“Aren’t you?” she quipped. “You’ve been insinuating as much for years.”
“Demi-god,” he corrected with a smile. “There’s still a touch of humanity floating around somewhere. I’ve been trying to quell it but it’s elusive as hell.”
Nicki, for one, was grateful for that touch of humanity. Without it, she wouldn’t have had the last six weeks. She wouldn’t be sitting here now, laughing and enjoying a delectable meal. She told him that, too.
They talked, keeping the subjects light. Nicki thought Taser might have slipped something into the food or drink at some point, but hours afterward, she still felt no unusual symptoms, just a pleasantly full belly and a sense of the inevitable.
Taser insisted she stay in the bedroom; he would take the couch. That surprised her a little. She’d half expected him to offer her a chance of one last night of passion, but he didn’t, brushing only a chaste kiss across her forehead when he bid her a good night. It was just as well. She wouldn’t have accepted. Then again, he probably already knew that, just like the prescient bastard knew everything else.
As Nicki lay in bed, she stared up at the ceiling and did something she hadn’t done in a long time: she prayed. She asked for forgiveness, and for God to watch over her brother and Sean. She thanked Him for these last few weeks of peace. And she asked for special consideration for Taser, who was only doing his job. When she was finished, she closed her eyes, and drifted off, never expecting to wake again.
Chapter Nineteen
It was quite a shock when she felt the warm, humid breeze across her bared shoulders the next morning. The birds were singing, their gentle music clearly audible in the early morning hours. Nicki opened one eye and looked around. The room looked exactly like it had yesterday, and she was alone, wearing the same clothes she’d gone to sleep in. She’d deliberately chosen a silky white nightie rather than her usual cotton T and panties. Perhaps she had some kind of latent princess fantasy, but she wanted to look pretty in her final moments.
She could hear Taser in the other room, moving quietly as if afraid to wake her. For some reason, that thought struck her as funny.
“Are you ever not beautiful?” Taser murmured when she emerged shortly thereafter to find him lounging on the couch, coffee in hand, laptop balanced on his long legs.
Nicki paused, stunned by his words. Deciding she must have heard wrong, she shook her head and proceeded to pour herself a cup of coffee.
Taser looked completely at ease as he directed his attention back to his laptop, not at all like someone who was going to kill her and dispose of her body. She guessed that kind of mental control was what made him so good at it. He did stretch out his hand, however, silently commanding her to refill his mug as well. She did.
“I never really pictured you as the cruel type,” she said conversationally as she took a seat across from him. “Is this part of my punishment?”
His golden eyes lifted from the screen. “Do you find my company so punishing, Nix?”
“Not at all. On the contrary, I think I might genuinely enjoy it were the circumstances different.”
“What circumstances would those be?”
“Oh, come off it, Tay. We both know why you’re here, so why not just get it over with? I know you’re into the whole psychological mind-fuck thing – and don’t get me wrong – you excel at it – but enough’s enough.”
Taser did something he rarely did. He blinked. “Let me see if I understand this. I send you to my private retreat for a little R and R. Provide you with everything you need – clothes, food, distractions. Cook you a fine meal. Give you my bed. Make coffee and let you sleep in. And that constitutes fucking in your mind?”
“Mind-fucking, not regular fucking,” she clarified. The corner of Taser’s mouth quirked. “My mistake. Please, continue.”
Nicki got up off the couch and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She began to pace the width of the room. Golden eyes followed her closely. She completed several passes before she spoke.
“Why don’t you just kill me already?” she blurted out finally, stopping and glaring at him.
Taser’s expression did not change. He remained the picture of ease, traces of amusement clearly visible. “Do you want me to kill you?”
“Well, of course not,” she snapped as if she was talking to an idiot. “But I fucked up, and rules are rules, and you know you have to make an example of me, so go ahead and just do it already.”
He considered her for a moment. “You seem really preoccupied with the concept of fucking this morning. Do you need to get laid, Nix?”
“Agh!” she cried out in frustration. “Don’t be such a dick!”
The quirk became a full-fledged grin. “Methinks the lady doth protest too loudly.”
“Taser!”