SWNOVELS Prince Of Greed: Chapter 13
If my trainer hadn’t been demonic, I would have killed them in my Monday morning session. Weights, cardio, sparring, then more cardio had been my way of wasting time.
Sunday had come and gone without a word from Evie, which meant that Orobas owed me money and that she hadn’t canceled our date later.
At least not yet.
“I had a call from Harris Gerhardt a few minutes ago,” Orobas said by way of greeting as he entered my office. He was thirty minutes late and carried two cups of coffee.
“Finally ready to give his own soul for the pursuit of power?” I scoffed and accepted the cup Orobas offered.
“He heard about Evie’s trip to The Deacon Saturday night.” Orobas lifted a brow. “He sounded quite enraged.”
I had fed that information through the right channels. I’d seen one of Harris’ closest and slimiest associates in one of the other VIP booths after Evie left and made sure the moment we’d shared was broadcasted.
“He’s disappointed in her for keeping us as company. I tasted a hint of wrath in his tone. Decadent.”
“Good, then he’s close to his breaking point,” I said, going back to my laptop.
“If you say so.” Orobas disappeared behind my door and left me to work.
I checked my phone every few minutes for any word from Evie on the matter.
Knowing politicians, Harris had warned her off from Orobas and me, but the closer it got to five o’clock, the more my confidence grew that Evie was a rebellious heart and transfixed with her own desires. I was getting attached to the idea of keeping Evie in more ways than one.
As I was readying myself to leave the office to meet Evie for our dinner, Haniel appeared holding the locket I’d intended to return to her.
He was weathered, gray, and balding. His appearance over the years had shifted with the use of his magic and many failed attempts at darker alchemy. He’d lost bits of flesh from his fingers to explosions in his workshop. Some things could not be undone, even for immortal beings.
He held out the necklace by its chain. “The trinket is bonded and ready for its owner, Your Highness.”
I held out my hand. The weight of the locket had been altered slightly, and the cool chain snaked between the creases of my fingers. Evie may not notice the shift in the locket itself, but the chain would no longer warm against her skin after seconds of being worn. Living in Southern California, that would be an oddity, but she’d likely explain it away in her head before thinking to take it off since it held more sentimental value than most pieces Haniel worked on.
“Thank you. My payment has been deposited into your account, and I’ve sent you a pretty little gift for your swiftness on this piece,” I said, shifting my hand for the light to catch on the glints of gold on the locket’s hinge.
“You’re too kind, my most powerful liege.” His grainy voice dissipated as he stepped back through the void to where he would find the thirty-five-year-old bottle of Irish whiskey and a lesser demon from my legion to do with as he pleased.
I was about half a block away from the restaurant when I spotted Evie waiting outside the front door. If she had come from work, it didn’t show. Her soft, bouncy curls weren’t weighed down by a day’s worth of anxious raking from her fingers. Her lipstick wasn’t smudged by the lids of coffee cups. She was perfect.
She checked her watch then panned the passing crowd until she caught sight of me. A faint smile of relief crested her lips before she masked it, robbing me of the smug satisfaction that came from being the highlight of her day. Feeling utterly slighted, I met her at the door and offered my arm to start the date I intended to finish with her legs wrapped around my hips.
The lobby of the building was split. The first two floors were for the luxury hotel, spa, and guests. The elevator to the restaurant on the rooftop did not stop for any other floors to give guests privacy.
As luck would have it, the elevator was empty when Evie and I got onto it. She pressed her back against the wall and gave a heavy sigh when the doors closed.
“Long day?” I asked, lighting the button to the roof with a jab of my finger.
I turned to find she looked more relaxed than when we’d met on the street.
“It was, but to be honest, I’ve had a lot of people around me all day. It’s just nice to have a moment of silence.” She noted the curiosity on my face then gave me a smile that felt more genuine than any I’d experienced in too many years. “With you.”
My fingers drummed against the cold metal railing behind me. I wanted to pull her into my chest, breathe in the floral scent of her hair, and beg to be the solace she needed at the end of an exhausting day. But there was a reason I chose this restaurant, and he wasn’t here yet.
The doors opened, and the sprawling patio garden welcomed us out into the evening air. Weaving my fingers through hers, I led the way to the table I’d reserved, which was in direct sight of the senator’s favorite seat at the bar.
It wasn’t hard to pass time with Evie. She enjoyed her job and recanted the reconnection she’d attempted with the friend who’d brought her to The Deacon a couple nights earlier.
“Oro got off easy.” She laughed comfortably through her story. “Once in high school, Rhomi’s father came to our economics class and threatened to sue a guy who had stood Rhomi up for prom.”
“What was he accusing him of?”
