"Undoubtedly."
"Then I shall take care of the electronic stuff." His gaze flicked rather disdainfully to Azriel. "The reaper can handle whatever human security they have."
Azriel didn’t comment, which surprised me, given his previous statements that he couldn’t physically intervene without just cause. Although I guess knocking out the guards did aid his quest to find the keys, and that might be cause enough. He’d certainly had no qualms about knocking out the half-shifter who’d attacked me at the rail station.
"It gets dark around six tonight," Lucian continued, glancing at his watch. "Shall we meet outside the mansion around eight?"
"Outside the main gate, yes." I frowned at him. "You seem to be in a bit of a hurry today."
He grimaced. "Yeah, sorry, but I have a ton of work on my plate—tax time and all."
An honest enough—and believable—answer, so why did unease wash through me again? Or was the strengthening connection with Azriel giving rise to my flashes of doubt?
"Are you sure you can dismantle the electronic surveillance and any other measures they might have in place?" I asked as he rose.
"Yes." He leaned forward and dropped another kiss on my lips. This time, however, it held a little more warmth. "Maybe once this is all over and we both have more time, we can spend a week or two together in bed."
I snorted softly. "I have a café to run, remember?"
"And I have a well-paid but demanding job. But once the tax-time madness is over, I’ll willingly cast it aside to lose myself in the delights of your flesh for a lengthy period." His sudden grin was decidedly cheeky. "And do not try to tell me you would not do the same. I feel the anticipation in your thoughts."
"You know," I said drily, "it’d be nice if both of you would just let me keep my thoughts to myself."
"Sorry, that’s not going to happen," Lucian commented, echoing Azriel’s earlier remark. "I shall see you tonight, my sweet."
And with that, he walked out. I watched until the door slammed shut behind him, then shook wistful, somewhat hungry thoughts from my mind and glanced at Azriel.
"What are you going to do?"