“Nothing like dragging a high-profile civilian into the middle of covert Order business,” Lucan muttered under his breath. He crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t know what Nathan thinks he’s doing with this female, or what his intentions might be where she’s concerned. So long as she’s a potential intelligence source, I don’t give a damn about any of that. Our mission is all that matters. We fuck that up, people die, wars happen.”
Lucan glanced to Hunter, who met his comment with a concurring nod. The former assassin’s tone was steady, coolly logical. “Nathan pledged himself in duty to the Order. If he can’t uphold that promise, he will expect nothing less than to have it taken from him.”
“Yeah, that ought to go over well,” Gideon remarked, furiously sifting through what looked to be thousands of digital files and sweeping them off the screen one after another. He slowed after a moment and raked his fingers through the short blond spikes of his hair.
“Holy shit.” He glanced at Lucan and the other warriors over the rims of his ever-present pale blue glasses. “My packet sniffer just encountered a remote back door on one of La Notte’s commerce account firewalls.”
Lucan, along with Chase on video and the other warriors seated in the room, all stared at Gideon in questioning silence.
A grin spread over the vampire hacker’s face. “I found a way in. Once I machete through a few more layers of tangled security and subterfuge, I’ll have all of Cassian Gray’s secrets cracked open like a walnut.”
18
JORDANA HAD BEEN AWAKE SINCE DAWN.
Her head was buzzing with a thousand thoughts and minutiae about the exhibit opening that evening, but it was the deep, blissful thrumming of her body that roused her from sleep hours ago.
That enlivened vibration of her limbs and core—of her very blood—was also to blame for the secret, irrepressible smile she couldn’t seem to wipe from her face no matter how hard she tried.
Making love with Nathan last night had been nothing short of spectacular.
Even now, when she closed her eyes, she could still feel his strong hands on her, his hot mouth on her. His hard body moving over her, inside her …
Jordana groaned into her teacup as she took a sip of her favorite morning blend. She’d showered a while ago and now sat in her robe on her bed, answering emails before she and Carys needed to head in to the museum for the day.
“Someone’s up early.” Carys stood in the open doorway of Jordana’s bedroom, leaning against the jamb. Her caramel-brown hair was swept up into a ponytail, baggy gray sweats hanging loosely on her athletic figure. “Everything all right?”
“Yeah.” Jordana nodded, wondering if she looked any different to her friend today. God knew she felt different. Everything seemed different today. “Just getting a jump on a few things since I couldn’t sleep.”
“No wonder,” Carys replied. “Quite a night you had.”
The ghost of a smile played at the corners of her mouth, and Jordana realized instantly that her friend wasn’t referring to the awful incident at La Notte. “You know Nathan was here?”
“I ran into him before sunrise here in the apartment. He was trying to slip out just as I was coming home.”
Jordana hadn’t really expected Nathan to be next to her when she woke up, but she couldn’t deny the pang of disappointment she’d felt when she opened her eyes earlier and found him gone.
And she had to admit, at least to herself, that she’d been hoping to hear from him by now. All she needed was some small indication that last night meant something to him too.
“How did he seem to you?” she asked, setting her tea on the nightstand to give Carys her full attention. She was hungry for every last detail her friend could provide. “What did he tell you? Did he say anything about me?”
Carys arched a slender brow. “You mean after he realized I wasn’t someone he needed to attack for coming in to harm his woman?”
“Did he say that—those exact words?” Jordana’s heart skipped a beat. “How did he say it? Did he specifically call me his woman?”
Laughing softly, Carys entered the room and took a seat on the edge of the bed. “I see this is even worse than I first suspected.” She leaned in and whispered, “If you want to write him a note, I’ll ask Rune to pass it to him after school.”
“Tell me what he said!” Jordana gave her friend’s shoulder a light shove, giggling with her now. “Come on, Car. I need details. I’m serious.”
“I know you are,” Carys relented. “And so is Nathan, I think. More serious than I’ve ever known him to be.”
Without saying any more, Carys got up from the bed and strode into Jordana’s walk-in closet. “Did you decide what you’re wearing tonight?”
Jordana hurried after her. “I’ve narrowed it down to the black tea-length or the pale rose silk cocktail dress.” It was hard to think about clothing choices, let alone discuss them when her breath had suddenly caught in her lungs. “What do you mean, Nathan is more serious than you’ve ever known him? Serious … about me?”
Carys found the two dresses Jordana mentioned and was now pulling them out of the wardrobe. She held them up, one in each hand. “I’d have to see these on you before I could decide which one is best. Here. Try the black one first.”
Jordana grabbed the dress her friend pushed toward her. “Did Nathan say he was serious about me?”