I capture her reaction to those words. The way all lines melt away, how her eyes flare vibrantly, flickering like candle light in a scarlet abyss, and an intense heat rushes along my skin.
She doesn’t speak—she just stares at me.
“I can bring you here, take you back,” I finally elaborate and slowly watch as she regains composure.
She blinks, takes another small nibble of her pastry as she thinks over my words.
“That’s...” She shakes her head, tucks a soft strand of hair behind her ear. My fingers twitch beneath the table. “Aren’t you busy? Y’know, doing enforcer things?”
“No.” I wince immediately, remembering to tell the truth. “Sometimes,” I correct, “but not for you.”
She pauses, then reaches for the pot of coffee. I wondered how long she could resist, but I reach it first. She studies me, that small furrow returning as I pour the black liquid into a cup. Her mouth parts when I slide it to her, knowing she doesn’t take milk or sugar.
“Thanks.” She takes it and our fingers brush.
I am on fire. That miniscule touch sends a rush of flames along my skin, into my bones—my soul.
“It’s very kind of you to offer your… services.” I’ll offer her any service she requires. “But maybe you could teach me how to flit instead?”
“Maybe.” But all I want to say is no. Because the possessive part of me, the one crawling beneath the surface, desperate to tear out of my skin and escape, needs her to be reliant upon me.
I need her to feel like I’m a necessary part. That I’m a useful tool for her.
Use me.
But instead, I remain composed, calmly watching her sip the coffee I poured for her. From the cup I touched.
“I could help you learn how to flit, if you’d like to resume our training,” I suggest, needing to say something to help fracture this heated silence.
“Maybe,” she repeats back with a sly smile.
And I’m enthralled again.
How is she real? This majestic creature cannot be here, in my presence, as my bond. This is a cruel trick. Someone will wake me from this dream, surely?
“But I’d be taking up an awful lot of your time,enforcer.”
Fuck.
What?
I...
What did she just say? What did she just call me?
The word. Thetone.
Everything in me freezes. Her expression, the soft tilt of her lips, the nickname, is this… is she… is she flirting with me?
I can’t compute.
My mind. My darkness. I—
I can’t understand what’s happening. How, why...
“Taxiing me here and there, staying with me and Kace during the day, training me...”
“I’ll take anything you’ll give me.”The words erupt from me, laced in darkness I can’t hide. Did it sound desperate? Yes, but it was the absolute truth.
