"Heaven forbid," I said, voice dry.
"I know! What is with that?"
I snorted, but didn't reply as my phone rang. The tone told me it was Lucian, so I excused myself and walked into Stane's bedroom to answer it.
"Well, hello," he said, his voice low and intimate. Just the sound of it had desire stirring, and though I suspected it wasn't entirely "real," it didn't seem to matter. Nor did Ilianna's leafy charm appear to mute that reaction.
But maybe it only worked for face-to-face confrontations. I had to hope so, because if I was going to continue my relationship with Lucian, I wanted it to be because I chose to, not because I was under some sort of compulsion spell.
"Hello, yourself," I said, keeping my voice as even as possible. "What can I do for you?"
Surprise flitted briefly through the bright depths of his eyes. Obviously, he'd been expecting a stronger response.
"Oh, I'm sure I can think of one or two things, but the point of the call is what I can do for you."
The emphasis he placed on I and you had all sorts of wicked images floating through my mind. I cleared my throat and said, "And what might that be?"
"Besides the obvious, you mean?"
I half smiled. "Yeah, besides that."
"Lauren believes she might have an answer to our dilemma."
My heart began to race a little faster. Now that the moment was here, I wasn't sure that I should go through with it.
"What sort of answer?"
"She didn't say. She just said she needs to run a test to ensure it works, and for that she requires your presence."