“Something like that. I can’t reveal all my secrets straight away. A king has to have a few surprises up his sleeve, after all.” Jack planted his most charming smile, his eyes focused solely on me, reeling me in with those ethereal sky-blue eyes.
Flora mouthed the word “king” to me, her eyes sparkling. I widened my eyes at her as a warning.
Flora giggled and playfully punched my arm. “You’re taking Sylvie to the ball then, Jack?”
“That is—” Jack strode in front of me, his eyes searching my hair, a warm smile gracing his lips when he noticed my ears poking out. “—if she’ll have me.”
Have me.
My knees buckled. I cleared my throat, reaching for the counter behind me to steady myself.
“She says yes,” Flora answered for me.
That brought me back to reality at lightning-fast speed, and I tossed her a seething glare.
“Perfect.” Jack leaned forward, pressing his hand on the counter near my hip and making the muscle under that sleeve tattoo tense. “Will you let me give you a dress for the occasion, or are you going to be stubborn about that, too?”
I wanted to slap him as much as I wanted to laugh and suck his freaking face at such a snarky comment. Instead, my jaw dropped and I stood, bringing us a breath apart.
Flora appeared at our sides, and I could see her wide grin out of the corner of my eye.
“You know what? Alright, fine. Sure, I’ll take the dress, Jack.” Flashing him a coy smile, I lifted my chin, trying desperately to mask the way his scent was casting waves of pleasure in my core. Hisscent.
“Really?” Jack arched a thick blonde brow.
“Yup. I love dresses. And I also love the price of free. Win-win for me.” I puffed out my chest because I had so won that.
A hearty laugh exploded from the depths of Jack’s stomach, his eyes sparkling with mirth. “Fair enough. When’s the ball?”
“Tomorrow night,” Flora answered, still staring at us from the counter, sitting on it, and kicking her feet.
Jack and I never looked away from each other.
“And the time?” Jack asked.
I suddenly became acutely aware of the breath going in and out of our mouths—air shared between us from how close we were. Without realizing it, I used a single finger to search for his, grazing our skin together. I bit the inside of my bottom lip at how delicious it felt. The slightest touch had that blanketed coldness wrapping around me. Jack’s eyes lazily panned to my finger, stealing the chill from him, and he curled his pinky with mine.
“Seven,” Flora answered again.
Jack breathed out a subtle masculine purr. “Seven it is then. I’ll meet you there.” He pulled away from me just like all the times I had pulled away from him, denying me the euphoria I yearned to feel.
How could I blame him?
Flora blinked as she watched Jack heading for the exit. “What about the dress?”
While walking backward, Jack pressed a finger to the side of his nose. A shimmering pearlescent box appeared on the counter between me and Flora, sending our hair in plumes from the magic.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, faerie,” Jack said, bumping his ass into the door and disappearing into the snowfall.
Staring out the shop windows, hoping to see Jack within the shimmers of white still, I trailed my fingers down my throat and rubbed at the dip between my collarbones.
“Sylvie,” Flora beckoned, tugging on my elbow and pointing at the beautiful box. “The boxitselfis pretty. Can you imagine what the dress will look like?”
Gulping, I moved in front of it, and we studied the box for a solid three minutes as if we were disarming a ticking bomb. “Should I open it?”
Flora smacked her hands on the table. “Of course, you should open it. At least get a sneak peek?”
Flora’s raven, Dahlia, perched on the table beside us, cawing at the mysterious box.
