“Kiss me again,” he muttered against her mouth, and when she did he ravished her with his tongue, groaning into her mouth as his muscles coiled and he shoved deep, holding himself as his cool, thick cream pulsed into her body. The feel of it flooding her felt like a spiritual baptism, relieving her of the last of the sins of her father.
Korvel eased over onto his side, his penis still planted deep within her, and he cradled her close, stroking her back with a soothing caress. “I don’t want you kissing any other men. You’re too good at it.”
“Don’t worry.” She tucked her face against his neck. “I never will.”
Gabriel glanced up at the window of the town house where they had left Korvel and Simone, and caught his lover’s arm before she reached for the door. “We should take a walk around the block.”
“Let’s not and say we did.” She looked down at his hand. “Baby, I’m tired, I’m cranky, and my arm is covered with itchy dried blood. Anyone who gets between me and a shower is going to regret it. Deeply.”
“It is a beautiful night,” he said. “Look at these houses. They were built in the seventeenth century.”
“It’s freezing and architecture bores me.” She didn’t budge. “P.S., you suck at lying, so just tell me what it is.”
Knowing Nick’s dislike of Simone, he chose his words carefully. “I think Korvel and his lady need a little time alone.”
“She’s his lady now?” Nicola made a rude sound. “Please. She admitted she was under orders to kill him.” She gave him a suspicious look. “How do you know what they’re doing? He could be calling Richard. She could be polishing her crucifix.”
Gabriel took her arm. “I know because the beetle clinging to the bedroom window has an excellent view of the bed.”
“No wonder you never rent porn.” She sighed and started down the steps. “All right. Come on and show me more fascinating architecture.”
While they walked Gabriel pointed out several interesting features of the old town houses, but his lover appeared lost in her own thoughts. Their bond permitted him to gauge her emotions, but since boarding the ship she had been withdrawing into herself and locking away her feelings, as if she needed to hide them.
“During the revolution, some of the local aristocrats jumped from those balconies,” he said, pointing up. “The people caught them in large nets, freed them, and then painted their faces with rainbows and unicorns.”
“How cool.” Nicola kept walking.
Gabriel came around and blocked her path. “If you do not tell me what is wrong, I will tickle you. Unmercifully. Until you wake up the entire neighborhood.”
“I’m sorry. Balconies, right?” She gave the town houses a wan look. “Fuck the balconies.”
“Nick.” He bent down and pressed his brow to hers. “Talk to me.”
“You’re going to think it’s stupid,” she warned. When he shook his head, she shoved her hands in her pockets. “Korvel was in love with Alex, right? So why he is up there making the French connection?”
Gabriel felt more rather than less confused. “Korvel cannot have Alexandra. She does not want him.”
“But you said that they were bonded. As in, he couldn’t resist her. He had to have her. She was his life companion; no one could ever come between them, and he was going to love her forever.” She flung a hand in the general direction of the safe house. “If that’s true, why is that happening? And don’t give me that crap about an incomplete bond. Alex may have been torn between two lovers, but does this mean a Kyn lord can survive a broken bond and rebond, or what?”
Gabriel heard the bleakness behind the anger in her voice. “Are you upset with Korvel for breaking his bond with a woman who doesn’t want him, or afraid that I will find someone else to love if we are separated?”
“I just need to know that if anything happens to me you’ll be okay. I mean, you’ve been through enough pain, baby.” She shook her head. “Forget it. I need to get our stuff from the car.”
“I am not going to forget it.” Gabriel followed her to where they had parked the car. Once he unlocked the trunk, she began searching through a bag. “Nicola, I will not let anything come between us. As for Korvel, what he did to Alex was wrong, but it was not deliberate or malicious, and he has paid for it many times over. I think he deserves some happiness.”
“We all do, baby. Just not with a woman ordered to kill him.” She opened the case containing the scroll, checking it before she closed the lid and set it on the ground. “Where did you put the shampoo and stuff?”
“In the black bag.” Gabriel watched her for another moment before he finally understood. “You think I would violate our bond. That is why you’re angry with Korvel. Because he has freed himself from Alexandra, you believe I will do the same with you. I have told you—”
“You love me. You’ll never leave me. I got it.” She bent down and picked up the scroll case. “We shouldn’t leave this in the car. Do you think they’re finished by now, or should we go find a hotel room?”
