So far past tired, Jonathon wasn’t sure how he managed to see actual words on the papers in front of him. He scrubbed his hands down his face and sniffled. Yawning, he reached for an empty coffee cup. If he didn’t find something interesting in the case files he’d spent the last few hours searching through soon, he was going to call it finished and head to bed. His day started around three am, and he was feeling every one of the missed hours of sleep.
“Jonathon, go get rest,” Sylphine ordered, slipping the cold porcelain cup from his fingers.
“I will in a little while.” Forcing his back straight, he shifted through the mess of information spread across his desk.
She propped a hip on the only spot free of documents across from him, both hands wrapped around his empty mug. “What good are you doing any case like this?”
Jonathon forced himself to focus on her, looking her over. Uneven layers of cream lace and delicate rose beaded fabric draped from her shoulders to her elbows. Small pale pink silk roses formed a swoop neckline over the rise of her full breasts, and despite the chaos of the design, somehow form fitted to her torso. Random layers of the lace and silk pooled on the wood near her hip and cascaded beyond his view to the floor beyond. Thin metal and beaded bracelets adorned her wrists. The wild array of beads, feathers and ribbons were expertly woven into her soft, golden curls. She looked completely exotic and wholly her nationality.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“I was invited to a diplomatic dinner as an honored guest. Countries seem to like to stay in the good graces of Sun and Wind Trade. I couldn’t say no.”
Jonathon frowned. Under normal circumstances, as her promised future husband, he’d attend such events with her. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Jonathon dear, you are…” she waved her hand searching for a word and sighed, “kasustostasi, what is your saying for this, ah, in no condition. You’re tired.”
No point in denying the obvious. “Yes.”
“I have convinced Ramsey to go with me. Since everyone believes she’s soon to be my sister, no one will think much of her appearance with me. It’s in my interest to bring anyone I wish.”
“It’s your choice, not your interest,” Jonathon corrected with a chuckle.
She waved her hand again and stood. “Interest, choice, it is what I wish, so same thing.”
“Very well, if you say so.”
“I do.” She nodded curtly. “And I will fill this up if you promise to go to your room when you are finished. I’ve accomplished the impossible with one of you, I wish to do so again.”
Jonathon braced his forearms on the desk and grinned. “Only because you wish it, I’ll do as you ask.”
Sylphine did exactly as he hoped. She graced him with a brilliant smile. His stomach clenched and he forced himself to keep breathing. “You make it so hard to forget I will never be your bride.”
“I am trying.”
Her beautiful tourmaline eyes sparkled and she shook her head. “What am I to do with you?”
“I’m not answering that.”
She laughed and sashayed from the room in a flurry of lace, silk and jingles. Jonathon dropped his head to his desk and groaned. Moments later he heard the warning of her approach and quickly straightened. The last thing he needed was for her to truly know how badly she affected him. He accepted the steaming cup of caffeine when she handed it to him.
“Thank you.”
“Of course. Now promise.”
He took a small sip. “I thought I already did.”
“No, you hinted, you did not speak the words.”
Jonathon raised a brow. Ramsey appeared at the office door. Her riot of black curls were swept atop her head, held in place by purple flower pins. A gray silk gown with a full skirt, fitted bodice and sheer, long loose sleeves, adorned with intricate silver beadwork from the bodice to the hem spoke of the latest Haven City fashions. Her ivory skin seemed somehow paler. Sylphine clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth. Ramsey frowned.
“What, do I not look all right?” His younger sister glanced down at her attire.
Sylphine looked Ramsey over. “The gown is truly beautiful, Ramsey. But you are stunning in your coloring, and the dress hides you.”
Ramsey raised her chin. “Perfect. I don’t want anyone to notice me.”
Sylphine looked at Jonathon in desperation. He shrugged. She sighed and crossed the room, holding out her arm. “Very well, your goal shall be accomplished.”
The women locked arms and disappeared. “Have fun!” Jonathon called out and then waved his hand. “Don’t mind me, I won’t miss you, and I don’t care when you’ll be home.”
Sylphine’s face appeared and she winked. “I will miss you, too. We won’t be home late, it’s a dinner.”
