I gave him aduhface. Of course, I could.
He snapped his fingers. “There you go—salad.”
I batted my eyelashes as I approached and presented him with my best puppy-dog face. “Can’t you cook for me?”
“That’s not going to work,” he said, waving a finger at my face as he strode past. “You’ll be fine, Pampered Princess. A little slicing and dicing to make a meal won’t kill you.”
My pout scrunched into a black scowl. Highly unlikely. I’d probably wound myself with a paring knife and bleed out all over his precious kitchen. With a huff, I turned on my heel, about to stride away. “I’m going to dress and then I get to ask my questions, okay?”
“Sure,” he answered, flopping down on the oversized couch to unzip his sparkly boots, removing them one at a time. He rose and walked over to his makeshift wardrobe, put the shoes neatly away, then squatted down to rub behind my wraith-wolf’s ears.
My mouth fell open in horror as bitter betrayal choked my chest.
What the hells?!
I scowled at Sage, who sat on his haunches soaking up Graysen’s attention, huffing in pleasure and slapping his tail against the floor. “Traitor,” I whisper-hissed as I shook a fist.
Sage gave a low, guilty whine. But did he move away? No. He pressed back into Graysen’s hands, stroking through his misty fur.
Incensed, I stomped toward my bedroom. But before moving through the open doorway, my pace faltered as a heated gaze, warm and languid as the sun, slid slowly across my jaw and drifted down my throat to skim across the swell of my breasts encased in silk. It feathered lightly along my side to glide like molten gold down my legs. The blatant caress had a delicious hot shiver spearing down my spine and made my toes curl into the carpet.
I shot Graysen a swift, shocked glance over my shoulder. He’d turned back to Sage, gently brushing his curled fingertips back and forth through the short tufts of fur beneath my wraith-wolf’s jaw. But he couldn’t hide the bite of white teeth as if to hide a smile.
Softly shutting the door behind me, I leaned my back against it and doused the pleasure from my skin.
Holy Skalki!
After hanging up my dressing gown, I rifled through the drawer full of dresses Ferne had lent me, wondering which one to choose. The simple t-shirt dress in pale yellow, with a large flower motif embroidered over the front, seemed a comfortable choice.
I shimmied into fresh underwear and slipped the dress over my head, poking my arms through the short sleeves and allowing it to fall. Its skirt probably sat above Ferne’s knees, but on me it hit mid-calf. The wide neckline meant one shoulder kept sliding out of place. After readjusting it one too many times,I gave up and let it hang casually low, like a one-shouldered dress.
First up, I decided to tackle this cleaning and bed-making business. Picking up the clothes I’d discarded on the floor, I strolled out of my bedroom. Graysen kicked a tennis ball, and my wraith-wolf bounded after it, trying to get at it as it rolled beneath his ridiculous bed. Sage’s large claws raked through the soft loops of carpet as he hunkered down low and yapped excitedly.
“Where’s the clothes hamper?” I asked.
Graysen had already fixed his bed and began folding a t-shirt from the basket Penn had brought up. He glanced up, pointing toward the row of tall cupboards that partially spanned the room. “In the linen cupboard.”
The hamper was a white wicker affair, and I tossed the clothes inside before heading back into my bedroom, feeling a little proud of what I’d accomplished so far. Easy. This cleaning business wasn’t so hard after all. Pulling off the pillows and blankets, I started straightening and re-tucking the cozy sheets of my little bed.
Graysen watched with wicked amusement. He leaned against the wall opposite my bedroom, absentmindedly tapping the wall with a finger,tap, tap, tap.
He was so godsdamned amused. It inflamed ire to heat my blood. But I could do this; I could prove him wrong. I could tidy up after myself and make my bed and own meals too, just as well as he could.
“There’s something you want to know… I get it.” His questions, no doubt, would be about Silas Boon and the Children of the Harbinger. “But for me, I’d like to ask more than one question at a time. And when I’m satisfied, you can ask me one in return.”
A wary note entered his gaze, but he nodded.
I steeled myself, flexing my fingers at my sides, and sucked in a deep, fortifying breath. I knew speaking of Silas Boon would bring Danne Pellan. All I had to do was stick with Silas. That was it, only Silas. I dipped my head. “Ask away.”
“Do you know Silas Boon?”
“No.” I lifted a finger right as Graysen opened his mouth. “Just to clarify. I don’tknowhim. I’ve onlymethim.”
“You’re going to make this really hard on me, aren’t you?”
I grinned. A flash of genuine amusement, something bright and shiny and pure. “Always, Crowther.”
Surprise flared in his eyes, and something else too. A pleased, warm feeling washed over his handsome features before he quickly shuttered it away, dropping his gaze to the floor. My eyes narrowed and nose scrunched. I had no idea what I’d said to please him.
