Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
He opened the door and poked his head in. “Hi.”
Genevieve jumped to her feet. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t outside your door. I didn’t know you’d gone back to work.” She hovered near the chair but didn’t move toward him.
“No, I didn’t,” Vero said slowly. “I won’t need anything for the rest of the evening. Please retake your seat.”
The girl instantly dropped into the chair.
Lyrica frowned and studied her.
“What?” Genevieve asked.
Lyrica looked up at Vero, then back down. “These guys still scare you, and I don’t blame you, but it makes me truly wonder about you possibly dating one.”
This time, Genevieve flushed a light pink. “I am not dating one.”
Vero’s head lifted just slightly. Lyrica zoomed in on him. “What?”
He studied the female, who now faced only Lyrica. “She’s not a good liar.”
The new color bled out of the girl’s face instantly. She looked up at Lyrica, her eyes pleading.
Lyrica ignored the urge to help her out. “I’m sorry, but we really do need to know. Somebody brutally attacked and murdered one of us.”
Panic had the girl wringing her hands. “I don’t know anything about the murder.”
Vero stepped into the room, and a swell of heat, pure and natural, came with him.
Genevieve huddled down in her seat.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Vero said, “and you know that. But you’re lying about something, and it looks like Lyrica has a bit in her teeth. I suggest you tell her the truth about whatever you both are discussing right now.”
Genevieve looked quickly toward the window, then back at her hands.
“Now,” Vero said, his tone firm, but no anger or heat in his low voice.
Genevieve’s shoulders slumped. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“I didn’t say you did,” Lyrica said. “But are you dating Lukas?”
Genevieve remained quiet for a moment, then she let out a heavy sigh. “Fine. I’ve been kind of, you know. Just a little bit, but sort of seeing Lukas Macrame, sort of.”
Lyrica stilled. “All right. So that’s true.” Her eyes slashed up to Vero.
“Yes,” Genevieve whispered. “He’s very sweet, and we meet up when he’s finished with training for the day. Since I work all day, sometimes we just hang out at night and go for a walk. We don’t go far because it’s so cold.”
Irritation heated Lyrica’s blood. “How old is Lukas?” she demanded. “Is he another two-hundred-year-old Kurjan?” The girl had just turned seventeen, for Pete’s sake. They had put rules in place for a reason. The guy could be three centuries old.
Vero chuckled. “No, he’s seventeen, as in a legitimate seventeen-year-old male.”
Lyrica’s shoulders slowly relaxed as her temper dissipated. Thank goodness she didn’t have to go after the Kurjan. “You’re sure he’s actually underage?”
“I’m absolutely positive,” Vero said.
Relief tickled through her. “Okay. Well, then.” They had set rules in place that anybody joining the dating pool had to be at least twenty-one years old, but she hadn’t thought of Genevieve, who was the only underage female who’d been kidnapped. “I guess we need to put some rules in place.”
“Why?” Genevieve asked, her chin lifting. “Nobody else has rules in place.”
“Because you’re underage,” Lyrica said, keeping her voice gentle.
The girl crossed her arms. “Maybe so, but you’re not my mother.”
Vero obviously masked a grin. “No, but there will be rules.” He looked at Lyrica as if he had no idea what those rules would be.
Lyrica nodded. “I think it’s fine if you want to date, but we need to know when you’re out and about. And,” she looked up at Vero, “is it possible for teenagers to mate?”
“Absolutely,” he said. “It’s rare, but it’s not impossible.”
“Oh,” Lyrica said. “Well, there will be none of that.”
Genevieve’s eyes narrowed. “Says who?”
“Says me,” Lyrica retorted.
“And me,” Vero said in his deep voice from the doorway.
The sigh that Genevieve let out sounded long-suffering. She pushed from the chair and stood. “Lyrica, I suppose you’re going to talk to Lukas?”
“No. I am,” Vero said, moving to the side.
Genevieve tossed her head back and strode out of the office, apparently losing her fear of the Kurjan leader as she disappeared from sight.
Vero watched her go and turned to focus on Lyrica. “Was that a huff?”
“I believe so.” Lyrica chuckled. “She’s cute, but you do need to speak with Lukas. She’s definitely not ready for a lifetime commitment.”
“Neither is he.” Vero lounged against the door frame, looking deceptively casual, when the tension rolling from him felt heated and intense.
Her heart rate sped up and she had to concentrate to banish the memory of his ripped body in those boxers the night before. “Why are you here, Vero?”
His eyes deepened, taking on the inky hue of an endless, mysterious sea. “A couple of reasons. The first is to update you on the dead female. We’re interviewing all the soldiers, and so far, nobody saw anything.”
Lyrica gulped. “You noted earlier that this is unprecedented in Kurjan territory. So, they never kill females?”