He arched an eyebrow. “I highly doubt that.”
Olivia sighed at the incredulity in his tone and then reminded herself that he was five thousand years old and hadn’t been in the human world in four of those. He might not have a clue about the progression science had made in those four thousand years.
“Listen... I’m a scientist. Studying demon genetics and physiology is what I do for a living, and I’m very good at it. I know a lot about demon and fae, as well as human, genomes. If this bond is somehow physical... a change at a base level in our bodies... I might be able to find it and find a way to reverse it. At least let me try.”
He stared blankly at her for long seconds, as though trying to decipher what she had just said, or maybe he was impressed that the little human female knew things he and, probably, his people didn’t have a clue about. Finally, he released her and rose to his feet in one effortless fluid movement.
Olivia used the couch and scrambled to hers. Her feet tingled, numb from the awkward kneeling position. She scrunched her toes, trying to clear the pins and needles so she could walk without making a fool of herself.
The prince paced a short distance away from her, his handsome face locked in a troubled expression. He still looked too damn gorgeous for his own good whenever he turned pensive. Olivia looked anywhere but at him, thinking about how she could convince him to let her do her thing while his men did theirs. She was sure that the answer to the bond lay in their blood. It had to be something like that. A change on a molecular level.
“What is your name?” He turned to look at her and she lifted her chin. His eyes captured hers again, their incredible colour still fascinating her.
“Olivia.” It was on the identity badge pinned on her left breast pocket but she didn’t mention it. Making a prince look like a fool when he was already on the edge would probably tip him over it and she preferred him calm. And pensive.
He padded towards her, his steps silent on the carpet, but she knew he wouldn’t have made a sound had he been walking on solid stone. He held his hand out to her. “Loren.”
Loren. A very noble sounding name. One that suited him. Prince Loren.
Olivia slipped her hand into his. A shiver of current shot up her arm as they came into contact. The way his pupils dilated, swallowing his purple irises, told her that he had felt it too.
“Olivia,” he said, his foreign accent and deep voice combining to make her name sound exotic and sensual, leaving her wondering how it would sound if he husked it close to her ear. She shook herself out of her dirty thoughts. She wasn’t going there. Never. His fingers closed around hers and he drew her closer, and she lost awareness of the world again, falling back into his eyes. “I will escort you to your laboratory.”
She blinked. He was going to let her continue her work and was going to be the one to stay here with her? That surprised her until it dawned on her that he would sooner risk himself than one of his men.
She could see he was a prince as he stood before her, tall and beautiful, noble and willing to step into the lion’s den to protect his men from those he believed would seek to harm them, offering her a diplomatic solution to their problem and patiently awaiting her answer.
Olivia felt as though he had just offered her a second shot at regaining her status within Archangel too and she wasn’t going to waste it.
She nodded and shook his hand.
“Agreed.”
CHAPTER 5
Loren appeared in his rooms in the castle and desire to return to Olivia flickered briefly in his heart. She would be safe without him for now and had to speak with her superiors about allowing him access to the building. It had been hard to agree to the time apart, but Olivia needed some space to take in everything he had told her and he had already pushed her too firmly on the subject. If he had tried to force her to agree to allowing him to remain in her small home while she went to speak with her superiors, she would have demanded he leave and refused to cooperate with him again.
He didn’t want her demanding that another male take care of her.
Loren growled at that. No male would go near her.
He stilled, freezing right down to his marrow. What if she already had a male?
He hadn’t smelled the scent of anyone male in her apartment. He had smelled only his female.
Olivia.
She smelled sweet like blossom.
He rubbed his thumb across the pads of his fingers, remembering how they had interacted, both verbally and physically. He had touched her soft skin too and felt each meeting of their flesh like a hot current going through him. She had reacted similarly, her pupils instantly dilating and her breath hitching whenever they touched. The increase in her heartbeat had spoken to him of desire, forcing his to obey the rapid beat and follow suit. Perhaps it had been desire on his part too and both of them were responsible for the increase in the speed of their combined hearts.