Through the long, thin window next to the door, she caught sight of the red uniformed delivery man holding a pizza box in one hand.
Ember unlocked the door, opened it, and smiled. “Hello!”
The man’s eyes widened, and he stared at her. “Um…got your, uh, pizza here.”
Why was he?—
The facial mask.
Ugh! How could I have forgotten that?
She chuckled awkwardly and waved to her face. “It’s self-pampering night.”
“Uh-huh,” the delivery man said, his gaze dropping from her face to run over the rest of her.
“I’ll gouge out his eyes if he doesn’t raise them immediately,” Nyte growled from behind her.
Ember grabbed the box from the delivery man. “Tip was already paid!Thankyougoodnight!”
She closed the door swiftly, locked it, and looked at Nyte, grinning. “One might think you were jealous.”
He mimicked her grin, his fangs making the expression far more wicked. “And one would be incorrect.”
“Mmhmm.” She cast him a knowing look before she carried the pizza back to the living room.
She wasn’t fooled one bit.
Lowering herself onto the blanket, she set the box down in front of her as Nyte returned to his spot. She reached up and peeled the mask of her face, folding it up and setting it aside, then beckoned Nyte closer. “Let me get that off you.”
Planting a hand between them, he leaned toward Ember, the fire in his eyes accompanied by a hint of mirth. “Be gentle with me, witch.”
“Aren’t I always?” Smiling, she took hold of the mask at the base of his horns and slowly drew it away, revealing that exquisite, celestial face. She rubbed in some of the gel on the tip of his nose. “How does your face feel?”
He arched a brow. “Wet.”
Ember laughed. “Your skin is positively sparkling.”
“So it’s exactly the same as it was before?”
Shaking her head, she set his folded-up mask atop her discarded one. “At least you’ll never have to worry about aging. There’s only so much we mortals can do to keep our skin looking youthful before the inevitable.”
Something dark flickered across his features, chasing away the amusement that had been present in them. His gaze lingered on her before he moved it to the pizza box. “Let’s have at it, then. I’m eager to learn whether thispizzatastes as good as it smells.”
Chapter Ten
“You’re fine, Maggie. Nobody’s in the store right now, so I have a minute,” Ember said, keeping her cellphone pressed between her ear and her shoulder as she neatly refolded and restacked the garments on the display table in front of her.
Nyte strolled along the clothing racks, absently brushing his fingers over the hanging clothes. His attention, as had become habit, was fixed upon Ember. His enchanting witch.
A smile spread across Ember’s alluring lips. “Of course I’m free. You know I’m always down for Halloween shenanigans with you. Just text me the info, and I can grab the tickets if you want.”
How could her smiles be so moving, so powerful, so tempting? They were genuine expressions of happiness, not attempts at being sultry and seductive. Yet those smiles pierced Nyte to his core. They warmed him from inside, and sparked tiny, fluttering sensations in his belly.
Ember’s smiles were infectious. They made his lips twitch with the urge to curl upward, and very few of the customerswho came into the boutique were able to keep straight faces when greeted by her smile.
“You don’t have to do that!” Ember plucked up a handbag that someone had set in the wrong place and carried it to the proper shelf. “It’s supposed to be my turn, Maggie. I don’t mind if Levi joins us.”
Nyte’s eyebrows angled sharply down, and a scowl tugged at his mouth. “Levi?”
