Ruelle did not miss the brief suspicion that passed through Peyton's otherwise composed expression. The minister's assistant looked as though she had interrupted something private.
Perhaps the woman had.
It was only when Lucian finally stepped back that Ruelle turned to look at him and realised his eyes had never once left her, as though the interruption had changed very little between them.
Heat lingered faintly against her skin even now, making it difficult to completely forget Lucian's words from moments ago. The implication tickled below her stomach, making her catch her breath.
"Mr. Slater, Minister Carnifex and the council ministers have asked for your presence for lunch along with Miss Belmont," Peyton informed him, whose expression had returned to a blank one.
Lucian's gaze finally shifted to where the vampiress stood at the door. "I see." The words sounded polite, though something colder rested beneath them. "We'll attend."
