Charming (A Seven World Novel) (12 page)

He set down his silver fork and centered his gaze on Nadia. “No matter what you think of her, Kat is all you have left. Time changes, money comes and goes, but she’s the only person you can depend on. She’d die for you, and I’m certain you’d do the same for her if it came down to it. Accept who Kat’s become, and that love might be enough to draw out the venom coursing in her veins—the poison that turns to spite.”

Nadia finished her salad and gazed toward the lights twinkling below. “You’ve only just become acquainted with my sister; it’s premature to make such assumptions. Kat is beyond my help. I’ve tried to get her a job, but she resists.”

“You’ll have to accept that she doesn’t want to live the same life as you, and right now, she doesn’t feel like she’s good enough in your eyes.”

“Since when did you become an advocate for my sister? I have no interest in discussing Katarina all evening,” she said in a bored voice.

He reached across the table and held her hand, embarrassed by his lack of manners. “I apologize; that wasn’t fair of me. Tell me about yourself.”

“You know about my job.”

“Yes, but what are your passions?”

She looked at him wolfishly and stood up from the table, approaching him from the right. The warm summer wind caressed his face, and he closed his eyes when her delicate fingers stroked his jaw. “My passion is right here.”

“I mean, what is it you like to do? What are your opinions about art or—”

“I buy and sell art all day. Let’s not talk about art.”

Prince shifted in his chair, growing flustered. “I’m not asking to have a discussion on Picasso or black holes; I just want to know more about who you are.”

Nadia leaned against the edge of the table, the wind in her favor as it picked up the silky tendrils of her long mane. It gave him a prominent view of her regal features, slender neck, lush lips, and feminine curves. He wished he had asked her to change into a pair of slacks before they left, because her sitting on the edge of the table in a skirt with her legs slightly open was testing his character as a gentleman.

“I work long hours and spend most of the day scheduling meetings and negotiating prices with my clients. I’m independent and don’t need a man to take care of me. This town is alive with music, food, and people, and I like socializing with men and women. I don’t like talking about myself as much as what the air smells like in Greece or why humans spend so much money trying to extend their life but a few years. I’m not sure how I feel about being mated; there’s an expectation that comes with living in a pack, and I have no intention of changing my lifestyle. The right man has to come along, one who will understand my needs.”

He leaned back in his chair. “But that is
all
I know about you, Nadia. What are your real feelings about eating on a rooftop? Tell me more about where you grew up.”

She reached for his glass and sipped his wine. “You’re one of those talkers, aren’t you? Don’t you get bored talking about the same things after centuries? I have no wish to talk about the atrocities being committed against Shifters, and I don’t think my childhood stories are going to change the way you feel about me.” She lifted his hand and placed it on her thigh. “There are things I’d like to try on a rooftop, Prince. Show me how much you’re interested. I must know if there’s something between us.”

“What more can I do?”

“Kiss me.”

Kat had no intention of going to a stinky club and having some sweaty Shifter paw all over her.
Instead, she hopped in her yellow car and tailed Prince and Nadia. She knew just how to maneuver her car so they wouldn’t get away. After all, she’d probably staked out roughly three hundred outlaws, although this was her first time chasing a helicopter. The only person who’d ever gotten away from her had plowed through an intersection and struck a Labrador. Kat’s little heart had melted when she saw it happen, so she’d pulled her car over and held the pup in her arms for all of thirty seconds before he had a seizure and died. After that, Kat vowed if anyone hurt an animal in her presence again, he was going to get a dagger in the balls.

So there she was—standing outside a hotel, watching her sister circle overhead in a helicopter. Kat waltzed into the hotel as if she owned the place and took the elevator. When she got near the top, she changed over to the stairs and began climbing the rest of the way. Sweat trickled down her forehead, and she panted.

“You are so out of shape,” she chided, her voice reverberating off the walls. “Six tacos?
Great
way to impress a guy. Not just any guy, but a Packmaster. Nadia gets a rooftop romance with porterhouse steak, and all you have to show him is questionable meat at a roadside stand. No wonder you’re still single.” Kat tried to swallow, but her throat was too dry from the heavy breathing.

When she reached the top, she opened the door to the roof, then stepped into a small room and approached the outside door, but it was locked. Some places did that to keep all the crazies from going up there and jumping to their death. But Kat knew how to pick a lock, so she knelt down and caught her breath while fiddling with the mechanism.

“
Fly me to the moon
,” she sang, continuing the lyrics until the door unlocked. She tucked her handy little tool back in its pouch and slowly eased the door open. “
Please be true
,” she whispered more than sang.

