Moonshadow (Moonshadow #1)

“Sure, of course,” she said, bemused. “Listen, I need to talk to you.”

“I need to talk to you too. Between last night and this morning, I’ve taken about a dozen phone calls from the Dark Court. One of them is an absolute madman. And—are you sitting down?” he asked. “Because if you’re not, you might want to.”

An absolute madman. Oh dear. She felt behind her for the edge of the chair and lowered herself into it. “I am now.”

“The King’s cousin Annwyn—who, I guess, is now the regent since he’s fallen ill—has made quite an offer to buy the property. Sophie, she offered ten million pounds.”

“I—She what?” The world wobbled around her, and she couldn’t believe what she’d just heard.

“You’re probably wondering if you heard me right,” Paul told her, laughing. “Forgive me for cackling like a lunatic, because I am, in fact, quite serious. The Dark Court wants to pay you ten million pounds for the Shaw family albatross, lock, stock, and barrel.”

“But Paul, the house is unlivable. It has cracks in its foundation, and it’s barely standing upright.”

“Prices for country estates in the UK are astronomical. Just the land alone is worth a great deal of money. To be honest, if you wanted to bargain with them, I think you could probably get them up to fifteen million.”

Fifteen. Million. Her mind refused to take that number in.

“Lock, stock, and barrel means the contents of the library too, right?” she replied faintly. “I had wanted to go through that.”

“Yes, they want the library too. At this point, it’s sight unseen, of course, but they feel there is some possibility they might find some useful information there. Apparently, the Shaws had worked in opposition to them in the past. Annwyn said they feel it’s worth the gamble financially. Between that, acquiring the annuity that goes with the house, and gaining control over a viable crossover passageway, she believes they’re offering fair market value.”

“I-I don’t know what to say,” she muttered.

On the one hand, she felt an inexplicable reluctance, but on the other, the property was now so damaged it bore none of the charms she had first enjoyed about it. Instead of having a viable living space, if she didn’t sell, she would be facing renovation bills she didn’t have the liquid resources to pay. And besides, the Dark Court had a legitimate claim and a very real need.

“You don’t have to say a thing,” Paul told her. “Just take a few hours to absorb the news and come on into the office. We can go over the details. I’ll take you to lunch and buy you champagne.”

“Well… Okay, thank you. Of course I’ll listen to the details,” she told him. “For ten million pounds, how can I not?”

“Exactly. See you soon.”

In a daze, she set the receiver on the cradle.

What did the madman have to say? Did he want to yell at her, now that she’d had some coffee? Was he trying to close the deal?

After dressing in jeans, the Doc Martens, a black, long-sleeved sweater, and a denim jacket, she braided her hair, checked her Glock and tucked it into her purse. Then she opened the door.

Nikolas stood outside, dressed in black, carrying so much Power he felt like a bolt of lightning barely sheathed in the form of a man. The planes and angles of his face, so sharp they appeared cut from an immortal blade, were clenched, and his dark eyes glittered.

The impact of his forceful presence hit her so hard she fell back a step.

He advanced. She retreated more. She only realized they had stepped fully back into the suite when he shot out a hand to slam the door shut.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

He said between his teeth, “Chasing after you.”

She stared at him, breathing hard. After a moment, she said, “I’m not going to fight with you.”

“I’m not here to fight.” He turned away and ran his fingers through his hair. Then with quick, vicious movements, he shrugged out of his sword harness and threw it across the room. In a quiet, raw voice, he said, “You left. You just left.”

“Yes, I did,” she said softly.

“You left without a goddamn word. You just drove off.”

“Not true,” she said. “I had a word with Rowan.”

She could hear his breath sawing in his throat, a ragged, telltale sound. “You left without a goddamn word to me.”

She whispered, “Maybe I’m done talking to you.”

“Well, I’m not done talking to you.” He turned to face her. “I’m sorry.”

She was so braced for a fight anyway at first the words didn’t make sense. “What?”

“I said I’m sorry.” He strode over and took her by the shoulders. “Rowan told me what you said, about drawing a line in the sand. I didn’t realize I had pushed you so far.”

“You had a lot on your plate yesterday. Anyway, it doesn’t matter anymore.” She pulled away from him, shrugged out of her jacket, set her purse aside, and went to sit on the sofa. Leaning forward, she rested her elbows on her knees. “We accomplished what you needed. You’re reunited with your people, and you have access to your home. I’m done.”

“You can’t be done.” Striding over, he crouched in front of her. “Come back.”

“No,” she said.

He braced one hand on the edge of the couch by her thigh and leaned closer. “Sophie, come back.”

“No, Nikolas.” She had cried so long and hard her well was dry, but her chest felt like a giant bruise. She focused on the floor between her feet to avoid looking at him.

There was a long silence. Then he asked, “Why not?”

Staring at the floor didn’t give her enough distance from him. She buried her face in her hands. “What do you mean, why not? You know why not. There’s no point to any of this fighting or apologizing, because we’re not partners. We’re not in this together—we’re not in anything together. I’m not coming back, because as soon as you get me out of your system, you’re gone, and I’m not going to hang around for that experience. Because I love too much and too hard, for too long. If I go back with you, I’ll invest even more of myself in you, when you have told me repeatedly you don’t have anything to give a lover, and you will break me even harder—”

Realizing where she was headed with the last of that sentence, she stopped abruptly, but the unsaid words still hung in the room.

You will break me even harder than you have already.

Gently he curled fingers around one of her hands and coaxed it down. Then he took hold of her other hand and coaxed that down too. He held her hands to his lips and said quietly against her fingers, “We’ve said some pretty awful things to each other at times, haven’t we?”

Her throat closed. She nodded.

He kissed her fingers. “There are different levels of truth, my Sophie. On the one hand, there is this—as soon as I get you out of my system, I’m gone. That was a defense mechanism, said in the heat of the moment when you told me you were making love to me for the last time. But on the other hand, there is also this—I will never get you out of my system. Never. Can you hear the truth in that?”