A warm body was pressed against mine. Still half asleep, I pulled it harder against me while breathing in the scent of hair that smelled faintly of jasmine.
Reality started trickling in.
I cracked open my eyes and took in the sight before me. Hell damn it all. I was spooning Audrey fucking Sable.
My arm lay draped over her side, my forearm nestled between her tits and my palm resting below the base of her throat. Her lean body lay flush against my chest, and her ass, still only in her underwear, was pressed against my crotch. I could feel my morning wood pushing against her.
Biting back an annoyed growl, I released her and rolled over on my back before sitting up. She had tried to get under my skin last night by fingering herself right next to me. Well, that had backfired for her, hadn’t it?
I raked my fingers through my hair, combing it back.
But watching her have her first ever orgasm had been… something else.
Another wave of irritation washed over me. Pushing to my feet, I turned halfway back around and kicked the side of the bed.
“Get up,” I snapped at the sleeping poison mage.
She shot up from the bed. Before she’d even landed fully on her feet, she had a cloud of poison swirling between her hands. Whipping her head from side to side, she blinked repeatedly until her eyes landed on me. I had to admit, she had nice reflexes.
My gaze roamed over her body. While she wore the shirt she had slept in, her sculpted legs were completely bare. There were also faint imprints from the pillow on her cheek and her long black hair was disheveled, a few strands sticking to the corner of those luscious lips. That, more than her state of undress, made her look oddly vulnerable.
An evil smile spread across my mouth. “The orgasm I gave you knocked you out good, huh?”
Her eyes flicked briefly to her discarded pants before she returned her attention to me. “It’s cute how you think that you somehow got the better of me last night.” She dragged a hand through her hair, removing those loose strands from her lips, before her chin rose in a cocky tilt as she matched the smirk on my face. “When I’m the one who manipulated you into it.”
“Manipulated me? Nice try, sweetheart.”
“So you just decided completely out of the blue that you were going to make me come like that?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but no smart answer came out. It was true that I had only done it because she’d been driving me nuts with her pathetic attempts to get herself off while lying right next to me.
Audrey flicked the rest of her hair back behind her shoulder and let out a mocking laugh. “Men. You’re so easy to play that it’s barely even entertaining anymore.”
Snatching up her pants from the floor, I balled them up and threw them at her. “Get dressed. We leave in five.”
She caught them in both hands and then shook them out while that poisonous smile still danced over her lips. Shaking my head, I stalked out the door to relieve myself and get ready. And maybe to find someone whose face I could bash in.
People bustled up and down the street around us. A mother was making small water animals that jumped in the air in front of her three children while an older man a bit farther down on the road used a swirl of wind magic to levitate his hat back onto his head. The bright summer sun shone down on a couple who strolled along with their arms linked.
Disbelief coursed through me as I watched these mediocre men and women go about their mediocre lives. How could they be satisfied with this? A scrap of magic and a city where everyone got a vote. As if they all actually knew how to run a city. And all they did was pass laws and make decisions to please other people. To make sure that everyone around them was happy. Well, I’d had enough of that for several lifetimes over.
“This is it,” Audrey said as she trailed to a halt in front of a polished green door. “This is the house renting agency.”
I nodded and took a step forward. “I’ll do the talking.”
“As if.” She slid in front of me and placed her hand on the handle before twisting to speak over her shoulder. “Remember the story.”
“Yeah, I got it.”
Turning back to the door, she pushed it open and sauntered across the threshold. A small bell above the door tinkled into the otherwise silent room as we entered. Drawings of different houses lined the walls in an artful pattern, but the only piece of furniture in the room was a pale wooden counter at the back.
As the door shut behind us, making the bell tinkle again, a woman in her forties appeared from the open doorway behind the counter. She drew her hand over her brown hair which she had tied up in a bun, and gave us a glittering smile.
“Welcome,” she said as she nodded towards the packs on our backs. “Travelers, I see. Are you looking for a place to rent?”
“We are,” Audrey answered before I could. Moving over to the counter, she handed the woman the forged documents of citizenship that had been delivered to us from Paige Turner this morning. “My husband and I are from Castlebourne and we would love to rent a house for about two weeks. We’re thinking about moving here permanently, you see. But we want to get a feel for the city first to see if we like it here.”
“Oh of course. Half of our clients are people who do the same.”
I stifled a snort. Of course they were. That was why we had picked this cover story.
“You can call me Violet,” the woman continued with that wide smile still on her face. “What kind of house were you looking for?”
Audrey browsed the drawings on the wall in a very convincing manner. “Something beautiful. And spacious.”
“I see. And the budget?”
A sweet smile graced Audrey’s lips as she turned to meet Violet’s gaze. “Not an issue.”
“Wonderful. Then I think I have just the house for you.”
Ducking back through the doorway, she disappeared for a couple of minutes. The clanking of keys filled the air. Audrey and I exchanged a glance.
When Violet returned, she was carrying a ring of keys as well as a whole bunch of documents. That same smile was still plastered to her mouth.
“Please, follow me,” she said as she motioned towards the front door.
The morning sun climbed slowly higher as Violet led us towards one of Eldar’s fancier districts. Grand houses lined the wide streets, and even though their gardens were small, they were immaculately kept. White marble buildings sat next to houses made of shining dark wood while a few had been painted in pale colors of green or blue. This whole neighborhood practically smelled of money.
I scanned the area with sharp eyes as Violet opened a gate in the low fence and walked up to one of the houses made of white marble. It was a two-story building, with a door painted red.
