The Sharpest Kiss by Elizabeth Myles (the false prince .txt) 📕

“You’re saying you think he sabotaged the charms?” Lucy asked him. “That he fed you to Celia?”

“I think he tried to, yeah, and he got almost everyone else on my team killed.”

“Why would he do that?” Dara wondered.

“To make sure Celia was at full power when he came for her himself? I don’t know. Could just be he’s a dick. I’ve heard a lot of stuff about him, you know. Things he’s supposedly done. A lot of it’s pretty heinous, and if it’s true, well…” He shook his head, as if to say enough was enough. “Look, after all this, Dorian can get bent as far as I’m concerned. I don’t want to work for him anymore, okay? Isn’t that good enough for you guys?”

Kiefer studied him for a second, considering. He shook his head, too, and said, “Sorry, chief.”

“But—”

“Maybe we can discuss your loyalties again later, but for now you’re just going to have to sit this one out.” The sorcerer grabbed Theo’s arm and spun him around, marching him toward the building. He sat him down with his back against the wall. Theo’s eyes still held a stubborn shine, but what little fight he’d mustered seemed to have petered out. He didn’t argue anymore.

“Alright, let’s go,” Kiefer said, gesturing. “Ladies, get to chanting. Guys, you’re with me.”

Dara put her hand on Jason’s arm. “Be careful.”

He tucked the holy water into a pocket and gathered his wife against his chest. “You, too. Read good, Baby,” he nodded at the spell book in her grasp. He leaned down and kissed her as though he might never see her again, one hand threaded in her hair and the other kneading her backside as his tongue plundered her mouth.

Lucy turned away, her face feeling warm. She caught Aaron looking at her, which only made her blush worse.

Her boss held her gaze for a long moment, his eyes looking dark green in the moonlight. He came over and trailed his fingers down her arm, curling his hand around her wrist.

Before Lucy could register his intent, he’d tugged her against him. Still clutching the spell book in one hand, she felt her arms circle instinctively around his back, and found her cheek pressed against his chest. Her glasses went off-kilter, one side of the frame digging into her eyebrow, but she didn’t care. She was too busy enjoying the smell of his fabric softener, his deodorant, and that other, subtle, masculine scent that was just pure Aaron. The enticing aroma, mingled with his unexpected touch, sent a zing of excitement shooting through her veins. She felt her knees tremble.

“Do I feel weird?” he asked, pulling her in tight. “Am I freezing?”

“You’re, um…you’re cool,” she said, and felt him laugh. The truth was, cold or not, he didn’t feel weird to her at all. Lucy knew it might be all in her head, but she thought he felt pretty perfect lined up against her, their bodies fitting together like two matched pieces of a puzzle. And it didn’t matter that his skin was chilly, because she was suddenly warm enough for both of them. She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply of his scent and curling the fingers of her free hand into his shoulder blade.

His hand came up to rest on her neck, his thumb tracing firm circles along her nape. “You know you don’t have to do this,” he said, his voice drawing tight with concern. “You could just go home. In fact, that might be the smartest move for you to make.”

“I’m not afraid,” she said. “Well, not enough to just run off with my tail between my legs, anyway.”

He chuckled again, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. He pulled back just enough to gaze down at her. Lucy’s heart flipped when she noted his expression. There’d always been warmth in his eyes when he looked at her, but now, unless she was imagining this too, there was heat there, a dark flame that spoke, astonishingly enough, of…desire. It was something she’d never seen in a man’s eyes before, and it made her mouth go dry. “In that case, take care, Lucy,” he said, his voice rough. “Don’t let yourself get hurt, okay?” His expression intensified, and he ran his thumb along her jaw, touching it lightly, briefly, to the corner of her lips. “Because I honestly don’t think I could stand it if anything were to happen to you.”

Lucy’s knees wobbled again. Her heart performed a happy dance. “Y-you take care, too. Be careful.” She wished she had the nerve to pop up on her toes, wind her arms around his neck, and give him a proper good luck kiss like Jason and Dara’s, but of course she didn’t. And then the moment was over, anyway. Another quick squeeze of her hand and he’d released her and turned away. Now he was jogging to catch up to Kiefer, who was heading across the courtyard—just in time to meet up with two hulking, unmarked armored trucks speeding into the square from the street.

The vehicles swept around in a wide circle, so that their tail ends wound up facing Lucy and her friends, and then they came to a screeching halt. The back doors of both trucks flew open, and a wave of rabid vampires poured out.

Chapter Nineteen

Inside Book of Love, Celia had taken to taunting Nathan, yanking Jessica’s head to one side by her hair and raking her fangs along her neck.

“That would just about do you in, wouldn’t it, Nathan?” the master vampire purred. “If I were to turn your little girlfriend here? Yes, I can see how painful the idea is to you, which does make it rather appealing to me, but…I don’t know. Perhaps it would be better to just leave her human and…” Celia paused. Jessica saw her out of the corner of her eye, tapping her chin with one long fingernail as she pondered. “Yes, I