Free Rooks and Romanticide by J.I. Radke Page B

grinned, and his fingers twitched in the air, his elbows propped on the back of the pew.
    Cain wondered if he was a smoker or simply fidgeting.
    â€œYou could always… pay me with your company, my lord.”
    A chill zipped through Cain, sharp and fast. He blushed. He didn’t know why he blushed. There had to be a catch here. He scoffed but had no words right away, so he just glowered at Levi and wished hard that he could feel more insulted. He could not. He was bewitched and ready to be selfish.
    â€œI admit that I’m a little suspicious now, Levi,” he spat. “That maybe you harbor clandestine intentions here, that you’re trying to trick me. You’re too charming, my friend. Too good-looking, too collected, too clever. Christ, even ‘following whims,’ who in their bloody right mind would refuse recompense from one of the wealthiest old families in New London?”
    Levi laughed again. This time it infuriated Cain—for a moment, a brief moment, because then he was just too distracted by the way the candlelight pooled in Levi’s face to really care about being offended. With an air of ready apology, like he’d expected to be so direly misunderstood, Levi husked, “Oh, no. Please, Earl Dietrich, if you don’t trust me on my word, shoot me right now . Right here. End your doubt, and be troubled by the empty threat nevermore.”
    Cain was rendered speechless again. Damn the man and his unwavering charm, straight to hell. It was just too much. But really, he had to consider it in a realistic way. If Levi was a man with no personal loyalty in New London, who became who he was required to become upon assignment, contracting himself out to stay alive on these streets… wouldn’t he be a master charmer too? That was dangerous—dangerous, and a little alluring.
    Levi stood. Cain bristled and tightened his grip on his gun. But Levi just dropped into a low, respectful bow in the aisle outside Cain’s pew. Cain scowled at him. He hated feeling transparent, especially before strangers, and that was exactly what Levi made him feel. Transparent, and childish, and utterly torn up inside.
    The light from the vaulted windows hit Levi just right. It struck Cain motionless. Levi’s dark eyes pierced into him as if they could see every filthy secret of his damned soul. His stare was sensual and flustering, but Cain didn’t really mind, and he couldn’t say why. It was thrilling, like a game. Again he felt the nascent suspicion that this lure was bound to stay for a while. It was like witchcraft, Levi’s stare, because Cain could feel himself bending to it, willfully, ready to lay the rocky depths of his soul bare before Levi barged his way in.
    â€œMy lord,” Levi whispered, smoothly cutting the silence, “judging by the eyes you give me, you like me a little too much. You like me more than you expected to, and you hate yourself for it. And that’s why you’ll agree to many more meetings with the ace in your sleeve .”
    Cain choked on a laugh two notes shy of a scoff, but gathered composure again quickly. The nerve! He lifted his chin, narrowed his eyes, and spat, “As long as my hidden ace remembers his place. Any amount of intrigue will never change that, I promise.”
    â€œOh, trust me,” Levi murmured. “I will always remember my place so long as I am graced by your presence.”
    â€œYou confuse me,” Cain hissed, motioning for Levi to go away. “This meeting is over. Where are you from, Levi? How will I get in touch with you to meet again? This is stupid, you know, setting up a deal like this and lacking such basic information about you. You’re not a whore or anything! You’re employed by me now. But maybe anonymity is the smart way to do it. I don’t know. I don’t care.”
    Levi stood, smiling down at him. But his eyes were distant. He said nothing. He turned and began