“Should I leave and give the two of you some time alone?”
I snorted and turned around to Onyx. “Sorry. I geek out over these things.”
“Never apologize for being excited.” The tenderness in his eyes was unexpected. It was enough to make me forget all about the awesome stone oven. “I envy your ability to find such joy in the mundane. Very little excites me these days.”
“Ah, come on.” I bounced over to him and grabbed his hand. Surprise flickered across his face. Hell, I surprised myself by doing it. His skin was slightly cool against mine. “There has to be something that excites you.”
“I suppose there is one thing.” He slid his other hand to the curve of my neck and leaned in. Breath feathered across my lips. “A silly little human who fate keeps placing in my path.”
Heat seeped into the center of my chest and made me feel… strange. A familiar type of strange. A feeling I had no right experiencing with him.
“Oh, is that the pantry?” I tore my gaze from his and stepped over to peek inside. The pantry overflowed with goodies. Certainly well-stocked. “Hope you don’t mind if I help myself.”
“Be my guest.”
Cinnamon raisin muffins sounded amazing. I grabbed what I needed and placed the ingredients on the counter before hunting for a mixing bowl, a pan, and a kettle. Utensils came next, followed by a visit to the refrigerator—almost identical to the one in my café but like three times as big. Before starting the batter, I filled a kettle with water to make tea.
The air stirred at my back.
I froze at the stove, the kettle inches from the burner. The lightest of pressures trailed over my shoulder, like the glide of fingertips.
“Lord Onyx?” My voice slightly trembled.
“I sense something in you, Evan Clark.” His soft exhale tickled my nape. “Something I’ve yet to find a name for.”
“Nuisance, maybe?”
The breath of his answering chuckle gave me goose bumps. “You’re unlike anyone else I’ve ever met. Full of wit and charm. And with a nature sweeter than honey. I don’t know what to make of you.”
“The feeling’s mutual.” I carefully placed the kettle down and turned to face him. He stood so close that I felt the heat of his body. “I don’t know what to make of you either.”
A strand of black hair fell forward as Onyx leaned in closer, head tilting. “Tell me what really happened the night of the ball.”
“What do you mean? The king was poisoned, and I was wrongly accused, thrown into a cell, and then I… um.” I couldn’t tell him about Cedric’s deal with Stryder without piquing his curiosity and being hit with a ton of other questions I didn’t know how to answer.
“Escaped?” he prompted.
“Yeah. That. I escaped.” I nodded. And kept nodding. God. I’m such a horrible liar. “One thing led to another, and we were ambushed. That’s when Lake took me and ran.”
“See… that’s where your story falters.” A shadow passed over his face. “Your wolf was hit with a laceration spell. Only someone with powerful dark magic could’ve cast it. To my knowledge, no one in the castle apart from your spy possesses dark magic, not even the king’s unit of mages.”
Oh crap. I couldn’t say a word. Anxiety had me by the throat.
His eyes narrowed. “The Royal Order, though searching for you when my demons scouted the forest, aren’t the only ones pursuing you, are they?”
My heart rate quickened. Still no response. Any attempt to deny his words would only result in a nervous ramble or worse: me accidentally confessing everything like the narrator in The Tell-Tale Heart.
“The mystery of you deepens,” he said, pressing closer. Our bodies touched now, igniting an electric spark that traveled from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. “I wonder what I’ll find once I unravel you. Piece by piece.”
A chill danced down my spine. That chill contradicted the hot flush in my cheeks. I inwardly cursed all of my favorite dark romance books that had me crushing on the villain. Onyx radiated power and danger… and yet, my heart raced and my legs were one second away from flying open.
Not literally. Just in my slutty fantasies.
Even more troubling than my questionable taste in past book boyfriends was the sudden smell in the air. Cedar and woodsmoke. There was a jolt in my chest. And a jarring realization.
Onyx had his own unique scent.
But that means… oh no.