Before Gabriel could reply, the latches she had left open on the case came loose and opened, and the scroll dropped to the ground.
“Damn it.” Nicola reached down and picked up the artifact. “This thing is such a pain in the ass.” An expression he didn’t recognize crossed her face as she shook her head, putting the artifact back in the case and closing it before she handed it to him. When she spoke again, her voice sounded hollow. “Gabriel, don’t touch this thing. Ever. Promise me.”
“I have no desire to,” he assured her.
“Don’t let Richard have it, either.” Nicola removed from her jacket one of the guns they had taken from the men on the ship. “He doesn’t understand. None of you do.”
“Nick?”
“I’m sorry.” Before Gabriel could snatch the weapon away, she pressed the barrel to the front of her throat and pulled the trigger.
Chapter 17
K
orvel left Simone sleeping peacefully in the bedroom, closing the door so the sound of his voice wouldn’t disturb her. He was almost sure he had convinced her to return to Ireland with him, but there was still a chance that she would refuse. For that reason, and several others, he had to talk to his master. He used one of the satellite phones to place the call to Ireland, which was answered by Éliane Selvais.
“The high lord has been expecting your call, Captain.” A faint note of relief colored her cool voice. “He will be pleased to know that you are well.”
Korvel doubted that. “Thank you, Éliane.”
After a few moments of silence the line clicked and Richard’s voice said, “Where are you?”
“Marseilles, my lord,” he said. “We have recovered the scroll.” He related a brief version of the events that had occurred since he had arrived at Château Niege. “The thief escaped, but since the scroll is a hoax, he has nothing of value but a few prayers.”
“Prayers? Richard echoed. “You translated the code? He knows what the scroll contains?”
“Yes, my lord.” As Richard swore, Korvel held the phone away from his ear. Once his master had fallen silent, he said, “All that was written in the scroll were a half dozen psalms from the Bible. The same as could be read in any hotel room.”
“Which psalms did he use?”
“You wish me to recite scripture for you?” Korvel asked politely.
“Tell me which psalms.” Richard’s voice lashed across the line like a copper-barbed whip. “Now, Captain.”
Korvel looked up as Gabriel burst through the door to the flat. He carried Nicola, who was covered in blood, in his arms. “I will have to call you back, my lord.” He switched off the phone and dropped it as he hurried to help Gabriel with his wounded sygkenis. “What happened to her?”
“She shot herself in the throat.” Gabriel laid her down on the table by the kitchen. “I can’t stop the bleeding.”
Korvel saw the pattern of the black powder on her neck, and reached under her neck to feel for the exit wound. “The bullet is still inside her.”
“She used one of the guns from the ship.” Gabriel’s hand shook as he wiped a streak of blood from her face.
Korvel gently turned Nicola onto her side and brushed back the white curls from her neck. He saw an angry, mottled red flush spreading beneath her pale flesh, and as he moved his fingers over her skin he found the telltale bulge of the round. He slowly straightened. “Gabriel. It is copper, and it is lodged in her spine.”
The Kyn lord shook his head. “You are mistaken. She would be dead.”
Korvel glanced down at Nicola’s still features. Since the Brethren had begun using copper rounds in their weapons, the Kyn had learned only too well the devastating effect they had on immortal flesh. The copper began to poison the victim from the moment it entered the body; it also burned any tissue surrounding it. Because it was embedded in her neck bones, the bullet would quickly go to work on her spinal cord. Even if she could resist the effects of the poison, once the copper had burned through the cord Nicola would die.
“We must cut it out of her.” Gabriel left the table and began tearing through the shelves of weapons. “Where are the daggers?” He looked back at Korvel. “Don’t just stand there. Help me.”
“I have seen such wounds before, my lord,” he told him. “To remove it is delicate work, and requires skill that neither of us possess.”
“No.” Gabriel pulled over the shelf, smashing it on the floor. “I will not have it. We have to try.” He fell to his knees. “I cannot lose her. Not like this.”
“We are not surgeons.” Korvel moved to help him up, and then stopped and changed direction, grabbing the satellite phone he had dropped and dialing a number he had sworn never to call.