The door cracked open a few inches, and when Kat beheld the enchanting scene before her, she took a seat on the cold concrete. Despite the wind whipping the white tablecloth at the bottom, the candles remained lit inside their colored lanterns. Nadia looked like Aphrodite with her hair blowing in the breeze like ribbons of silk. Prince was doing most of the talking, which struck her as odd because he was always the quiet one around her.

“God, maybe I
do
have a big mouth,” she remarked.

Kat looked on with a rueful heart, wondering if she’d made the right decision in letting them go without an objection. It wasn’t as if Prince would take her seriously since clearly the better half was currently sitting opposite him, but it didn’t eliminate the sting in knowing she hadn’t even put up a fight. Then again, what would her father have thought if she’d ruined her relationship with Nadia over the affections of a man?

She rested her head against the doorjamb when Prince reached across the table and held Nadia’s hand.

Kat was close to her father for the same reason her twin had been close with their mother. Nadia was like a little clone, and in some ways, she’d grown up to become just like their mother. As a little girl, Kat had envied the special affection that her mother had shown her sister, so she understood how Nadia must have felt regarding Kat’s close relationship with their father. Both sisters were dealt a bad hand when they lost both parents, but at least Nadia had managed to get her life into some semblance of normalcy.

Stars glittered above, moonlight illuminated the picturesque scene, and Nadia rose from her chair. It was almost too painful to watch as she rounded the table and stood before the alpha. Kat hadn’t known Prince very long, but being with him was easy and comfortable, like the jeans she had on.

When Nadia cupped his face and leaned down, Kat realized why they put locks on roof doors. She stared for a frozen moment and then looked away, an unfamiliar pain gripping her chest. Kat didn’t feel jealous; she felt wounded.

The kiss always sealed the deal. Men couldn’t resist Nadia once they got a taste.
She must be a phenomenal kisser
, Kat thought. Not that Kat lacked skills of her own, but she just hadn’t had as much practice.

After a moment, Kat glanced up, and her eyes widened in horror. A man approached the table—just a slithering shadow that appeared out of nowhere.

“
Vlad
.”

He must have used his Mage gift to jump from the nearby building.

Kat flung the door open, and it became one of those intense scenes that played out in slow motion in her head, like a
Die Hard
movie. She moved like a torpedo, her feet pounding against the hard surface, her hands pulled into tight fists, energy rolling off her, the wind blowing her hair back. Nadia had leaned down to kiss Prince, both of them unaware that Vlad had eased up behind them, a malicious grin widening on his face as he sharpened his light.

Kat dove through the air and crashed on top of the table. As it toppled over, plates broke and silverware clattered against the concrete. When the table rolled slightly to the side, the tablecloth blew off into the night. She flipped onto her back and scanned the roof, but Vlad was nowhere to be seen.

Nadia and Prince stared down at her, aghast. A cherry tomato rolled by, and lettuce covered the entire scene like a produce massacre.

“You just couldn’t let me have
one
night,” Nadia said gruffly, hands on hips. “Why must you always ruin everything?”

Kat lifted the bottle of wine and handed it to Nadia. “At least the wine didn’t break?”

Prince rocked with laughter and covered his eyes, stopping his outburst before Nadia looked daggers at him.

When her sister didn’t take the bottle, Kat took a swig.

Vlad was messing with her head. She hoped like hell he didn’t know anything about Nadia being related to their father. If he somehow already knew that Alex had twin daughters, then maybe Nadia’s blond hair threw him off. But when Kat replayed the scene in her head, it seemed like Vlad had been going after Prince. He might have assumed Prince meant something to Kat, and after crashing his house earlier, it wouldn’t surprise her if Vlad was on the warpath for revenge. Maybe he found out she’d stolen sensitive information from his computer, or maybe he didn’t like the way she’d poured all his beer into the toilet.

“I think I’ve had enough excitement for one evening,” Nadia announced, wiping at a splash of red wine that had stained her short skirt.

“I won’t be able to get the chopper back for another hour,” Prince said, glancing at his naked wrist and then realizing he didn’t have on a watch. Just that nice body-hugging T-shirt that showed off his taut muscles.

Which made Kat take another swig before humming “Bad Moon Rising.”

Nadia offered her hand to Prince. “Let’s go.”

He stood up and looked down at Kat. “Do you think we should leave her in this condition?”

Well,
that
was embarrassing. Either Prince thought she was a lunatic or a drunk. Kat leaned back against the short wall along the edge of the building, soaking in the humiliation. Sure, she could have revealed why she’d taken down the table like a bridesmaid diving for a bouquet, but what were the odds of them believing her? Didn’t matter. As long as they went straight home, Kat was fine with being the delusional sister for the evening. Nadia’s apartment was safer than the roof of a building downtown. More than half her complex was Breed, so they usually kept an eye on things.

