Once Bitten (Shadow Guild: The Rebel #1)(33)

Something unidentifiable crossed his handsome face. “I don’t eat people.”

“Hmm, I feel like you’re splitting hairs.” I kept my distance. “Why are you here?”

“I followed you.”

“Yeah, that’s what I was worried about. Why?”

“You froze me in my own office.”

“You scared me.”

“I did?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah.” I shifted, wishing I had a weapon on me. It was weird to be attracted to someone I was terrified of.

“Do you scare easily?”

“Only when it’s wise.”

“Is it wise now?”

Something tingled down my spine, and I wondered. “Undetermined. Why are you here?”

“I’m interested in you.”

You. Not the murder, but you.

Maybe because he was the murderer. I couldn’t rule it out, even though it seemed less likely. At least, it felt less likely. I hoped my attraction wasn’t driving me off the scent.

Nerves shivered up my spine. “Oh?”

An unseen force seemed to tug me toward him, and I resisted it. I wanted to get close enough to touch him, but I also wanted to walk out of here with all my fingers intact. Not to mention my throat.

I reached for the vial hanging around my neck, unscrewed it from the chain., and held it up. “This is a truth serum from Eve. Drink it and tell me you didn’t commit this murder or the murder of a woman killed on Fleet Street on the twentieth of June last year.”

His gaze moved between the little bottle and me. “Fine.”

My heart thundered. He took the vial from me, his touch avoiding mine.

In the flash of an eye, the potion was gone. “I didn’t murder either of those people.”

The words flowed easily from his lips, and the slightest bit of tension left my body.

“Who was the woman.”?” he asked.

“A similar victim.”

“With a necromancer’s mark?”

“Yes.” I looked to the left of him.

“Why won’t you look me in the eye?” he asked.

“I’ve heard about your power to control people.”

“I don’t need eye contact for it to work.”

I frowned. “You haven't tried it on me, then?”

“In fact, I have.” His hand moved toward my face, and I froze solid.

Gently, his fingertips rested against my chin. The slightest pressure moved my head. Suddenly, I was looking right at him, unable to drag my gaze away from his icy eyes. It seemed like heat flickered in their depths, but that couldn’t be right. He was an ice-cold statue, no matter how much he heated me up inside. I’d never thought I had a death wish, but my interest in this guy suggested I had a big one.

“I’m really immune to you?” I asked.

“It seems that way.”

“And that’s…rare?”

“Exceedingly.” Interest rang in his voice.

I wanted to know more about him. And that required touching. The contact between my face and his hand didn't count. I needed to lay my own hand upon him.

I drew in a deep breath and slid closer, hoping he wouldn’t notice. His gaze sharpened as he watched me.

“Do you want to use your power on me?” he asked.

“You know about that?”

“I know everything.”

“Hardly.”

“I do.”

“What’s my favorite ice cream?”

“Everything that matters.”

“Oh, that matters.” I inched forward a bit under the guise of leaning against the wall.

He held out his hand, palm up. “I know what you want. Go ahead.”

I glared at him, not liking that I was transparent. I was also wearing about twelve square inches of fabric right now, so it wasn’t like I had any secrets here. And I wanted to know his secrets.

Quick as a snake, I shot my hand out and gripped his.

Heat surged up my arm, suffusing me with warmth. Attraction tightened in my lower belly, and a shiver ran over me.

But there was no information to be had.

I blinked up at him. “There’s nothing.”

“Really?”

“This can’t be right. My power always works.” It might not show me what I wanted to see, but it always showed me something. I tried not to focus on the place where our palms still met. Awareness buzzed through me, so intense that it made my head spin. I didn’t know if I wanted to run away or throw myself at him.

Both.

Visions of us in bed together flashed in my mind, but it was just my imagination. In fact, my imagination was pretty damned stellar at conjuring visions of him naked. Lots of lean muscle and eager hands and a hot mouth.

Whoa, girl.

I jerked my hand back, shocked.

That was all my imagination. Right?

“Done so soon?” he asked, his voice smooth.

Gasping slightly, I tried to get it together. I was just drunk, that was all. And I should be using this opportunity to grill him for more information if I couldn’t read it from a touch.

But what did it mean, the fact that our powers didn’t work on each other?

“Why are you so interested in this murder?” I asked. “That is, if you aren’t the murderer.”