Sound of Madness A Dark Royal Romance - Maria Luis Page 0,183
my gaze head-on. “Born and raised.”
“Same here.”
She didn’t roll her eyes but I had the feeling that she wanted to. “I figured.”
“Yeah?”
With a short nod, Avery flipped the tarot cards over on the table. “You may meet a lot of different people, Sergeant, but so do I. Everything about you screams this city, starting with the jaded twinkle in your eye.”
I laughed hard at that, the sound entirely foreign and rusty to my ears. I never smiled. I never laughed. But, damn it if she didn’t make me want to start practicing. “A jaded twinkle?”
Shifting in her chair, Avery muttered something beneath her breath. Then, louder, “It’s the color blue of your eyes.”
Heat spiked south of my belt at her admission. When I spoke, there was no mistaking the husk in my voice. “Did you spend last night thinking about the color of my eyes, Avery?”
“What? Absolutely not.”
I stretched out one arm, making no effort to conceal the way I set my hand next to hers. Tan to pale, large against small. She was tiny compared to me, and even that was enticing. My thumb crossed over her pinky, and I stifled a satisfied purr when she flexed her hand . . . and kept her hand right next to mine. “I’d be all too happy—”
“Avery.” Jerking toward the sound of the unknown voice, I noticed that the tarot reader one table over had stood up and crossed over to stand beside Avery. The stranger’s eyes zeroed in on me, unwavering. “I’m going to pack everything up for the night and I suggest that you do the same.”
Her hand slipped away.
“You’re right,” Avery said, her tone more tepid than I’d heard from her yet. She spared me a quick glance. “It’s late, Sergeant Asher, and it’s obvious that you haven’t come back tonight to learn about your future.”
Apparently, she’d sussed me out just as I’d done to her.
I rose from my chair and folded it. “It’s obvious,” I drawled, using her words, “that you don’t care for the bullshit.”
“I don’t.”
Succinct as her tone was, I spotted a blush crest her cheeks. “Then, no bullshit.” When she set her backpack on the table to unzip, I closed in, stepping up close so that she was forced to look up at me. Only when we locked eyes did I speak in a tone low enough that the words were clearly intended only for her and not for her friend. “I spent last night wondering about that smart mouth of yours—how you’ll taste or what noises you might make when I drive you to come on my tongue.”
I waited, not moving, for her to reply.
She didn’t disappoint.
Her tongue swiped out along her plush lower lip. “I don’t date.”
“No one said anything about dating.”
White teeth bit her lip, and those hazel eyes of hers flashed fire and unmistakable want. “I don’t fuck.”
That word coming off her lips was like a calling card to my dick. She might not fuck now but she would, dirty and raw and so damn good that she’d carve her territory into my back with her nails. “If you don’t,” I drawled, “that just means you haven’t done it right.”
Her jaw snapped shut, molars cracking together. Her cheeks burned red. “I wouldn’t . . .” She swallowed, then ducked her head to continue packing up. “You couldn’t handle someone like me, Sergeant—”
“Lincoln.”
“What?”
“Call me Lincoln,” I repeated, fully aware of the fact that I wanted Avery Washington like nothing I’d ever wanted in my life—outside of one thing. “Lincoln,” I said again, “not sergeant.”
“As I was saying, Asher”—the challenge in her eyes lit my own to see her flat on her back with that same damn fire goading me on—“you couldn’t handle me. You think you could, but you can’t. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have places to be.” She shrugged into her backpack and then bundled up the chairs under one arm. The table, she glared at, and then stepped away. “Don’t follow me tonight or I’ll call the cops on you.”
Her threat stole more rusty laughter from me. “I’m sure my guys will enjoy the chance to cuff me.”
“Someone has to,” she said, “and it will never be me.”
Click here and binge the Blood Duet now!
Sworn & Defied are both available in Kindle Unlimited.
Dear Fabulous Reader
Hi there! I so hope you enjoyed Sound of Madness, and if you are new to my books, welcome to the family!