was saying. Wardens were born to fight evil and to mate so that they could procreate. Sure, they had more of a life than me, but they were also strictly duty-bond.
I wanted to hug him. I wanted to kiss him. I also wanted to punch him, because he wasn’t being remotely helpful in keeping the ZAYNE file cabinet door closed. It was almost like he was yanking on it! And he knew better than to do that.
“You make this so hard,” I muttered.
“Make what so hard?”
Irritated and charmed, and annoyed because I was charmed, I glared at him. “Not liking you,” I admitted.
Zayne’s lips tipped up and a wide, beautiful smile appeared, stealing my breath again.
My eyes narrowed as I crossed my arms. “I don’t know why you’re smiling.”
“Maybe because...” He rose, extending his hand toward me. “Maybe because I’m not trying to make it easy, Trin.”
18
Grabbing a bite to eat turned into a legitimate sit-down dinner at a steak house we’d walked by many times on patrol, much to my surprise.
Based on the amount of men in dark suits and women in skirts and slacks who were enjoying their dinners, it was the kind of place that had a dress code as fine as the cuts of steaks. Which Zayne in his jeans and me in my loose-fitted T-shirt were totally violating, but that was overlooked the moment the hostess laid eyes on Zayne. I didn’t even think the young woman even knew I was there.
I also didn’t think the waitress, who was old enough to be my mother, realized that Zayne wasn’t dining alone.
But who cared? Not me, with my belly full of juicy red meat, grilled asparagus and truffle fries. Not when seconds ticked into minutes that turned into hours while we talked about human things. No Harbinger. No demons. No duty. That all faded into the background.
I learned that we had the same tastes in music. He was an oldies fan, like me, and we agreed that half of what was played on the radio now was nowhere near as good as the music that had come out between the ’80s and the early 2000s.
While I’d chowed down on the thickest rib eye I’d ever seen and Zayne had meticulously eaten a lean filet, I discovered he’d never watched a single episode of Game of Thrones, something I was determined to rectify as soon as possible. I explained how I’d recently became obsessed with older ’90s sitcoms like Fresh Prince and Step by Step. His favorite movie turned out to be Jurassic Park, randomly enough. I admitted that I didn’t have a favorite movie and couldn’t understand how anyone could pick just one, which led to a heated discussion.
We did not have the same tastes in movies or TV.
“I bet you could quote all five hundred of the Fast and Furious movies,” I said, toying with the hem of my shirt. “By heart.”
Zayne chuckled as the flame of the votive candle danced. “‘Look, I’m one of those boys that appreciates a fine body, regardless of the make.’”
I blinked. “Come again?”
He grinned as he leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. “It’s a quote from The Fast and the Furious. The first one, and just so you know, I stopped on Furious 7.”
“There’s seven of them?”
His eyes widened. “There are more than seven, you deprived young lady.”
I snorted as I leaned back. “Action movies aren’t my thing.”
“What is?”
I didn’t have to think about that. “I’m a sucker for funny horror movies.”
“Funny horror movies? Sounds like an oxymoron.”
“Not really. There’re a lot of them that are scary and gross and actually pretty hilarious. Like the old Scream movies—they were clever and funny. So was Cabin in the Woods.”
Zayne rolled his eyes. “Clever and horror also sounds like an oxymoron.”
My mouth dropped open. “I don’t think we can be friends any longer.”
He laughed as he picked up his glass of water and then took a drink. “Just saying.”
“And you think action movies are clever?” I challenged.
“Nope. Most are pretty mind-numbing.” He placed his glass down. “Unlike you, I acknowledge the inherent flaws in things I like.”
Now I was rolling my eyes. “And unlike you, I have good taste.”
Zayne smiled at me, and my stupid breath caught as his gaze snared mine. My chest felt as full as my stomach as we stared at each other over the flickering candle. He bit down on his lower lip, dragging his teeth over the flesh, and my toes curled inside my