Read Online Diamond by Tigris Eden - Free Book Online

closest to the marsh wanted nothing to do with the city or what it had to offer. With minimum food to sustain her, Nadya knew she wasn’t much to look at, but she hoped to change that and her and her family’s luck for the better. Her objective was clear. Help those who had helped her.
    She needed this job. She needed Diamond to accept her contract. She wasn’t desperate, but she knew he was the lesser of the two evils. The other alternative, working for Attia, could not be an option. What Nadya had, every male would want. She was a rare commodity and she would use that as her bargaining chip.
    Nadya made her way back into the sitting area and parked it on the couch. She sat on the one closest to the door. She didn’t want to sit where Diamond had sat. There was something about his posture that screamed territorial. Like everything around him that he touched or gave the slightest attention to belonged to him. Men were greedy that way. Diamond appeared even more so. The couch was worn but comfortable. The towel she’d wrapped herself in barely covered her, and she found herself a bit uneasy. In Inwood, there was no such thing as modesty, but for reasons Nadya couldn’t explain, she’d always been a bit apprehensive when someone was able to view her in the nude. She shifted a bit, and when she moved, the cushion beneath her sunk a little lower, relaxing her body further. The muscles in her neck and back were now free of knots and they hummed with a warm vibration, her legs felt heavy. It didn’t take long for her to fall into a restful sleep. This time, she dreamed of blood and glory. A peculiar thing to dream of for sure, for someone like her, but she dreamt nonetheless.
     
    V
     
    As long as she didn’t touch anything in his crib, he wouldn’t trip. Lavarious knew his anger got the best of him sometimes, and he tried to control it. With all the stuff happening right now, he couldn’t afford to lose his cool. Needed his head clear and free of distractions. The walk up to the top floor served as a deterrent. It gave him time to think. Everyone wanted something from him. More Wave, more electricity—they didn’t like the conservation rule the city adhered to. It was for everyone’s own good. The more they saved, the more they’d have. With constant running water, you could have electricity, which in turn would keep the factories open longer. For now, it was everything in moderation.
    He was getting too old for this shit. It had taken him years to get the city back on its feet, and he wasn’t about to let the outsiders or any of the inner-city gangs take what he’d worked so hard to put together. And now to have someone try and blow him up… Well, that was all kinds of fucked up. He had no intention of getting dead anytime soon. He couldn’t pinpoint who his enemy was, but he’d find out. Marius had stopped coming to the council gatherings. Diamond knew there was a reason for it, but the last person he’d thought would try to kill him was Marius. The man had his hands full trying to control those infected with Rage.
    There was a quiet snore coming from the other side of his door. Diamond rolled and cracked his neck. He didn’t recall telling her she could fall asleep. He opened the door to find her strewn across his couch, one leg hanging off the edge, the other stretched out along the cushions, her hands underneath her head. She let out another quiet snore. Of all the things he’d expected to find, this wasn’t it. His jaw tightened. He tried really hard to gather some patience. She doesn’t know the rules. But she would.
    His hand gripped the doorknob, and with a hefty swing, he slammed the door shut, ensuring his unwanted guest was wide-awake. Her body jumped, her towel fell to the floor, and she quickly stood, eyes wide and surveying her surroundings. She was on the defensive, and she was butt-ass naked.
    “Where is the robe I told you to grab?” Fury swept over him, threatening to take him in the