“Next, I chop the herbs,” I said quietly.
I turned to find Shade exactly where I had left him, gold eyes simmering as he watched me.
The basil leaves were bruised where his fingers clenched against them. I reached out nervously. My fingers trembled.
I had to tug the basil from his grasp, and when I did, he snapped from his stupor, stepping forward.
He took up entirely too much space in my small kitchen. I couldn’t breathe.
“Chop,” he echoed.
His eyes were quicksand, and I was being pulled under. “Yes.”
“Show me.”
I swallowed. “Right…”
With great effort I turned, lining the herbs up, as well as a fresh tomato. I curled my fingers into fists and begged them to be steady.
The last thing I needed was to slice a damned finger off with a god breathing down my neck.
He overwhelmed me.
Shade drifted behind me again, peering over my shoulder, bracing his hands on the counter on either side of my hips.
I was trapped.
I took two long, heavy breaths to steady myself.
“Ginger,” he said, the words a silken caress.
“Just give me a second.”
“Are you nervous? Your heart is hammering in your chest right now. I bet you can feel it in your throat, your ears…” He ghosted his fingers over my wrist. “Here.”
The contact, though feather light, nearly brought me to my knees.
I squeezed my eyes shut. “No.”
He tsked quietly. “Don’t lie to me, wife. I can feel it. Your pulse jumps when you lie.”
I couldn’t respond. After three breaths, his fingers brushed against mine.
My eyes snapped open.
“If you won’t do it, then tell me how,” he coaxed. “Teach me how to take care of you.” He pulled the knife from me, and his grip was frustratingly sure. Not a quiver to be seen.
Damned gods.
I silently panicked, wondering if he would somehow be able to sense my mental cursing. Oh, gods, would he kill me now? Strike me down for the blasphemy?
Panic took root and roared like the hungry beast she was.
My heart, impossibly, thundered even harder.
He huffed out a frustrated breath right by my ear. “What are you thinking about that’s got you so bothered?”
“Knives,” I lied.
