to someone he had obviously cared about, and he was bound and determined to keep it. But he’d given me an out, an opportunity to turn away from family history and obligation and he would honor my wishes. I don’t know why, but this touched me. Was it his selflessness in the dereliction of a promised duty or the fact that he cared enough about the Niteclif name to want the legacy to continue? The word honorable whispered through my mind.
“How does it work if I accept the ten-year, uh, sentence?” I asked.
He never moved, never blinked, just stared straight at me, his mouth mostly hidden behind his resteepled fingers. It was like he was making a concerted effort to not reveal any of his thoughts now that I’d pointed out his little tells. I stared harder.
“Exactly how old are you?” he finally asked.
“Twenty-eight.”
He sighed, dropping his arms to rest on the chair’s arms. “The ten years generally begins when you turn thirty, but the catalyst of your family tree’s revelation has already occurred. So, to be perfectly honest, I don’t know when your ten-year sentence,” he made little finger quotes, “would begin. Possibly upon acceptance, possibly when you turned thirty.”
“I don’t suppose there’s enough empirical evidence to make an educated decision,” I mumbled. I flinched, and knew then that I was wrong. The decision wasn’t mine to make any more than it was to decline. I was already speaking in detective-ese. Fate had made me her bitch. Great.
Bahlin saw my flinch and leaned forward, dropping his forearms to his knees. He looked up at me as I was sitting on the tall bed, putting me a full head and shoulders above him. I could see his mind working, and it was evident he came to the same conclusion I did.
He stood, total grace in motion, and said, “Shall we go down to the lobby restaurant and get you something to eat or would you prefer to order something from room service?”
My stomach growled loudly at the promise of food. I hadn’t eaten in more than thirty-six hours.
“About that,” I began, then paused, unsure how to broach the tactless subject of money. I slid off the bed, the satin sheets sliding with me in a quiet hiss of noise. Bahlin deftly picked up the fallen bed linens and tossed them carelessly on the bed.
“Yes? You have a preference regarding your meal?”
“No, not really. It’s just, this hotel was my one splurge. I’m here for a week, but I’m assuming I’ll have to find somewhere to stay for the remaining three weeks while I work out how I’m going to fulfill whatever my duties are from the United States. Look, I don’t know a delicate way to say this…”
“For the love of this country’s Queen, woman. Spit it out.”
“Can the attitude, Bahlin.” I crossed my arms over my chest and leveled my best hard stare at him. “I can’t afford to live large because you decide you want room service or whatever. I have limited funds, I’ve quit my job and I refuse to use my retirement account to fund this psychotic side trip.”
He gaped at me, the second time in less than an hour. I was betting that this was a personal best for him because he didn’t seem like the type to gape at all. “Maddy, there are things we need to discuss. I’d prefer to do them in public so that you don’t crack my jaw again or render me a eunuch. So we’ll do it in the dining room. Dinner’s on me.”
I was immediately defensive. “I don’t do charity. I can swing dinner, surely, but you need to know where I’m coming from.”
“Sweetheart, we’ll talk about it over a nice red. Consider it a job perk.”
“Stop calling me sweetheart,” I muttered, moving past him and reaching for my sneakers. I slid my feet into the shoes and stood, finding myself face to face with him. I could smell his cologne again. It was the same as in the dream—both sunshine and moonlight, clean air after a rainstorm and something beneath it that was all Bahlin. No matter where in the world I ended up, the smell would always remind me of him. Wondering at my moroseness, I turned toward the door and he followed close behind. He reached around me and grabbed my room key before I could reach for it, his speed impressive.
“Show off.”
He laughed and reached around me again to open the door. Stupid dragon