I felt his gaze like a physical weight and fought the prickling awareness trickling through my system. He focused on me intently, but I’d bet half my fortune that he also remained aware of everything else happening in the room and could react in a heartbeat.
What would it take to capture all of his attention?
I shoved the question away. He wasn’t for me. Someday, I would marry for the good of the House, and until then, I preferred my men more manageable.
“We are partners,” he said. His voice was low and delicious, a velvet rumble I felt in my chest. He had no discernible accent.
Partners could mean anything from business partners to romantic partners. Without knowing which, I had to stop mentally ogling him. I didn’t pursue taken men.
I turned my attention back to Bianca. Mischief flittered through her expression before she smoothed it away. “Alex is here for you.”
I forced myself not to react to the tiny thrill of pleasure I felt at the words. I frowned at her, not liking where this was going. “What do you mean?”
“He’s going with you to Honorius as your plus one.”
Chapter Two
No.” The denial was as flat and hard as I could make it. I knew from the set of Bianca’s mouth that she expected me to argue and that she expected to win, but I wouldn’t be moved. Taking someone was allowed by the invitation, but everyone would assume we were lovers. We would be rooming together, would have to spend all of our time together.
We would have to pretend to be a believable couple.
Alexander was exactly the opposite of the men I’d dated in the past. The others might not know me well enough to question it, but Ying would. She’d want to know why I’d brought a man she’d never met before. Our story would collapse.
“No,” I repeated, just in case there was still any doubt. “If you must, send him with me as a guard.”
“Guards won’t have the same access as guests,” Bianca said. “You could take him places where it would seem odd to take a guard.”
“I’m the daughter of a High House,” I said drily. “If I wanted my guard to jump into the pool with me, fully dressed, someone would run to fetch a towel.”
“You don’t want to give House James any reason to think you are there for more than shopping and relaxation. A secret, illicit affair is juicy enough that it might blind them to your true purpose. And Alex can slip away and search for information while you socialize.”
The pieces came together. “You knew I was going.” No wonder she had capitulated so easily. Alexander hadn’t been checking me out at the club, he’d been following me, on Bianca’s orders. Sharp disappointment mixed with acute embarrassment. Thank heavens he’d vanished before I’d tried to chat him up or this meeting would’ve been a whole lot more awkward.
Sending Alexander and Aoife with me had been Bianca’s plan all along. She didn’t think I could handle it. Something like sorrow tried to rise at her lack of faith in me, but I masked it with a practiced smile.
Bianca grimaced. “Technically, Ian knew you were going. He asked for my advice.”
“Director Bishop needs to stay out of my personal communication.” Bitterness gave my voice bite.
Bianca’s laugh echoed off of the walls. After years of being too subdued, it was a shock when Bianca laughed. The sound of her joy hit me so hard, I almost didn’t mind that she was laughing at me. Almost.
“I told him something very similar about my own communication and it got me exactly nowhere, but you’re welcome to try,” she said. “Good luck.”
I sighed and got back to my main point. “It won’t work. No one will believe it. Where would I have met him? He doesn’t exactly scream Consortium. No offense,” I said belatedly.
Alexander grinned. “None taken.”
“He and Aoife can be my guards,” I said, trying to compromise. “No one will blink if I bring an extra, not with the war.”
Bianca’s expression turned shrewd. “Are you meeting someone there?”
I laughed. “If you think I need to go all the way to Andromeda Prime to get laid, you really have been gone for too long.” Although the thought had definitely crossed my mind. Perhaps a little harmless fun would ease the restlessness I’d been feeling lately.
“It’s settled, then. You and Alex will go as a couple. Aoife will go as your guard.”
“It is not settled,” I countered.
Bianca continued as if I hadn’t spoken. “You and Alex can spend the day together today, get to know each other.”
“Bianca Isabella, do not make me bust out your full name,” I said. “I am not going to meet anyone, but I am not above flirting my way into information, either. That will be impossible if I show up with a companion. I have already thought this through, and I have a plan, let me run with it.”
Granted, it was a loose plan—go to the party, get information—but it was mine. I’d been working on getting an invite to this party for months, and now that the hard part was over, Bianca wanted to swoop in and take charge, because she didn’t trust me to do it. It stung.
My sister deflated, barely visible, but I caught the minute slump in her shoulders and the haunted look on her face. She wouldn’t meet my eyes when she said, “I’m not trying to step on your toes, Cat. I just want to keep you safe. All of my information and I couldn’t stop what happened to Ferdinand. And now my network is sending me mixed signals, but I feel like something big is coming. I don’t want you to be unprotected when it hits.”
If it had been pure manipulation, I would have ignored it, but there was a painful honesty to Bianca’s voice. Restless frustration rose. I pushed it back. It wasn’t Bianca’s fault that I was stuck on Earth. That was my choice.
Still, I bit my tongue against the urge to give in, to smooth the way. I hated causing Bianca pain, but if I didn’t stop this now, I’d find myself in Honorius with Alexander as my fake lover, my own plans in ruins.
Perhaps I needed to leave sooner than anticipated.
“Let me think about it,” I said. “I know you are only trying to help, but you sprung it on me without warning, and my schedule is already jam-packed today.” I gave Alexander and Aoife another apologetic smile. “I really do appreciate your offer to help, more than you know, but it’s an unexpected boon. I’ll need to adjust my own plans.”
“Of course,” Aoife agreed easily. “We have time.”
FOR ONCE, I WAS GLAD THAT I WAS EXPECTED AT Mother’s brunch because it gave me the perfect excuse to leave Bianca’s early. Despite remaining mostly quiet, Alexander was impossible to ignore, and I still couldn’t tell what kind of partners he and Aoife were. Distance was my friend.
An invitation to Maria von Hasenberg’s semimonthly brunch was one of the most coveted in the Consortium social scene. Any event held by a High House always drew intense interest, but Mother knew how to generate the most buzz without any apparent effort on her part.
The draw was so strong that two weeks ago, Anne Rockhurst, matriarch of High House Rockhurst, had shown up to make nice and drink mimosas while our two militaries plotted the quickest way to destroy each other.