“I’ll be up.”
“No—”
“I’ll be up, I need to know you both are home safe. Unless you’re going to come to my room and…”
Her cheeks flushed. “I’ll see you when we get home.”
Jonathon grinned. “Coward.”
“Yes,” she breathed out and then flashed him another heartbreaking smile and disappeared.
Jonathon waited a few minutes to let the coffee start to work before diving back into the files. The caffeine soon let him down and he was awoken by a murmur in his ear. A delicate touch smoothed hair away from his forehead. Jonathon turned into the touch and exhaled slowly. Soft lips skimmed across his. Subtle feminine floral notes invaded his nostrils. The kiss was timid at first, then more aggressive when he didn’t move away. The tip of her tongue traced along his bottom lip.
Still fighting sleep, Jonathon slowly opened his mouth, touching his tongue to hers. She moaned deep in her throat, her fingers sinking into his hair. Jonathon’s eyes fluttered open. Ivory skin and a curtain of shimmering black hair greeted him. Sucking in his breath through his nose, Jonathon tore his mouth from hers and sank away.
Her silvery eyes opened slowly and a cat-like smile curled across her full lips. “Oh yes, that was everything I thought it would be.”
“Cora.”
“I suppose you’re going to lecture me now about how I shouldn’t attack a sleeping man.” She slid onto his desk until her feet dangled above the floor. The folds of her pale blue gown swayed between her knees and around her ankles. “I still had my way with you.”
He sighed. “There are worse ways to be woken up I suppose.”
She tugged on her bottom lip with her teeth. “I’m proud of you, you’re not even acting like you’re angry with me.”
Jonathon tried to pinpoint exactly how he did feel. Anger wasn’t it. Annoyance… maybe. “What did you need?”
“Besides you?”
He crossed his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair. “I am not a need you get to have.”
Wrapping her hands around the edge of the desk, she leaned forward. The fabric across her breasts strained and pulled, revealing the full curves. “Now that I know the best way to you, perhaps I’ll just sneak in your bedroom window.”
Jonathon stretched his neck and shoulders. “If you can sneak in my house, I’m not much of an enforceman.”
A teasing smile toyed at her lips, still glossy from their kiss. “Maybe I’m that good.”
“I’m sure you are.” When she went to open her mouth, he held up his hand. “But not for me. Again, what did you want?”
Lifting a black brow she heaved a heavy sigh and then reached beside her right hip. Brandishing a stack of files with a folded slip of paper on top, she handed them across to him. “The manifests from the records department. The top page is a map of Graecily. Guardianess Raiventon was given maps that contained roads, rail lines and ports that aren’t on maps Mason was given from First Intelligence. They’re wondering if your promised would be willing to reach out and make some inquiries.”
Jonathon set the files down before retrieving the map. “Only Graecily?”
“Oh no, it appears to be worldwide, mostly around UZ’s interestingly enough. Graecily can maybe be easily tested.”
“More puzzle pieces, yet none are fitting together.”
“They’d also like you to return with me to Sean’s house.”
Jonathon shook his head, flipping open the first couple files. “Not tonight, I’m not much use to anyone. Let me review these, see if I can find anything, and ask Sylphine about the map. Once I have something useful to contribute, I’ll reach out to Wintersfall.”
Cora reached for him and before he could censor his reaction, he jerked away. Her hand fell to her lap. “I think I’ve already told you I don’t bite. At least not usually.”
“And I know I’ve already told you nothing is going to happen.”
Slowly, she slid from the desk. The tips of her ballet style shoes touched the floor and then flattened in an elegant slip along the hardwood. “I feel I should warn you, breaking her defenses won’t be easy. She went the exact opposite direction I did when faced with betrayal and heartbreak.”
“Who are you talking about?” Jonathon rubbed the bridge of his nose, sitting forward in his chair.
“Miss Seartavos.”
Every muscle in his body froze. Cora knew what happened to Sylphine? Part of him wanted to demand answers, while the other part cautioned Sylphine deserved her privacy. To tell him her story in her own time, if she ever wanted to. She owed him nothing. There weren’t any stipulations on their arrangement, only they could call it off whenever one of them wished. So far, five months in, neither of them were in any hurry to be single again.
