Page 45 of White Hot Kiss
Roth looked terribly innocent. “You let me hang out with you. I promise. That’s all.”
“You’ve already lied to me.” I folded my arms. “How do I know you aren’t lying now?”
“I guess that’s a risk you have to take.”
An elderly couple passed by, smiling at us. Roth gave them one of his most charming smiles while I debated what to do. I doubted Abbot expected any tags tonight since I wasn’t even sure I was still allowed to be doing it. Drawing in a shallow breath, I nodded stiffly. “Okay.”
His smile slipped into a grin. “Great. I know just the place.”
“That worries me,” I replied blandly.
“You excite me.”
I flushed, busying myself with adjusting the strap on my book bag. Then he reached down, prying my fingers off the strap. I felt my heart skip a beat and my face blaze hotter.
“Are you always like this?” Roth asked, turning my hand over in his.
“Like what?”
“Easily flustered, forever blushing and looking away.” He ran the tips of his fingers over my palm. The caress sent a jolt through me, following the pathway of nerves all the way to the tips of my toes. “Like now. You’re blushing again.”
I slipped my hand free of his. “And you’re always annoying and creepy.”
He chuckled. Not a fake laugh. Roth was genuinely amused by my insults. Twisted. “There’s this little diner by the Verizon Center that has the best muffins in the world.”
“You eat muffins?” It struck me as odd. “I figured you drank virgin blood and ate cow hearts.”
“What?” Roth laughed again, and the deep sound was pleasant. “What have the Wardens taught you? I love muffins. Want to take the metro or walk it?”
“Walk,” I said. “I don’t like the subways.”
We started off toward F Street, which would take us some time on foot. I kept my gaze trained on the glimmering souls in front of me, aware of Roth on every level. The weirdest thing was, when I looked at him and didn’t see a soul, I felt relief instead of horror. Being around souls all day gnawed at me. The emptiness was a reprieve.
But it was something more than that.
Being around Roth was sort of freeing. Besides Zayne and the Wardens, he was the only one who knew what I was. Even my best friends had no idea about me. Roth knew, and he didn’t care. Zayne and the Wardens cared. Granted, Roth was a full-blooded demon of God knows what, but I didn’t have to pretend with him.
“I don’t like going underground, either,” Roth said after a few moments.
“Why? It should be like going home to you.”
“Exactly.”
I looked up at him. With his hands shoved into his pockets and the earnest expression on his face, he looked strangely vulnerable. But when he glanced down at me, his eyes bespoke a predator’s stare. Shivering, I squinted at the bright sun. “What’s it like down there?”
“Hot.”
I rolled my eyes. “I figured that much.”
Roth pulled an anti-Warden flyer off the back of a bench we passed and handed it to me. “It’s kind of like here, but darker. I think it tries to mirror everything topside, but it gets twisted. Not a very scenic place. Lots of cliffs, rivers that have no end and wastelands where cities have crumbled. I don’t think you’d like it.”
The flyer had the same crudely drawn picture that most did. I tossed it into a nearby trash can. “Do you like it?”
“Do I have a choice?” he asked stonily. I could feel his eyes on me, studying my reaction.
“I’d say so. Either you like it or you don’t.”
His lips thinned. “I like it here better.”