knowledge, the fact that
scholars from different eras had ventured through the very halls she now
wandered.
She came to a small dark room at the end of the hall,
almost by accident. She thought perhaps it was closet. Instead, it opened out
to a small room that seemed devoted to a single book.
It was a gorgeous thing, nearly as large a dining room
table if it were actually opened. Sitting under a spotlight, in a glass case,
the book had a presence all its own. It was a handsome volume bound with
leather that had once been black, and the silver clasps that held it together
retained the gorgeous patina of age.
She angled her head to read the placard.
Being the stories and histories of the Great King, Avila…
She hadn’t heard a step. Instead, she felt a prickle up her
spine, and she suddenly realized she was not alone. A lifetime’s worth of
hard-won experience following leads in some seedy places reared up and she spun
around, crouched and ready to act if she needed to.
To her surprise and shock, she saw that it was Nikolos. In
his black tuxedo, he looked ridiculously handsome, and the smile on his face
could have come from a painting of Lucifer himself, the fallen angel.
“Nikolos! You scared me.”
“Apparently,” he said, entering the room casually. “I
thought that you weren’t going to be here tonight.”
“Oh, I never said that,” she said with a small smile. “I
just told you that I wouldn’t be needing a ride.”
“I see, and what was the point of this exercise?”
There was something restrained about him, something
waiting, something coiled. She could feel her heart beat faster, but there was
no fear in her reaction. She knew that she should have backed away for a number
of reasons, but instead, all she wanted to do was to get closer, and closer and
closer…
“I want to see every side of you,” she said quietly.
“Explain.”
“I want to see you when you think I am watching. I want to
see you the way the people back there see you. I want to criticize you and see
how you take it, and I want to touch your heart and see how you take that as
well.”
She wasn’t sure where those words had come from, but she
knew in her heart they were true. In her years as a journalist, she knew there
was nothing to do with truth but to live with it. To accept it, and she did.
“I see. And do you want to do all of this because it is
your damnable job?” Despite the heat of the words, there was something
plaintive about them as well.
She had decided on telling him to the truth, and so now she
did.
“No. I formed a deep and personal relationship with Opal.
We will be friends for the rest of our lives. And when I look at you,
friendship is not what I feel.”
He took another step closer to her. His eyes were black as
night, and she could feel the heat of them on her, as if he wished to burn her
alive.
“If I am not your friend or your client, then who do you
want me to be?” There was a threat there, but shew knew it for what it was. It
was a plea, and she gave him what he was asking for.
“I want you to be you,” she said fiercely, looking straight
up into his eyes. She was not afraid of him. She never would be.
It was like a fairy tale. The moment she said those words,
she knew her fate was sealed. He took another step, bringing them right up to
each other. He caught her up in his arms, and kissed her hard.
The kiss they had shared in the car was a gentle thing,
something meant to teach them about each other. There was nothing instructional
or gentle about this kiss. It was nothing but need and fire. She could feel the
way his frame pressed against hers, could feel his muscles and the way he
trembled.
She had never been desired like this before, not really. But
the idea was not unwelcome, because she was not sure that, in all her years on
this planet, she had ever wanted someone this badly.. Her career and her
professionalism were on the line, but now she knew what she wanted even more
than
scholars from different eras had ventured through the very halls she now
wandered.
She came to a small dark room at the end of the hall,
almost by accident. She thought perhaps it was closet. Instead, it opened out
to a small room that seemed devoted to a single book.
It was a gorgeous thing, nearly as large a dining room
table if it were actually opened. Sitting under a spotlight, in a glass case,
the book had a presence all its own. It was a handsome volume bound with
leather that had once been black, and the silver clasps that held it together
retained the gorgeous patina of age.
She angled her head to read the placard.
Being the stories and histories of the Great King, Avila…
She hadn’t heard a step. Instead, she felt a prickle up her
spine, and she suddenly realized she was not alone. A lifetime’s worth of
hard-won experience following leads in some seedy places reared up and she spun
around, crouched and ready to act if she needed to.
To her surprise and shock, she saw that it was Nikolos. In
his black tuxedo, he looked ridiculously handsome, and the smile on his face
could have come from a painting of Lucifer himself, the fallen angel.
“Nikolos! You scared me.”
“Apparently,” he said, entering the room casually. “I
thought that you weren’t going to be here tonight.”
“Oh, I never said that,” she said with a small smile. “I
just told you that I wouldn’t be needing a ride.”
“I see, and what was the point of this exercise?”
There was something restrained about him, something
waiting, something coiled. She could feel her heart beat faster, but there was
no fear in her reaction. She knew that she should have backed away for a number
of reasons, but instead, all she wanted to do was to get closer, and closer and
closer…
“I want to see every side of you,” she said quietly.
“Explain.”
“I want to see you when you think I am watching. I want to
see you the way the people back there see you. I want to criticize you and see
how you take it, and I want to touch your heart and see how you take that as
well.”
She wasn’t sure where those words had come from, but she
knew in her heart they were true. In her years as a journalist, she knew there
was nothing to do with truth but to live with it. To accept it, and she did.
“I see. And do you want to do all of this because it is
your damnable job?” Despite the heat of the words, there was something
plaintive about them as well.
She had decided on telling him to the truth, and so now she
did.
“No. I formed a deep and personal relationship with Opal.
We will be friends for the rest of our lives. And when I look at you,
friendship is not what I feel.”
He took another step closer to her. His eyes were black as
night, and she could feel the heat of them on her, as if he wished to burn her
alive.
“If I am not your friend or your client, then who do you
want me to be?” There was a threat there, but shew knew it for what it was. It
was a plea, and she gave him what he was asking for.
“I want you to be you,” she said fiercely, looking straight
up into his eyes. She was not afraid of him. She never would be.
It was like a fairy tale. The moment she said those words,
she knew her fate was sealed. He took another step, bringing them right up to
each other. He caught her up in his arms, and kissed her hard.
The kiss they had shared in the car was a gentle thing,
something meant to teach them about each other. There was nothing instructional
or gentle about this kiss. It was nothing but need and fire. She could feel the
way his frame pressed against hers, could feel his muscles and the way he
trembled.
She had never been desired like this before, not really. But
the idea was not unwelcome, because she was not sure that, in all her years on
this planet, she had ever wanted someone this badly.. Her career and her
professionalism were on the line, but now she knew what she wanted even more
than
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