We eyed one another through the sheen of blue cold…and I gradually relaxed only when he lowered his fists to his sides.
I blew out a deep breath and opened the bag of candy, digging through it as I began to pace back and forth in front of the opened doorway. Popping a mango-flavored hard candy into my mouth, I ignored the warmth of the urge as best I could and sucked on the sweet treat, thinking of any instance that might aid us in this debacle.
“There has to besomething. The Fae cannot keep doing this to unsuspecting people. It’s not fucking right.”
The shifter crossed his arms over his large chest and glared with death’s own, letting me know fully that if I didn’t release him soon, he would get…testy.
“I said a minute,” I snapped around the mouthful of deliciousness delighting my taste buds. “You can hold on that long, shifter.”
Then, while my feet kept moving, taking me back and forth in front of the scowling man, I dug another piece of candy out and popped it into my mouth. “This urge is coming on faster than I’ve ever experienced. We both need to think before we end up killing each other when it worsens.”
Bishop merely lifted a black brow.
“Fuck you,” I muttered at his condescending expression and chomped into the sweets, stopping before him. I crunched, crunched, crunched before flashing my fangs and brushing my hair out of my eyes with my not-so-hidden dagger. “This shit will get ugly real fast, or can you not feel that?”
The shifter sighed heavily and flicked a finger at the bag of treats in my hand outside his crossed arms, proving he had, in fact, understood the severity of this urge—and the need to come bearing gifts with this awful situation.
I stared at the bag in my hands. “Oh.”
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
My head whipped up at his one-fingered attempt to gain my withering attention, barely giving me enough time to formulate a plan. “Time’s up?”
When he stared on, entirely unimpressed, I flashed my fangs again—but I did whip my power out,smashingthrough the ice and tossing the chunks of freeze far into the wildflowers behind him.
Looking into his eyes, I coldly stated, “We’re adults. We can handle this, so we’ll flip a coin for who fucks who.”
Bishop slowly blinked his honey-brown eyes. “Yes, that sounds like…the adult…way to handle this terrible situation.” That cocky black eyebrow lifted, letting me know just how childish it truly was. He casually uncrossed his arms and dug into the right pocket of his black leather pants, lifting a shiny gold coin from its depths. “As long as we use my coin, not an elf’s.”
This…motherfucker.
I ground my teeth together before I shoved the bag of treats back at him and stole the coin from his hand. Then, sheathing my knife, I flipped the coin back and forth, ensuring there was a head and a tail—because the coin I would have used wasn’t quite as fair.
“You know, Bishop, I’ve heard much about you.” I peered up at him through my eyelashes and scowled hard enough to make a weaker man beg for mercy—while this shifter simply held my gaze head-on. “You’ve been a pain in my king’s ass for hundreds of years, but you’d better not become a literal pain inmyass now.”
“I can be gentle.” His deep timber and rough shifter accent held a note of amusement, his honey-brown eyes tracking up and down my body. “I daresay you’ll need it. You’re thimble sized compared to me.” He winked saucily and grinned, flashing his own gorilla fangs. “But a deal is a deal, so I’ll let you flip and call for it.”
Breathing out heavily through my nostrils, I wiped the sweat off my forehead with the back of my left hand and glowered at the coin.
“Heads for topping.”
I cracked my neck to the left side and let the coin fly high into the air, watching it spin end over end. I caught it deftly out of the air and smacked it quickly onto the top of my other hand.
Holding the shifter’s gaze, I raised my palm.
I didn’t look.
Instead, I watched his honey-colored eyes dart down, gauging his expression, wondering if this shifter was a man of his word—and if I was as well if it came to it.
Revelation of a shifter:
I believe a change is coming.
A grand change.
