War of Hearts (True Immortality) - S Young Page 0,89
ached in a way it had never ached before. She broke his gaze. “Let’s just get this over with.”
Ignoring the feel of his eyes burning into her, Thea pushed open the door with enough force to break the lock. “Which floor?”
“The top. He owns the penthouse.” Conall fell into step beside her, his arm brushing hers. Perhaps it was childish, but Thea couldn’t withstand any closeness between them. She fell back. “Lead the way.”
Conall sighed, taking the stairs first. “Will it be this way from now on, then?”
Why was he pushing this? Why couldn’t he just let it go? “What way?”
“I touch you.” He looked down at her as he took the next flight of stairs; his icy eyes burned with obvious anger. “And you pull away?”
“Well, I’m not yours to touch so, pretty much.” It was a taunt, and they both knew it.
He glowered down at her as she followed him up the stairs. “Dinnae push me, Thea.”
She pursed her lips. “A threat only works if there’s something to fear. I could crush you, Conall, and we both know it.”
“If that was supposed to deter me, it failed.” He flicked her a hungry look. “It only reminds me how strong you are, how hard you fuck, and how hard you like to be fucked.”
Thea flushed at his language and the reminder of the bed they broke on the boat. He was being deliberately crude to piss her off and get a reaction out of her. “Treasure the memories, Wolf Boy.”
“Oh, I will, Thea, lass,” he said, his tone softening with fondness and if she wasn’t mistaken, despondency.
It killed her attitude, and she fell silent, brooding at his back.
They soon stepped up onto the top floor where only one door awaited them. When Conall knocked, there was absolute silence. He knocked again, louder.
“Maybe he’s not home.”
He flicked her a smirk. “It’s daylight out and he’s a vampire. He’s bloody well at home.” He knocked harder and called loudly, “Vik, it’s Conall MacLennan.”
A few seconds later they heard several locks being turned and then the door swung open. A tall, blond-haired vampire stood in the shadow of the doorway, his inquisitive, big blue eyes on Conall. He wore a Metallica T-shirt and a pair of gray jogging pants. Although skinny, Thea noted the wiry, muscular strength beneath his pale skin.
“Hei Venn.”
“Hei Venn,” Conall returned.
His blue gaze turned to Thea, catching in the light, flicking to mercury and then back to blue. “I knew it was you.” Vik gestured between them, his accent a mix of Scottish and Norwegian. “I have security cameras.”
“Can we come in?” Conall asked.
Vik frowned. “Of course. But I think I should be worried. It’s not like you to turn up without warning.”
Conall shook his head. “We need information.” He reached for Thea’s hand and she cursed him as she let him lead her into the apartment. He knew she was unlikely to make a scene in front of his friend by refusing to take his hand.
Bastard.
He brushed his thumb over her skin, almost absentmindedly, as he strode into the huge loft. “This place seems big for Oslo.”
“It was two apartments. I bought them both and knocked them into one.” Vik finished locking the door, and Thea noted the many, many locks. Paranoid much? Or just a protection from the sun? She noted the floor-to-ceiling windows on one side of the apartment fitted with thick blackout blinds. Not a crack of sunlight shone through.
Large overhead steel light fixtures kept the space as bright as possible.
The floorboards were stripped and bare, but there was a rug here and there to add some texture and perhaps coziness. They failed on the coziness part. A large black-leather corner sofa took up one area of the open-plan space. It faced the biggest flat-screen television Thea had ever seen. Behind the television was a large king-size bed tucked into the back corner of the room.
In the opposite corner of the space was a shiny white kitchen. Glossy cabinets, white quartz countertops, and white kitchen accessories made that area shine like an iceberg.
Thea wondered how the vampire kept it so clean.
Yet the most interesting area was directly before them. Floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with books lined the wall from where the kitchen ended to the windows on the opposite side. In front of the shelves sat what appeared to be a mini research center. A large desk hosted a computer with three screens. To the side, built up against one of the windows, was a