“Emotional distress and loss of value for the dress he bought her.”
She squeezed my wrist as we laughed.
“I am sorry for my brother. He doesn’t know the meaning of moderation.” My excuse was far from acceptable. Orobas knew better than to force himself on a human with so many witnesses around.
“He does seem to have a track record of not being able to resist his urges. That’s going to get him into a lot of trouble someday,” she warned.
“My brothers have a way of finding trouble.”
At the mention of the other princes, she squirmed in her seat. “About Sy.” Her cheeks reddened. “I didn’t know he was your brother and—”
“Unless you’re about to give me a reason to bloody his nose, you have nothing to worry about.”
Her embarrassment for being entranced by Sitri was useless. I held no ill feelings toward her or my brother. She was beautiful. And he was pure human desire. In fact, I found it telling that she was still interested in seeing me at all after meeting Sitri. It was difficult not allowing that to go to my head.
She didn’t need to answer with anything more than the tight-lipped smile and nod before we moved on to the topic of what we were going to order for dinner.
When she excused herself to the bathroom, I moved our chairs closer together. I could have told myself that I was setting the scene for Harris, but it would’ve been a half truth. I wanted her scent on my skin and to hear her breath hitch when she caught me smiling at her wit. As if she shared my desire, she returned and scooted her chair even closer until our knees were touching and my hands easily slipped over her thigh.
“I always wanted to go to Paris.” She paused between bites and sentences for short sips of her wine. “But once I got to London, I spent the first year learning to drive on the right side of the road.”
“I never drive internationally for that very reason.” My thumb caressed the top of her knee, encouraging her further.
“It’s so much harder than it looks, but I’ll never get used to the Channel Tunnel.”
I hung on her every word and immersed myself in her world. She loved to travel, and I could take her away from Los Angeles, away from the expectations of her ruthless father.
During our first dessert, Evie ordered a custard pastry and made a sound that instantly made me jealous of a cream puff. She sucked the vanilla-bean-spotted cream from her spoon and ignited visions of other things I wanted her to suck so seductively.
She caught me staring and smiled at the heat in my eyes, disarming me once again. I shook the feeling away, and when I looked back at her, she leaned in to press her lips to mine.
Restraint warred with every natural impulse that coursed through my body. It took every ounce of willpower I’d gained in the Fall to not take her on top of the table after I saw the coy satisfaction on her face for making the first move. The sight of Harris’ daughter bent over in front of the entire bar would have been worth the slip of my original plans.
Evie cleared her throat and took another forkful of dessert, licking the sweet custard from the prongs and sending a signal straight to my dick.
She would be mine. After her father knew she was no longer his pawn to play.
The sun had long since disappeared beyond the horizon when the man of the hour finally arrived with his trophy wife on his arm and several local politicians at his back.
I knew I shouldn’t have, but the prudence I’d once possessed had departed with my third glass of wine over a second dessert. The slow caresses of my fingers over her skin had brought her walls down, and her father was now seeing his daughter practically purring in my lap.
His face fell and drained of its color, and I could almost see the thirst for my blood in his eyes. I half expected him to storm over and rip her from her chair, but his diplomacy won out over his fatherly instincts. His wife pulled at the crook of his arm, and after a quick pause, he followed her to their reserved seats.
Evie, who had been taking the last sip from her glass, caught the cruel glee on my face. Puzzled, she looked around to find what had stolen my attention away for the first time all night.
“Is that . . . ,” she whispered, worried that her voice would carry and direct her father’s crew toward us. “I have to go.”
“Wait,” I said with little enthusiasm as she gathered her things.
She got to her feet and made a quick beeline to the exit, doing exactly what I wanted her to do. Harris caught sight of her and excused himself to trail after her. I took my time retrieving three hundred-dollar bills from my wallet and handing them to our waiter before I joined Evie and her father at the doors of the summoned elevator.
“What are you doing here with him? He’s dangerous. You have no idea what you’ve done—what you’re risking,” he scolded, red-faced and flustered.
“It was one date. I’m a grown woman, and I can make my own choices—”
“Is everything all right?” I slipped into their hushed conversation.
Harris pointed an accusatory finger at me. “Get away from her, you snake. I warned your idiot brother—”
“Watch your temper, Gerhardt, your constituents are watching,” I said, peering over my shoulder at the small crowd of turned heads behind us.
At the lift’s chime, Harris grabbed Evie by the elbow, pulling her inside before she could vocalize the apology brewing in her tear-lined eyes.
I smiled wolfishly as the doors closed. Harris Gerhardt was about to implode the last relationship that was worth his soul.
I took the emergency stairwell down to the ground floor to lie in wait for Evie.