Their eyes meet across the small space between them while Cerian’s finger rests on her lips. The air almost crackles with the tension growing around them, and her heart beats faster, leaving her breathless.
Heat flows from his flesh into hers, growing warmer by the second.
“Your finger is getting warm,” she whispers against him.
He quickly reclaims his hand, flexing it as he pulls back, and she feels the loss of his heat against her lips.
“Shall I give you some space?” she asks quietly.
His jaw twitches a few times before he nods. “But...don’t leave.”
The look he sends her warms her even more than his touch did. His intense emerald eyes set her whole body tingling.
“I won’t,” she breathes. “Until my end of days.”
Her heart pounds, and his eyes drop to her lips. Does he want to kiss her? That sounds like a bad idea.
A very bad idea.
At the moment, anyway.
She hurries to the other side of the table to put some space between them, and he purses his lips as he breathes out slowly, calming her racing heart along with his own.
Neither of them speaks. Then Cerian looks thoughtfully from her to the cake. What is he thinking?
As she looks on, he picks up the forks Cook sent.
“Tell me how this was supposed to go?” His voice is warm, though hesitant.
What is even talking about?
“How what was supposed to go?” she asks.
“The cutting of the cake.”
Her eyes lock with his as vulnerability and sincerity swirl within his gaze.
Stars above. He’s re-creating the cutting of their wedding cake.
A Perilous Moment
Episode 44
Ceriantriestoreadevery expression crossing Arisanna’s face as she looks at him across the table.
Clearly, it’s a skill he has yet to master. What is she thinking?
What was he thinking?
Offering to cut the flaming sweet bread together seemed like a good way to make amends for the mess he made of their binding feast, but now it sounds inane. She doesn’t want to reenact that mortifying scene.
“We feed each other a bite of cake,” she breathes. Is her heart racing again?
Perhaps he didn’t misstep.
But he needs to be closer to feed her anything.
He can do this. Maybe if he focuses on something besides her, that will help keep his fire magic at bay.
