come back to this place?”
“We haven’t been in this place in a hell of a long time.”
“But it’s there. There is something inevitable about us.”
Meg moved to a small chair on the far side of the room and sat on the edge, wrapping her arms around herself. A jumble of frantic thoughts fought for space in her head and she looked for the right words to explain what she meant.
“The first time I met you, you were a boy.”
“And then I wasn’t.”
“No, you weren’t. But that first time. When I was asked to intercede to help your father. You were just this sweet little amusement. A small boy with the mind of a scholar and the heart of a warrior.”
“I was a scrawny, know-it-all brat.”
“I recall it rather differently. But imagine my surprise fifteen years later when your father called me back once more to offer aide and I saw the man you’d become. I saw you with a woman’s eyes.”
“I thought you were beautiful, that first time I met you. A vision I could never let go of, no matter how hard I tried. I was too young to understand what it meant, but I thought you were perfect.”
Even with the distance that separated them across the large room, the unerring focus of his blue gaze penetrated through her. “It’s always been there,” Meg whispered.
“So what is the problem? Why are you upset?”
“Because I ruined us once. Why should this time be any different?”
* * *
Eris paced the length of her small living room. She’d never been fond of waiting, preferring action to stillness. “It should be over by now.”
Tyrus glanced up from where he tapped at his cell phone. “I don’t know why you sent them out in the first place. Those Destroyers came off like a couple of bumbling idiots.”
“My sister assured me they were some of her best men.”
“Right. Testosterone-laden assholes who wouldn’t put together two coherent thoughts if they’d been handed to them.”
“I wanted information.”
“Yeah. Doubt you’ll be getting that.” Tyrus stared back down at his phone. “The surprise attack was a nice touch, though. I told her she had forty-eight hours. The early hit was a sneaky stroke. Well done.”
Eris allowed her gaze to roam over him. Thick black hair framed a tanned face with high cheekbones, full lips and a hard jaw. He had the physique of a fighter and the demeanor of a cat.
Silent watchfulness with overtones of lazy.
And something else she hadn’t quite been able to pin down, even after all this time.
As a first project, he’d been all right. He’d done her bidding without much fuss and had given her a pair of eyes and ears on situations when she needed to be elsewhere. She knew those eyes and ears also indulged in his own interests during his time off and that was what had always left her just the wrong side of bothered.
Since he did his job with no complaint, she’d ignored the tell-tale signs and disregarded the small voice that told her something else hovered just beneath the surface.
Besides, there was the possibility it was just her own sense of job dissatisfaction that was really coming through.
Discord was relatively easy to create, Eris knew, but there were so many damn humans in the world it was hard to keep up with all of them. Her little project had allowed her to start a fire somewhere and keep it burning while she headed off to start up another one, but even with the help, she had far too much to do.
She shot another glance at his bent head and sighed. All things considered and that little nagging voice be damned, she’d call him a success. She had bigger fish to fry than anyone could possibly imagine.
Tyrus had proved she could put her plans in motion.
Not a bad job for her first try. And relatively easy, all things considered. The hardest part had been keeping him on ice until she was ready to put him to good use.
Unbidden, an image of Rogan Black seared through her mind’s eye.
Those bright green eyes that were somehow able to
“We haven’t been in this place in a hell of a long time.”
“But it’s there. There is something inevitable about us.”
Meg moved to a small chair on the far side of the room and sat on the edge, wrapping her arms around herself. A jumble of frantic thoughts fought for space in her head and she looked for the right words to explain what she meant.
“The first time I met you, you were a boy.”
“And then I wasn’t.”
“No, you weren’t. But that first time. When I was asked to intercede to help your father. You were just this sweet little amusement. A small boy with the mind of a scholar and the heart of a warrior.”
“I was a scrawny, know-it-all brat.”
“I recall it rather differently. But imagine my surprise fifteen years later when your father called me back once more to offer aide and I saw the man you’d become. I saw you with a woman’s eyes.”
“I thought you were beautiful, that first time I met you. A vision I could never let go of, no matter how hard I tried. I was too young to understand what it meant, but I thought you were perfect.”
Even with the distance that separated them across the large room, the unerring focus of his blue gaze penetrated through her. “It’s always been there,” Meg whispered.
“So what is the problem? Why are you upset?”
“Because I ruined us once. Why should this time be any different?”
* * *
Eris paced the length of her small living room. She’d never been fond of waiting, preferring action to stillness. “It should be over by now.”
Tyrus glanced up from where he tapped at his cell phone. “I don’t know why you sent them out in the first place. Those Destroyers came off like a couple of bumbling idiots.”
“My sister assured me they were some of her best men.”
“Right. Testosterone-laden assholes who wouldn’t put together two coherent thoughts if they’d been handed to them.”
“I wanted information.”
“Yeah. Doubt you’ll be getting that.” Tyrus stared back down at his phone. “The surprise attack was a nice touch, though. I told her she had forty-eight hours. The early hit was a sneaky stroke. Well done.”
Eris allowed her gaze to roam over him. Thick black hair framed a tanned face with high cheekbones, full lips and a hard jaw. He had the physique of a fighter and the demeanor of a cat.
Silent watchfulness with overtones of lazy.
And something else she hadn’t quite been able to pin down, even after all this time.
As a first project, he’d been all right. He’d done her bidding without much fuss and had given her a pair of eyes and ears on situations when she needed to be elsewhere. She knew those eyes and ears also indulged in his own interests during his time off and that was what had always left her just the wrong side of bothered.
Since he did his job with no complaint, she’d ignored the tell-tale signs and disregarded the small voice that told her something else hovered just beneath the surface.
Besides, there was the possibility it was just her own sense of job dissatisfaction that was really coming through.
Discord was relatively easy to create, Eris knew, but there were so many damn humans in the world it was hard to keep up with all of them. Her little project had allowed her to start a fire somewhere and keep it burning while she headed off to start up another one, but even with the help, she had far too much to do.
She shot another glance at his bent head and sighed. All things considered and that little nagging voice be damned, she’d call him a success. She had bigger fish to fry than anyone could possibly imagine.
Tyrus had proved she could put her plans in motion.
Not a bad job for her first try. And relatively easy, all things considered. The hardest part had been keeping him on ice until she was ready to put him to good use.
Unbidden, an image of Rogan Black seared through her mind’s eye.
Those bright green eyes that were somehow able to
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