“The couple who owns this house is renting it out for a month,” Violet began as she inserted one of the keys and unlocked the door. “While they are in Malgrave, doing the same as you.”
“Malgrave?” Audrey said while following her into the house. “What an odd choice of city.”
“Isn’t it? But apparently, they have relatives there.” Violet came to a halt in the spotless hall and spread her arms. “Anyway, here we are. Please feel free to look around. I’ll be in the living room just through that doorway when you’re ready.”
In truth, a grand house in this district was all we needed for our plan. It didn’t really matter what it looked like. However, we needed to keep up appearances in front of Violet, so I strode deeper into the house as if to inspect it.
Rich carpets lined the marble floor and heavy drapes of dark red hung around the tall windows. There was a kitchen next to the living room that Violet had disappeared into, and another large room meant for socializing across the hall. I pretended to be interested in it before making my way up the stairs. Audrey was still checking out the small downstairs bathroom so I left her behind.
Upstairs, there were several bedrooms. One was clearly the master bedroom, with a massive four-poster bed and a cluster of armchairs and sofas arranged around the cold fireplace. The other was a smaller bedroom, though it still housed a comfortable-looking double bed, while the final bedroom was completely empty. I briefly stuck my head into the very luxurious bathroom at the end of the hall before making my way downstairs again.
I met Audrey halfway down the hallway.
“Come on,” I said and grabbed her arm on the way past. “Let’s sign those papers and get this done.”
She yanked her arm out of my grip and glared at me, but still followed me down the stairs and into the living room. It was furnished in the same elegant style as the rest of the house with bookshelves along the walls, several seating arrangements, and another fireplace that was probably connected to the same chimney as the master bedroom above.
“We’ll take it,” I said.
Violet looked up from where she was sitting at the long dining room table. Documents were spread out before her on the tabletop. “Excellent. Then I just need a few signatures. And then there is of course also the matter of the payment.”
“You’ll take care of that,” Audrey said with a viciously sweet smile as she met my gaze. “Won’t you, husband?”
Turning so that my back was to Violet, I narrowed my eyes at the damn poisoner. Money wasn’t an issue for people like us. But still. This was a deliberate move on her part because she knew that I couldn’t argue unless I wanted to risk ruining our cover story. Her pathetic attempts to get back at me were driving me nuts.
I let her see the promise of revenge in my eyes as I answered, “Of course. Wife.”
She just grinned wider.
Wiping the anger off my face, I turned back around and walked over to the table. Violet pushed several pieces of paper towards me and pointed at the different lines while explaining the terms of the contract.
Once I had signed them all, and given her a rather large pile of cash, she handed me a set of keys and then stood up. Paper rustled faintly as she gathered up all the documents before giving me back our forged proofs of citizenship as well.
“There we are then,” she said and gave us a businesslike nod. “If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. And if you want to stay longer, please just come and see me at any time. Otherwise, I’ll see you again in two weeks when the contract is up. Have a wonderful stay.”
“Thank you,” Audrey said.
Violet smiled and nodded again as we followed her to the door. After a very lovely little wave from my pretend wife, we closed the door and blew out a soft sigh in unison as Violet disappeared down the street.
At last, we had an actual house to live in. With private bathrooms, a spacious kitchen, and comfortable bedrooms. And I knew exactly which room was going to be mine.
I slid my gaze to Audrey. “Come with me. There’s something you need to see.”
She frowned up at me, but when I turned and strode up the stairs, she actually followed. Once we reached the landing, I continued straight towards the empty bedroom that was opposite the bathroom. Pushing the door open, I strode inside.
“It’s empty,” Audrey said as she walked into the room as well.
“Yeah, I know. But look at that wall over there.”
Her brows creased as she shifted a little closer to the back wall I had pointed at. “What about it?”
While her attention was still fixed on trying to discover the nonexistent thing about the wall, I took two quick steps back out and slammed the door shut. I barely managed to see the look on her face as she whirled around before the door banged closed and I rammed the key into it. But it had been enough. Absolute shock had flashed on her face as she realized what I was doing. But it had been far too late.
I locked the door right before a weight crashed into it from the other side.
“You bastard!” Audrey screamed as she yanked at the handle. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
A malicious grin stretched my lips as I watched the handle move up and down while the door stayed firmly locked. Banging echoed into the silent house as Audrey no doubt slammed her hand against the door over and over again.
“You open this door right now or I swear I will kill you!”
I let out a chuckle. “Big words for someone who’s stuck inside a room.”
If it had been me inside that room, I could have just blasted down the door with my force magic and gotten out. But Audrey was a poison mage. She had nothing that could break through solid objects like that.
“Callan,” she snarled. “I swear I will…” The door shook as she banged her fists against it again. “Hell damn it! Let me out right now.”
“Nah. I think I’ll leave you in there for a while. I suggest you use the time to think very carefully about who is actually in charge here.”
“You bastard!”
I chuckled to myself as I strolled away from the door. Audrey’s curses and angry banging followed me. Amusement swirled inside my chest.
Did she really think she could mess with me without facing any consequences just because we were in the middle of a mission? Oh I couldn’t wait for the day when we’d finally gotten Lance Carmichael away from this city. Then, I would really put her on her knees.
But for now, she was going to stay locked up in that room for a few hours while I claimed the master bedroom for myself and took care of some things that needed to be done. And then, I just might let her out.
If she begged prettily enough.
