He didn’t speak, merely stared at me expectantly. I frowned, glancing at the building where a man stood, smoking a thick cigar. Approaching him, I heard the valet close the car door and drive off, and I smiled demurely while he raked his gaze over my body hungrily.
“Do you have a spare?” I asked, and the man grinned with the cigar still between his teeth. Producing one from his jacket pocket, he snipped off the end and held it out for me. Accepting it, I wrapped my lips around the tip, uncaring that the armed guards left to babysit me were watching my every move. The man produced a match, covering it from the wind as I lowered to the flame, hollowing my cheeks as I pulled on it, lighting it.
“Friends of yours?” he asked, nodding at the men around us as we puffed the delicious tasting cigars together.
“I wouldn’t call them friends. More like hostile, unwilling babysitters,” I admitted, watching Ender’s lips twitch with the reference.
“Stunning woman like you, I can see why they’re surrounding you protectively,” he stated, beaming at me with piercing blue eyes that had me smiling in response to the infectious curve of his mouth. “Little thing like you could end up hurt or easily stolen.”
“It wouldn’t be as easy as you think.” I shrugged, puffing smoke from my lips while I waited for Kieran to return. “I’m a hellcat with one hell of a punch when needed.”
A woman walked up to us, frowning at me while she slipped her arm through the man’s, claiming her turf. I merely winked at her, watching as Kieran strolled up, glaring at the man next to me. The moment he was close enough for the man to recognize, he paled and quickly strode away with the woman being dragged behind him, leaving me smoking alone.
Kieran watched me, his eyes solely on my lips, which were wrapped around the cigar. I exhaled slowly, making the shape of an ‘O’ with my mouth, producing rings of smoke while he stared. Before I could take another drag, he grabbed the cigar and smelled it before tossing it on the pavement.
“Later, I will let you sample a Gurkha Black Dragon cigar. They are very rare and exquisite, just like you, Xariana.”
“Have you finished your business?” I was curious, but I wasn’t an idiot. I’d walked away from them to observe their conversation. They’d both been talking about me, looking at me the entire time.
“Indeed, I have. Sorry about that, but occasionally things come up that cannot be ignored. I hope you weren’t put out by waiting a few moments,” Kieran stated, offering me his elbow.
I smiled at his choice of words as he escorted me to the door. Once we reached it, the owner himself yanked it open. My eyes widened, and I started to speak, but he gushed all over Kieran.
“Mr. Knight, your table is waiting for you as requested. A bottle of your preferred whiskey is chilled and has been on ice since last night. We’ve made your favorite dishes and the few you asked to be cooked as well. If you’ll follow me, I will escort you upstairs to ensure that everything is how you wanted it tonight,” he said in a thick accent that had my brows hiking up my forehead.
We walked through the restaurant, causing heads to turn in our direction, and the upper class whispered as we passed. Entering a wide, mirror-covered elevator, we shot up to the top floor. My hand on Kieran’s arm tightened, hating the fluttering it caused inside of my stomach. He leaned closer, brushing lips against my ear that sent a jittering sensation through me before it turned into something darker.
“Someone doesn’t like heights, does she?” he questioned softly, nipping my ear as I closed my eyes. His arm shifted, sliding behind my back to touch against my bare skin. “I won’t let you fall.”
Opening my eyes, I suppressed the urge to tell him I wouldn’t have to worry about falling if we weren’t heading to the top of the building. Words were lost to me as the cityscape came into view. The whole floor was empty of guests. Staff waited in a line against the wall, with curious looks cast in our direction.
Exiting the elevator, I glanced at the ceiling, where a large, elegant chandelier sent colors and rainbow prisms dancing over every surface. My heels were the only sound inside the room, clicking over what looked like marble floors.
The moment we approached the table, Kieran pulled out a chair for me, and I narrowed my eyes at the action. Taking my seat, his gaze lowered to my bare leg, revealed once more from sitting. Rounding the table, he sat, staring across to where I waited, uncertain what to do next.
“Leave,” he stated firmly, shifting his focus on the owner that stepped back, nodding vigorously before signaling the staff, who all rushed out of the room. Kieran stared at me, smiling wickedly as he reached forward, grabbing the expensive bottle of whiskey. “You seem to be shell-shocked, Xariana. You can relax. I don’t intend to eat you, at least not until dessert has been served.”
I chewed my lip, studying how his fingers held the glass he filled, offering it to me. I took it, inhaling the amber liquid as I glanced around the windowed walls surrounding us. Plants and other such things covered the lower portion of them, and some were huge orchids dyed blue, drawing my focus to them.
“What are you thinking right now?” he asked, studying me as if he couldn’t quite figure me out.
“That I don’t belong here. I don’t fit into this crowd, Kieran. I’m also uncertain of how to proceed since I have never even been on a date,” I admitted, fidgeting. He narrowed his eyes as if I’d just spoken to him in a foreign language.
“You’ve never been on a date? You were to be married, Xari.”
I snorted, sliding my focus back to him. “That wasn’t like this. Micah didn’t date me. We grew up together and hunted as a team. There wasn’t a lot of romance happening between us. It was just expected. Hunters are a family unit, and we try to find a match within the guild. We know not to expect too much from one another and never take what we have for granted. Tomorrow I may go on a hunt, and by midnight, they could be salting my remains to ensure my corpse isn’t reanimated by something wanting to use it for nefarious reasons.”
“So you have never seen anyone outside of the—”
“I’ve never gone out with anyone. I’ve only had one relationship, and that was with Micah,” I interrupted, stopping the conversation in its tracks.
“But you’ve been with other men,” he returned, watching me.
“I have had emotionless sex,” I elaborated. “I found pleasure where I could, and then I made sure never to return to the area again. I would go to a new place and find someone else to scratch that itch when it arose. It was easier than looking for something that would, in turn—”
“Hurt you.”
“Exactly.”
“Eat, and enjoy the meal,” he urged, sitting back to stare at me with an expression in his eyes I didn’t wish to see.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Kieran wasn’t anything like what I’d expected him to be. He could carry on a conversation and wasn’t sharp or angry when the reply was personal. However, I did think he was feeding me false information rather than the truth about himself.
“Why do you want to own me? You could have anyone you wanted. So why me, Kieran?” I asked, once the dishes from the most delicious meal I’d ever tasted were cleared. I had to refrain from licking my plate clean. I’d almost done it just to make sure I got every morsel he’d paid for when the bill arrived.