“I’ve gotten a lot of amazing experiences out of those bets and Ward secretly enjoys doing it.”
I laughed at the white lie I would totally be using in the future. My instincts had gotten better at discerning what I should hide and what to communicate.
We sat at a candle-lit table with the bustle of a warm, vibrant crowd around us. Food appeared before us without ordering. The hum of patrons created a white noise that left us in our own little world. Face to face, I realized we were more alike than I thought when he was just my target for vengeance.
I would have killed to visit here in real life. Not only for the delicious food set before us, but for the joy of living all around us, the pleasure on Noth’s face. We wereboth irrepressible in the best and worst way, our emotions hot as our ambitions for this life. Was that why we were fated to come together as Mates? I didn’t seem like nearly enough for eternity and somehow all we needed.
“Are we allowed to dance?”
“We’re allowed to do whatever we want here. And I’m trying to seduce you back to my side, so I will make this anything I want.”
“You mean anything I want?”
He shrugged. “Potato, potato.”
“That’s not how the saying… nevermind. I didn’t think it was possible to make you more arrogant.”
I took his hand and he swept me onto the dance floor the small space transformed into. The cheers and the elation of the crowd spurred him on. Noth led me into the waltz my heart wanted even if I was expecting a reel. We flowed together because, of course, he danced with elegant grace.
“How are you so good at this?”
He raised his chin, proud of himself. “All part of the title. Trained since birth, as it were.”
I pictured Yaya slapping his calves into position like she had with my fighting stance.
We didn’t speak further, but we didn’t need to. He gazed down into my eyes with a feral possessiveness that I felt through the bond. Our connection fought to grow in time with our steps.
Moving together was always the easiest part for usand I missed it more than I could say. Fighting, fucking, or apparently dancing was just fun, easy. I wasn’t worried about my temper or how we looked. The politics and complications were a million miles away. It was like we were merging into one person as we moved.
If only this dream would last forever, I would never leave. Noth dipped me with a dramatic flourish, acting like he was going to drop me. I yelped, clutching at him until he whipped me back up.
“Is this my dream, or yours?” I asked.
“Ours, I think. I’ve never had a mate so I’m not sure.”
If this was my dream, then I would have a bit of fun and finally win our little game when I couldn’t really hurt him. I called a dagger into my hand and plunged it into his chest. The scream he let out wavered the restaurant around us. I sucked in a shocked breath. Scrabbling my hands against the knife, I pulled it out to take it back. I shrieked just as loudly as Noth clutched his chest, blood pumping out of the wound.
“You finally did it, Pumpkin. You killed me.” Falling to the floor, he writhed around in agony.
“Seven hells, Noth! You can’t die. I was just joking around.” On my knees, I ripped open his shirt, doing everything I could to staunch the flow, panic and terror crawling up my throat. “I can kill you in our dreams?”
“Nah.” Noth smiled up at me, all the blood suddenly gone. “That would be dumb. My dreams would beno fun. I deserved a little payback for all your failed assassination attempts.”
I smacked him right over where the wound had gaped across his chest. “You dragon dick! I can’t believe you did that.”
Noth laughed and pulled me down on top of him, rolling us over and over until we settled on the floor of his fully restored greenhouse. Sparkling windows and thriving plants winked in a surreal bath of sunlight. The change in location made my head swim. Luckily I was still lying down, albeit in a bed of flowers.
“I understand what you have been doing here is important, Pumpkin. You were right. We needed time away. But I’m here to beg you to come back. I don’t… I don’t know if I’m going to make it without you.”
What was he talking about? His open shirt revealed his sculpted chest, but also, I counted his Goddsforsaken ribs!
“Noth. What have you been doing that you look like this?”
“A little planning. A little mayhem. I rooted out all of Brad's supporters. I built a new school for those still searching for their powers. I imprisoned one of the Councilors.”
My eyebrows met my hairline. “The mouthy one?”
“One and the same. I rebuilt the greenhouse. It looks like this now.”
