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“The car will take you wherever you want to go. Take as long as you need.”
Spoken like someone who had all the time in the world. How old was he? I was too busy studying him to realize he was waiting for an answer.
“That is…acceptable.”
He didn’t look at me again, and I wondered if I’d imagined the tension between us or if it had all been another one of his games. He walked toward the door, pausing on his way out. “I’ll see you later.” His eyes strayed to my neck—to the pendant, I realized. I reached up and flicked it, hoping he somehow felt it, but he only laughed.
I watched him leave, but my heart didn’t slow. It kept racing for hours as I considered the challenge before me. My head was clearer with him gone. Maybe that was the real reason he wanted me to stay at the Avalon: so he could keep confusing me with his flirting. I had a month to figure him out, to figure out what he wanted from me—and then I had to make sure he could never get it. It was absurd but surely not impossible—if I believed what he’d said about playing fair.
The trouble was, that kiss told me we both might be better at playing dirty.
Chapter Thirteen
I had no idea what time it was when I finally gave up on sleep and slipped from the bed to look for a book. I considered touching the necklace and waking Gage’s ass up to bring me one, but calling for him in the middle of the night might send the wrong message.
To both of us.
The hall outside my room was dark as I crept out in search of distraction that did not come in the form of thinking about six-feet-plus of purely masculine fae arrogance.
“Can I help you?”
Cursing, I spun around, one hand on my chest to keep my heart from jumping out of it. I squinted as a red-haired fae stepped from the shadows. His hair, glinting in the corridor’s dim light, was a stark contrast to his tailored black suit. He’d been there that first night at the Avalon, I realized. The guard Gage had cruelly dismissed.
He tossed me a sheepish grin. “Shaw,” he reminded me, seeing the recognition in my eyes. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. Do you need something?”
Apparently, the Nether Court wasn’t entirely abandoned. It made sense that Lachlan would have left guards and household staff. “I can’t sleep.”
“Is there something wrong with your bed?”
“It’s…comfortable.”
He studied me for a moment. “And that’s a problem?”
I sucked in a deep breath. I doubted he really cared, but it wasn’t like I had somewhere to be tonight. Or any night, for that matter. “I’m used to something a little less heavenly,” I admitted. “That thing is like sleeping on a cloud.”
“Heavenly?” He grinned at my choice of words. “No one has ever mistaken the Nether Court for heaven before.”
For a moment, I thought of Ciara. She’d said something similar. After I’d learned her brother’s plans for her, I was inclined to agree, and it seemed Shaw felt the same.
“It’s better than what I’m used to.” I shrugged. “I was just looking for something to do. I need to remember to bring a book.”
Shaw crossed his arms. Ink covered every inch of his hands. It wrapped itself in intersecting symbols and swirls around his neck. But unlike Lachlan’s constantly shifting tattoos, Shaw’s remained solidly in place. I took a step closer, as if I might spur them to transform. They didn’t even shimmy.
“Your tattoos don’t move.” I looked up at him.
“They do sometimes, but only when I’m thinking.”
I lifted one brow. “You only think sometimes?”
It was a rude thing to say, particularly to someone who was probably packing under his suit jacket, but Shaw chuckled. “If I can help it. I only think when I’m worried, and I try not to worry.”
I snorted. “Must be nice. I worry all the time.”
“Worrying is expensive. It costs you the one thing you can’t get back. Time.”
I frowned. Shaw looked like he was in his early twenties. Far too young to be spouting that kind of wisdom. But to be honest, I had no idea how old any of them were. I hadn’t seen a single fae that looked older than thirty yet. For all I knew, he could be hundreds of years older than me. “That’s very wise for someone who doesn’t think.”
“I think, but I try to stop while I’m ahead.” He tipped his head toward the empty corridor. “You said you wanted a book. I’ll show you to the library. It’s this way.” He gestured for me to follow.