Jonathon relaxed and turned his attention back to the files. “I don’t need to work on her defenses, I’m happy with her just the way she is.”
“Well no wonder I’m so obsessed with you,” Cora declared on a huff. “You’re perfect!”
Rolling his eyes, Jonathon reached for his empty coffee cup and stood. “I’m not perfect, I’m practical. What good is hounding a woman about her past when she’s obviously wishing to forget?”
“Because her past destines her future.”
“No.” Jonathon rounded his desk and strode from the office.
The swish of fabric behind him made him groan. Cora’s footfalls echoed his own across the foyer. “Yes it does,” she argued.
Jonathon swung around. She slammed into his chest and he steadied her with a firm hand on her upper arm. “Why are you here causing trouble?”
Her pale gray eyes widened. “I… I’m not.”
“Yes. You are.” He turned and headed to the kitchen.
“I don’t want to see you make a mistake.”
Clenching his teeth, he rounded on her again. Thankfully this time she was ready and she stopped, hands up in defense. Jonathon a dropped a frustrated arm at his side. “Then please, tell me, what mistake could I possibly be making? She’s beautiful, funny, and smart. She managed to get my sister out of the house tonight. Do you realize no one, and I mean no one has been able to get Ramsey to leave this house in four years except to maybe go shopping or out to eat. Being seen in society? Forget it. Sylphine will never be a mistake in this house.”
Cora’s normally playful, seductive gaze turned sad. Her shoulders drooped forward. “She’s not who you think she is… at least not anymore.”
“Why are you saying all this?”
“So that when she walks away, like you seem to think I would do, you won’t be surprised. Trust me.”
Disgusted, Jonathon shook his head and turned his back to her once more. “I can’t believe you. Will you stop at nothing to be a distraction for a man?”
“Who said anything about me being the distraction?” She snickered. “You have it all wrong. You would be the distraction for me.”
Jonathon snorted in disgust. “Well, we both deserve better than that. I’m not anyone’s distraction, and you shouldn’t be either.”
A now thickened pot of coffee sat on the back of the wood stove in the kitchen. Jonathon poured what he could manage until grounds started leaking out with the liquid.
She crossed her arms over her ample chest and braced a hip against the counter where he headed with his cup. “Well, you won’t have to really worry about it anymore. I think I’m going to Westica.”
Jonathon’s cup clanked to the counter. Dark fluid sloshed over the rim. He stared at her, positive he’d misunderstood. “What?”
“It’s safe, really safe compared to most places, and I want to see for myself some of these road and rail lines. I’m good at investigating, and I can’t really investigate much here right now, not safely. Over there, no one knows me.”
“And your brother is okay with this?”
“Arctic no, he’s not okay with it. He flat out told me absolutely not.”
“But you’re still going.”
“Yes.”
Jonathon sighed and reached for a covered bowl of sugar. “Of course you are. Why are you telling me this?”
She shrugged. “What can I say, if one method doesn’t work, figured I’d try another.”
Jonathon leaned back against the counter, crossing an arm over his chest and resting his other on top. Slowly he sipped at his coffee and considered her. The light from a single oil lamp next to the kitchen door barely threw enough light in the room to chase away shadows. A sad, almost lost expression flickered across her beautiful face.
“Do you want me to talk you out of it?” he asked gently.
Her lips parted and for a moment she remained quiet. Slowly she shook her head. “No, I don’t think so.”
She swallowed and stared down at the floor, her fingers twisting in the fabric of her dress. For the first time, Jonathon realized she was allowing him to see the real Cora.
“I don’t have many friends. One really, and she’ll likely try to talk me out of it, too. I just…” She took a long, deep breath. “I need to do something. I can’t… I can’t keep living like this and I know it’s going to kill me one day.”
“Going to Westica could make that happen sooner. What’s so wrong with waiting for love, Cora?”
Tears glistened in her silver eyes when she raised her head. “I already did that. Didn’t work out too well for me. I’m not willing to go through it again.”