Page 72 of Legion
She recalled how he’d been surprised the first time he’d offered her a drink and she’d chosen whiskey.“I get it from my stepfather.”She took another sip from her glass, and Luka’s eyes dipped down to her throat, watching as she swallowed.Those same eyes then lifted to settle on her mouth, staring at it so hungrily her belly clenched.
“What did you do with yourself today?”she asked.
His gaze returned to hers.“Same as usual.Met with my sentinels.Dealt with lair issues.Tended to ...other matters.”
Illegalmatters, she thought.
He took another swig of his whiskey.“And you?”
Naomi hesitated.She couldn’t tell him that she’d spent most of the day painting.He might wonder if she was one of the ghost artists who worked with Tobe.It wouldn’t be much of a stretch, would it?Especially considering the PI had badgered her.
“It wasn’t a trick question, Naomi,” he said, his lips quirking.
“I allowed myself a day of relaxation.”Not untrue.Paintingdidrelax her.Really, things had been going great until the freaking clerics made an appearance.
His eyes sharpening, Luka tilted his head slightly.“What’s wrong?”
She meant to wave away the question, but he cast her a pointed look.
“You could saynothing, but it would be a lie,” he softly accused.“We both know it.”
Inwardly, Naomi sighed.While she didn’t regret that she’d let this far-too-astute male into her life, she still couldn’t help but find his level of perceptiveness irritating at times.“Things just weren’t as relaxing as I’d intended them to be.”Understatement.
He stepped closer, blocking out the rest of the room, as if he might shield her from the world.“Why not?What happened?”
She exhaled heavily.“Something that ...It wasn’t necessarilybad.”The clerics had taken the bait, several more were now dead, and Baby Face had confirmed their suspicions.But she hadn’t learned enough from him to put a fast end to this bullshit, and nowLouwas involved.“It just didn’t go as I’d hoped.”
“You can’t give me more details than that?”
“Not in a way that would satisfy you.”Because she’d have to leave out too much, which meant ...“It’d only lead you to have more questions.”
“Questions you can’t answer?”
“Yes.”Taking another sip of her drink, she lifted a finger.“And before you think to complain, just remember that I didn’t whine when you failed to cough up deets on the ‘other matters’ you mentioned earlier.”
He lowered his head.“I respect your need to guard your secrets, Naomi, but I’m not fine with anything that puts that look on your face,” he added, softly tapping her cheek.
If he wasn’t careful, she’d start to wonder if he cared.Something she almost said aloud as a joke, but then he was talking again.
“If you tell me what’s wrong, I’ll fix it.”
Ugh, did he have to be so protective and supportive?It felt way too nice, and made it harder for Naomi to blow him off.Something that amused her entity.“The offer is appreciated.I’ll bear it in mind.”
“Be sure that you do.”
“Now can we move on from this?I came here hoping you’d distract me and improve my mood.So far, that isn’t happening.”
Luka stayed silent for a long moment, watching her carefully.“All right, we’ll move on.Just know that I’m here if you need me, even if only as a sounding board.”
“A sounding board?Pfft.”
“Whypfft?”
“I’m not dumb, Luka.You’d never be content with simplyknowingthe issue.”
“I wouldn’t?”
“No.You only offered to be a sounding board in the hope that I’d tell you what you want to know.Then you would have gone meddling in whatever ways you felt necessary.”
