Page 151 of Lau Ahi
His brow dipped at my confession. “Confusing?”
“Yes.”
“How so?”
“It seems… out of character for you.”
“And just what am I, Semira?”
“A man. A complex one. One with layers but a man still.”
He shifted on the sofa but never broke eye contact. “If we’re speaking of me purely according to the disdain you have for my gender then my reactions fall in line with your expectations.”
“You think so?”
He sat his book down but kept his eyes trained on me. “Yes. To you men are basic. They see something they like. Something that they would want that compliments them or their life and they take it. Physically, you have the type of beauty that would bring a man to his knees. A descendant of Andromeda herself.”
I wondered if he was under some type of influence because his words were damn near poetic. “Flattery? Or are you telling me that, like the aforementioned Habesha woman of myth you’re going to sacrifice me to a sea monster?”
A half smile graced his face making him look devilishly handsome. “I’ve been described as a monster and my family has multiple ties to the sea. In a way, you are being sacrificed. The only difference is I’m not about to let a weak chinned recessive gene Greek come and snatch you away from me.”
My legs were an utter embarrassment at the way they got weak and my thighs wanted to squeeze together.
“Possessive.”
A proud dip of his head was the precursor to his response. “Another trait that you can use as a mark against my gender. But I think that’s more of the win column with me.”
“Are you intoxicated?” I’d had my fair share of spirits today and I blamed it for the way my emotions were getting away from me.
“No. Why do you ask?” His tone sounded light and it was clear he found humor in my question.
“You’re far more loquacious than normal. Has something happened that has loosened your tongue?” I made my way closer into the room and balanced my hip on the side of the leather sectional.
“It occurred to me today that I’m getting married.” I couldn’t understand why he seemed thoroughly bewildered at the idea. He had known of this longer than me and pushed us along this timeline at this brutal pace. We hadn’t gotten married sooner for the hope of the case being solved but red tape was holding up the investigation. The investigation had continued despite resistance from the Clancy boy and he seemed more and more like the possible killer.
“That just occurred to you?”
He shrugged not regretting his choice of words. “Maybe sunk in is the better phrase.”
“Markedly.”
The corner of his mouth lifted in that semblance of a smile. “And not just married. This situation seems to be lucrative for my family and for me personally. I feel as though my ancestors have laid a gift at my feet in the form of your hand so I can’t lie that I’m not feeling…lighter than normal.”
It was my turn to laugh because he could not be serious. “You think of me with all my faults as gifts? Your ancestors must hate you something deeply to saddle you with me.”
“Compared to what I could’ve had?”
“You could’ve had a biddable, beautiful bride who would bend to your every whim.”
“Still don’t like me if you’d wish that type of hell on me, Mira.” He looked genuinely appalled at the idea.
“Hell? Sounds like a dream.”
He leaned back and spread his arms over the back of the sofa as though he were inviting me to take a seat.
Maybe that was my imagination running wild. “For an incel, maybe. As a man who is secure in my masculinity, I don’t have to worry about the thoughts of someone whose ass I could whip with my big toe.”
“Did you say your big toe?” I chuckled but something in the way he smirked had me indeed thinking he could kill a man with only his hallux.