Prince sent a text message and turned to Nadia. “One of my men will escort you home. Your sister’s in no condition to operate a vehicle, so I’ll bring her back safely.”

Swell. He thinks I’m an alcoholic
, Kat thought with amusement. Especially humorous since they’d drank half the bottle and she’d only taken two sips.

Nadia shook her head and touched his arm. “You should be sainted.”

Kat climbed onto the wall and swung her legs over the edge, listening to the hard click of high heels growing distant.

Strong hands gripped her shoulders. “Hey, this is dangerous. You might fall.”

She patted the spot to her left. “Live on the edge, Charming. You get a whole new perspective on life from this seat versus the one behind you.”

Prince straddled the wall and gingerly lifted one of his long legs over the edge, leaning back at first, then peering down with curiosity at the twinkling lights below.

“What are we looking at?” he asked.

She handed him the bottle of Italian wine and pointed at the smaller building across from them. “Vlad was here. He must have jumped over from that rooftop and was moving in on you guys when you were about to lock lips.”

Kat could feel the intensity of his gaze as he studied her.

“Sorry I ruined your dinner. Again,” she said, still looking at the building in front of them. “It was either that or watch you guys take an unplanned free fall. He’s messing with my head. I don’t think he knows Nadia is related to me, or I’m positive he would have gone through with it. He probably thinks she’s just one of your floozies.” Kat snorted and then snatched the wine when she noticed he wasn’t drinking it.

“Vlad is a man who doesn’t give empty threats. If he was here on this roof, then he meant to go through with something. Had you not intervened, he would have taken us by complete surprise. I don’t believe he was taunting you. He wouldn’t have been able to fight all three of us, and he’s just the sort of man who would rather stab someone in the back than fight with honor.”

“I’m such an idiot,” she said under her breath. “I led him right to you.”

A gust of wind blew from behind, and Kat leaned back to keep her balance. Prince did the same and made no attempt to get up. In fact, he tilted his head back and closed his eyes, an indefinable expression painted on his handsome face. A look that was relaxed and introspective, and she stole a private moment to admire his profile. She was drawn to his confident nature, and yet she couldn’t help but notice a hint of sadness beneath it all.

“This is nice,” he said. “I’ve never sat on the edge of a building. People would find it foolish for someone with my responsibilities to be so impetuous.”

His leg brushed against her knee and it gave her butterflies. Katarina Kozlov—bounty hunter—felt a flutter in her tummy over a man.

“Being important sounds like a drag. You’re so busy trying to do the right thing that you don’t actually do the stuff that matters.”

“Sitting inches from death matters?”

Kat set the bottle down behind her. “Sure. Sometimes you have to get close to the edge to remind yourself what life’s about. It’s not just about rules or what’s on TV tonight. It’s about taking a second to look up and admire the universe.” They both simultaneously glanced up at the sky. “It’s about taking a deep breath and listening to the sounds of life. Maybe it sounds corny to you, but it’s how I get past all the drama with Nadia. I just sit back and remember that this won’t last and how thankful I am that she’s in my life. Sitting on the edge reminds me that someday I’m going to be nothing more than a handful of dust, so I need to make the most of every opportunity. The only way to live life is to live in the present. You can’t put things off thinking you’ll have time later. There may not
be
a later.”

Right there, on the ledge of a building with stars above and city streets below, Prince leaned over and kissed her. The moment their lips touched, the entire world melted away, and it felt as if they had been lifted by the wind and embraced by the stars. His tongue met with hers—insistent and experienced. Nothing about his kiss was clumsy or hurried, and it was as if they’d been lovers for centuries.

Kat reached up and pulled the band out of his hair so she could run her fingers through it. He moaned against her mouth, kissing her harder, and her body pulsed with need. When she peeked through her lashes at him, his brows were drawn together in a slant—an intense look that was so hot she shut her eyes and kissed him harder. She drew closer to him as he slid his hand around her lower back, and all she could think about was the stupid flannel shirt creating a barrier between his palm and her flesh.

When she nibbled on his lip, he pulled back.

“Wait,” he said with a throaty growl.

She glanced down and noticed he was holding her right thigh with a forceful grip.
Oops
. Kat had gotten so carried away that she’d tried to straddle him.

On the ledge of a high-rise building.

Tripping over her feet was one thing, but plummeting to her death while making out with a Packmaster was something entirely different.