His expression didn’t change, but I could tell that I’d shocked him.
“A cupcake.”
How, I didn’t know. It was more of a feeling rather than anything he’d shown outwardly.
As if he was saying something to me, just not audibly for me to hear it with my ears.
Awareness of the man standing in front of me was a lazy pulse just beneath the surface of my skin, and my hands itched to run over the length of his exposed torso.
He was wearing a white button-down dress shirt, unbuttoned, and showing very little skin. But the little he was showing down the length of his chest and abs was enough to set my blood on fire.
I wanted to launch myself at him. Wanted to climb him like a tree, wrap my legs around his hips, and impale myself on his long length all the while he pulled my hair and urged me on.
“What is that look on your face, Cadi?”
I swallowed, looking away.
“So, about that cupcake?”
I couldn’t be thinking of having sex with him. I’d literally just fucked the man against the window overlooking his club. In front of his friends.
I didn’t care how many times he told me that they couldn’t see. There was always a hint of truth in every lie that was told, and I knew without having confirmation that they could see through the one-way glass. They might not have actually seen or witnessed it, but they knew what was happening on the opposite side.
“I’m afraid there’re no cupcakes to be found in the entire manor,” he drawled. “But if we head to the kitchen, I can see what Chen was able to scrounge up for us on such short notice.”
“How short notice?” I asked warily. “And why am I at your place? Oh, and why can’t I remember how I got here?” I looked down at my clothes. “And let’s not even get into the fact that I’m not wearing the same clothes I put on when you so carelessly dropped me off in the middle of my apartment without updating me to your whereabouts and how you were fairing.”
His lips twitched as he held out his hand.
I went, and his eyes seemed to study my forehead for a long second as I moved closer to him.
I raised my hand.
“What are you looking at?” I asked, feeling to see if my hair was wild or something to elicit that sort of perusal.
“Nothing,” he lied. “Come.”
I came.
Well, not in the good way.
I followed him down the long length of the hallway, admiring the beautiful hardwood floors that lined the length.
“This is exquisite,” I said softly, trailing my fingers along the molding that lined the wall of the hall. It separated the paneling at the bottom from the painted top.
“Thank you,” Constantine said regally. “Are you sure you’re not overly hungry?”
The way he kept pushing had me worried that something more was going on than he was telling me.
I breathed in deeply, steadied my mind, and then shook my head. “No.”
His frown was ferocious.
But before I could question him further, the hallway spilled us out into a large kitchen.
“What…”
“Acadia?”
I turned to find my brothers sitting at the table with Chen. All of them had mugs in their hands, however, Chen’s I could tell wasn’t coffee. His had a suspicious red liquid in it that I somehow knew was blood.
“Coffee,” I groaned, walking to Nash.
I chose Nash’s coffee cup instead of Corbin’s because Nash made his coffee with sugar and milk, while Corbin drank his straight up black.
Nash allowed me to take the drink, which should’ve warned me that something more was wrong, but I was so caught up in taking that first sip of caffeine that I missed the wired tension suddenly filling the room.
“I’m so confused,” Nash said. “I thought…”
Constantine held up his hand, and I raised my brow.
“What are y’all talking about?” I asked once I came up for air.
“Here,” Constantine said, handing me Chen’s cup that he snagged straight out of his hand.
I lifted my nose in a curl of disgust.
“No, thank you,” I denied, shaking my head when he went to shove it into my hands.
I turned my shoulder and put Nash in between me and Constantine. That way if there was any more forcing of the issue, Nash would be in the middle and protect me.
Not that I thought I needed protection from Constantine, but he was trying to prove some kind of point, and I didn’t know what the hell it was. I was so clueless at this point that I didn’t know which way to run.
Constantine handed the cup back to Chen with a frustrated sigh.
“So,” I said. “Where are we exactly?”
“This is my house… just not the one you saw the other day.” He paused. “It’s known as The Cellar.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “If we’re not in that one, where are we… and why?”
Constantine gestured to a chair.
“Have a seat and I’ll explain,” he ordered.
I sat and then handed Nash’s half emptied cup back to him.
“I need some cookies if I’m going to finish the rest of that,” I told him when he gave me a look of confusion.
Normally I finished the entire thing in a matter of seconds, but today I needed more. I was only guessing on the cookies.
Possibly some pancakes.
“She’s doing much better than I did,” Chen surmised after a few long seconds.
Constantine took up the last vacant seat at my side.
“What do you remember of last night when you were attacked?” Constantine asked.
“I remember you dropping me off and rushing back into the thrum of things, leaving me worried beyond belief,” I started. “I remember wanting to change my clothes. I was hungry and wanted to grab some ice cream, then nothing.”
Constantine looked positively ill.
“Uhh, boss?”
Con looked up to find Pavlov standing in the doorway, a peculiar look on his face.
“Yeah?”
Con looked angry at the interruption.
“I tried to ‘path you, but yeah…”
He moved to the side and a tall man was standing there, looking regal yet rough all at once.
Constantine looked motionless.
“Caius.”
Con gave Pavlov a look that clearly said ‘don’t leave them in there alone’ and left with this Caius character without another word.
I looked at my brothers.
“How about y’all fill me in while he’s away,” I drawled.
CHAPTER 18
Ice cream is an acceptable choice of coffee creamer… right?
-Acadia to Constantine
CONSTANTINE
“You have a woman in your kitchen.” Caius suddenly switched languages, going back to the Norse we used to speak a long, long time ago.
I grinned.
“My woman,” I replied in the same language. “I was telling her about her new life—one in which she likely is now aware of—when you showed.”
Caius’s grin was hard, catlike.
“I’ll leave you to your affairs. Just remember…” He hesitated and turned back to me. “The others of the council won’t like this. They’ll be furious. They’ll fight you. They’ll hinder you in your path every step of the way. For some reason, they’re convinced that you will be the end of us all.”