“No, but we’re not enemies,” Nathaniel said, leading her into a glass elevator with shiny brass rods between the panes.
“What did you say to him before we came inside?”
“I was glad he suggested that I not waste the night waiting for a fight. I told him that his advice is worth more than it costs.”
“There’s more to this story, isn’t there?”
“I knew you would want more information. You always do,” he said, idly tapping the tips of his fingers together. “I don’t need advice on fighting, but my experience with the other parts of life is limited. Merrick’s experience extends beyond killing. He knows about . . .” Nathaniel extended a hand in a vague gesture.
She raised her brows when he hesitated.
“Women,” he said.
She fought not to smile at the heightened color in his cheeks. “I’m sure he does,” she said dryly, finding it almost inconceivable that Merrick, black-hearted ventala enforcer, would offer advice to anyone about anything. “So what words of wisdom did he share?”
“You’re not my wife yet, Kate.”
“Meaning the advice was too graphic to tell me about?”
“No!” Nathaniel said, his flush deepening. His jaw tightened. “I meant, you’re not my wife yet, so I don’t have to tell you everything. And I don’t intend to,” he said stubbornly.
“If you plan to marry me, Nathaniel, I suspect whatever experience you lack, I’ll find out about it pretty quickly.”
He shrugged broad shoulders and said coolly, “I suspect when that time comes, I’ll be too preoccupied to worry about it.”
The smile won out. “I bet you’re right.” Kate, who prided herself on having been worldly from a young age, found it a huge surprise that she was charmed by the fact that Nathaniel was not.
“The view from here is great,” Nathaniel said, pushing open the door to reveal another rooftop garden. Apparently, they were quite popular, and Kate could see why. The Grand’s was just as beautiful as the Clarity’s and had an accompanying tent creating a covered bar and dining area.
Clearly delighted, Nathaniel beckoned her. She guessed that it wasn’t surprising that angels liked heights. With their wings, they were used to having a bird’s-eye view of the world.
Flecks of snow dotted the ground, and when they rounded the fabric wall of the large tent, she slowed. Steam rose from a hot tub, and snowflakes disappeared as they fell through the smoky condensation. An echo of her dream reverberated through her, and she went still, looking around sharply.
“This way,” Nathaniel said, tugging her hand to lead her to the roof’s edge. “The Etherlin lights are—what’s wrong?”
“I’m cold,” she said, shivering as thoughts rushed through her mind. The first two ventala attacks were unsuccessful. High-ranking syndicate members like Cato and Tamberi Jacobi would’ve known that, so if they’d realized that the third team to attack Nathaniel might fail and end up dead, why had they come along? And why had they been looking for him in the first place? Did they perhaps serve a demon named Gadreel?
Nathaniel slipped his warm tuxedo jacket around her shoulders. “Just have a look, and we’ll go in and light a fire.”
The ring’s dead weight dragged on her thumb. She hadn’t wanted to destroy the ring without talking to Nathaniel about it first, but now she wished she had.
The night’s stillness hovered, and she walked uneasily to the roof’s edge. The Etherlin holiday lights made the night sky blossom with color. Another time, she would have stared and been compelled to take photographs, but now Kate only wanted to escape the roof.
She backed away from the rail, holding tight to Nathaniel’s hand to keep him with her.
His eyes narrowed. “It’s not the cold. What’s wrong, Kate?” he asked.
She glanced around. No swooping demon in sight. “I really need to talk to you about something. Let’s go to the room.”
“All right,” he said.
It wasn’t possible to drag an archangel anywhere, but as she rushed across the roof, she pulled hard on his arm. Her heels clattered on the stairs as she descended to their floor. Shoving the door open, she checked the hall. Satisfied of its emptiness, she strode out and thrust a hand into her purse, clutching the dagger. Nathaniel used a key card to open the door and she stalked into the room, sweeping through it to be sure that no demon lay in wait for them, checking even under the bed.
When she turned back to Nathaniel, his eyebrows rose in question.
She set her purse on the desk facing the balcony and made sure the balcony doors were secure and locked. She tossed the suit coat on the back of the chair and asked, “Will you light the fire please? There’s something I think we should burn.”
He removed his cuff links and rolled his sleeves up, then started and tended the fire until it crackled. Kate felt its reassuring heat from the middle of the room. Striding to the fireplace, she pulled the ring from her thumb and set it on the granite mantelpiece.