“That’s possible.” Kian opened the box and pulled out a cigar. “I need to ask him about it. Things have changed a lot since then, and I no longer view him as a threat. He should feel free to confess.”
“If Lokan can form a connection with a male, I wonder if he could do that while David is unconscious.” Amanda turned to Kalugal. “That should be an interesting experiment. Is there a way we can bring him here?”
“It’s too risky.”
“Why? Lokan came to the village for your wedding.”
“And he took a big risk doing that. I spoke with him before coming here, and he sounded worried. He even considered sending Carol by herself to the village.”
Kian frowned. “Why didn’t he say anything to me?”
“Because it’s just an uneasy feeling, and Lokan has no concrete proof that he’s being followed. He thinks that he’s being paranoid.”
“I don’t like it.” Kian pulled out his phone. “I’ll ask Turner to send a human team to snoop around and check it out.”
“Why humans?” Annani asked. “Why not Guardians?”
“Humans snooping around Lokan will be less suspicious if noticed. He has a lot of dealings with prominent figures in Washington, so it would be assumed that one of them decided to investigate him, and maybe that’s precisely what’s going on. But if Navuh or Losham put Lokan under surveillance, Guardians doing the snooping would be a dead giveaway that he’s involved with us.”
“I think he should jump ship already,” Syssi said. “We have Areana to sound the alarm in case Navuh plans something against the clan. Lokan doesn’t have to keep risking his neck.”
Kian shook his head. “Navuh doesn’t tell Areana everything.”
“He doesn’t tell Lokan everything either.” Syssi crossed her arms over her chest. “Especially if he suspects him of working with us.”
“I doubt that he does.” Kian opened the box and pulled a cigar cutter out. “If he did, Lokan would be dead already.”
Annani gasped. “Please, do not say things like that.”
“It’s the truth, Mother. Do you think a monster like Navuh would spare a traitor just because it’s his own son?”
“Then he definitely needs to jump ship as Syssi phrased it.”
“It’s his decision, Mother, not mine.”
“You can help him make the right choice.” Annani cast a hard stare at Kalugal. “And so can you. He is your brother.”
47
Eleanor
Eleanor checked her hair in the mirror and adjusted her nightgown’s neckline, so it showed the tops of her breasts but didn’t reveal too much. The idea was to make herself look sexy but not obvious.
The nightgown was a present from Vivian, and she wondered whether her sister-in-law had bought it for herself and then decided to gift it to her. The thing was way too short on Eleanor, bordering on indecent, but it was perfect for what she had in mind.
Was it too much, though?
Maybe she should just put on her old sleep shirt?
Damn. Why couldn’t she be as confident in her sex appeal as she was in her other skills?
Life would be much simpler if she were a man.
Males could get away with things that women could not, and it wasn’t fair. They weren’t expected to be nice all of the time, or accommodating, or to dedicate hours to looking good.
That wasn’t true, though. There was a reason that men who were not training for combat still spent so much time in the gym working their muscles.
“For every pot, there is a lid,” she told her reflection in the mirror. “Greggory likes you just the way you are, so stop being such a pussy.”
Eleanor chuckled. On the one hand, she was complaining about being the opposite of timid, and on the other hand, she was acting like the definition of it.
She was assertive, a go-getter, and she shouldn’t act any differently with Greggory. Besides, she had a good excuse to call him. There was the virtual reality adventure she’d shared with Kri, and even more exciting was Turner’s unexpected offer. Worst case scenario, they would just talk about that. But hopefully, once she told Greggory that her calls were no longer being monitored, things would happen naturally without her having to put on a seductive act because she sucked at that.
Getting comfortable in bed, she propped the phone on her upturned knees and placed the video call.
A moment later, Greggory’s handsome face appeared on the small screen. “Hello, gorgeous.”
Now, that was an encouraging greeting.
“Hello, yourself. Are you in your room?”
“If you are asking whether I’m alone, the answer is yes.” She saw him turn around. “Let me just get comfortable.”
His face disappeared from the screen as he got into bed, but a moment later, he was back, smiling at her. “That’s better. So how was your virtual experience with Kri?”
“Out of this world, but I wish I could do that with you. William’s team modified the program to take all the sexy parts out, and Kri was an awesome partner, but it would have been even more fun with you.”
“Patience, my lovely. Soon we will share more than a virtual experience.”
“Amen to that. Also, my calls are no longer being monitored, so we can talk freely.”
The wolfish grin on Greggory’s face was like kindling on the embers of her desire. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear that.” His eyes trailed lower to where her nightgown’s neckline slipped to reveal the tops of her breasts. “I want to reach through the phone and touch you.”
“Same here.” She ran her finger over the screen. “Am I imagining it, or did your muscles get bigger since the last time we talked?”
“You’re not imagining it. I’m taking out my frustrations on deadlifting.”
Her heart fluttered with hope. Was he talking about sexual frustration? Did it mean that he hadn’t slaked his needs with anyone else?
“What are you frustrated about?”
He looked at her with hooded eyes. “Isn’t it obvious? I miss you. I want to be with you, inside of you, and I can’t. I’m going nuts.”
He hadn’t really answered her question, and she had to know. “I’m sure that you haven’t remained celibate.”
Casting her a hard glare, he hissed from between fangs that had suddenly doubled in size, “Have you?”
“I haven’t been with anyone but you in years, Greggory. And I don’t plan on it either.”
He smiled, but his fangs didn’t retract. “And why is that?”
If he was expecting her to say that she was in love with him, he would be disappointed because she wasn’t. She liked him, and she wanted to see where their relationship could go, but they hadn’t been together long enough to know whether their feelings for each other ran deeper than physical attraction.
Eleanor shrugged. “I’m just not interested in anyone else at the moment. Are you?”
“Not in the slightest. I like you, Eleanor. Maybe it’s even more than that.”
Her stupid heart fluttered again. “More?”