like a torch -- it was no wonder their passion was so explosive. Jamie swung their hands between them, wondering what he was thinking about.
“Talon?” she asked, peering up at him. He smiled down at her.
“I know the perfect place.”
Lucian stalked down the hallway of Sinclair, grabbing a beer from the freezer and downing it in a gulp. It was cold, but it did the job. He threw the can in the trash and leaned against the wall, cursing himself. There was still a full pack left; why wasn’t he going at it?
Probably because he was past the point of caring.
About anything.
Now that Devlin was gone, everything was...dull. Dead. He shook his head, running a hand over his face. The light five o’clock shadow had grown to almost a full beard, his eyes had bags, and he hadn’t slept in a whole week. Was it really getting to him that badly?
He pushed himself to his feet, watching the walls tilt at awkward angles. He’d only had one beer, so he assumed it was because the lack of sleep. Lucian could hold his beer better than any other guy around.
The main room of the gas station only had a couple of customers, both looking at the soft drink section. They paid him no attention as he strode past them as if he were a drunk man feigning sober. Which, he assumed, was accurate. Everywhere he went, he could see red. Fiery red hair, glaring and curling down slender shoulders. Pulled back from an exotic face. Flowing around his pillows.
God.
It was pure hell. Devlin was gone, and after the three day mark, it had become apparent that she wasn’t coming back. No matter how psychotic and sexy that woman was, she wasn’t going to come back to him -- or his group.
Why did he even need her? he thought angrily. He had managed to keep his lust for her under wraps for years -- why now, when she was gone, was he letting his cock get the best of him?
He walked into his office, ass slamming into his chair. It felt like it might have broken, but he ignored the crack that shot through the room. He could replace it -- when he wasn’t so hung up on a crazy...cruel...seductive...sexy woman.He brought his hands to his face and tried clearing his mind.
Thinking of her like that wasn’t going to do anyone any good. He had no clue when the king was going to show up, and that was what he should be most worried about. Talon had told him about Auro, but Vladimir had volunteered to take him out -- as a wedding present, he had flaunted with giddiness. It appeared the vampire was looking forward to planning a wedding soon, also.
Just more that added to the list. Talon hadn’t told Jamie about the ring he had forced Lucian to buy with him, or the fact that she had a fiance. Whatever, though. Lucian wasn’t going to concern himself with his partner’s weird-ass affairs. Jamie made the bastard happy, and more clear-minded.
Wasn’t his problem.
His head dropped to the desk as weariness overcame him. Or was it weakness? His hands curled into fists. Why the fuck was he so...helpless right now? Devlin must have done something to him. He swore it was because of her. What else could it be? His neck tingled, a warning that he mistakenly thought was because of Devlin.
He had to find her. Had to tell her... what? What did he have to tell her? His brows dropped. Had he really fired her because he had thought she was a liability? Or because he feared for her safety? Lucian shoved himself back from his desk, the chair slamming into the wall. He barely noticed.
In less than a second, he was going to his file cabinet and using the fingerprint scanner to open it. One metallic slide later, it was open and he was holding a manilla folder in his hands, opening it up. He hadn’t looked into the file since before Devlin had left. What he read was nothing less than a shocker, but he shoved it aside and knew that Devlin had come through.
She was one of his strongest fighters. She was determined, strong-willed, and controlled. Would doing what he was thinking about doing get her to come back to his team? To... him?
He fished his phone out of his pocket, dialing her number. The dial tone rang on for what seemed like forever, a second longer than