, not paying Koen any mind.

“That’s me.” My palms immediately start to sweat, but Koen takes a hold of one of my hands before I can start picking.

“Perfect, just wanted to double check. Veilcrest thanks you for your donation.”

Yeah, I bet it does. It’s not like anyone is going to be getting it other than Eryx, but I suppose the gratitude is still appreciated. The nurse sets everything up just like the guys do in their rooms.

I squeeze Koen’s hand instinctively, but realize I’m not nearly as anxious as normal. And I owe it all to him. “So what’s with the cards?”

“I’m so glad you asked.” He pulls his hand from mine, and I instantly miss the connection. He fans the cards out between us face down. “Pick a card.”

I arch a brow. “Are you serious.”

“Deadly. I don’t joke about magic, love.”

Shaking my head, I suppress a chuckle and do as I’m told and pick a damn card.

He pulls them all back together, mindlessly shuffling them around. “Now look at it, but don’t let me see it, and put it anywhere in the deck.”

“I feel like this would only work if Bastian was here. So he can tell you what he sees in my head.”

“I’m offended you don’t have any faith in my abilities.”

“Guess you’ll have to prove me wrong.” I shove the card back into the others while keeping eye contact with him, hoping I can throw him off whatever trick he has up his sleeve.

His smile doesn’t falter as he shuffles mindlessly, trying to give the illusion that even though he holds the cards, I’m somehow the one in control.

“That gala’s tonight,” he states, making idle conversation while he undoubtedly does whatever he needs to do to make sure my card is exactly where he needs it to be.

Maybe holding his gaze isn’t the best approach, and I should be concentrating on his hands. But the second my eyes downcast, I immediately regret it. His fingers work over the cards, moving them around in an obnoxious pattern.

It’s criminal how he can make shuffling a deck of cards look erotic. The way rings adorn his fingers with intent and precision, veins and muscles bulging like they have a right to. It’s simply unfair. “Careful, love. Your heart rate is alarmingly high.” I know just by the tone in his voice he’s wearing a devilish smirk that will do absolutely nothing to help me in this situation.

“You give yourself too much credit.”

“Your mouth is saying one thing, but your body screams another.” He finally stops shuffling, pulling my attention fully back to him. He quirks a brow, as if he’s waiting for me to comment on the previous statement he made.

He fans the cards out again, and tells me to only pick ten, but not to look. I do and try to figure out why I can’t shake this feeling of impending doom. There are conversations we still need to have; things we all need to figure out.

Like what life looks like for them outside of these walls.

If all goes according to plan, they’ll be free. Not confined to the grounds and, essentially, they won’t need me anymore. That’s how this whole thing started anyway. I can’t help but think that everything we’ve been doing is just something to pass the time.

Choosing to enjoy what little time we have left, I push it all to the wayside. That’s a later problem. Right now, I need to focus on the present, what I have while it’s still mine to take.

“Are you going to show me my card yet, or are you stalling?”

He shakes his head, a smile plastered on his face. “Have you decided on a dress?”