Her breath caught, just slightly.
“That frightens me,” he added.
Snow drifted lazily from the tower above and flakes settled into her hair. Without thinking, Jakob reached out and brushed a flake from a curl. His fingers lingered a heartbeat too long.
Mallory didn’t pull away.
The moment stretched. It was quiet, fragile, and charged with everything he refused to name.
Inside, his dragon stilled, watchful and waiting.
Jakob let his hand fall and stepped back before instinct could steal his control. “You should return to your friends,” he said gently. “Before the town decides to invent stories.”
She hesitated. “And you?”
He gave a faint, crooked smile. “I will survive one evening without conquest.”
Her answering smile was soft and entirely unlike any he’d ever earned before.
As she turned back toward the light and music, Jakob remained in the shadows with the snow melting slowly against his hands.
For the first time in his life, he felt his heart leave with her.
CHAPTER 4
Mallory
This was ridiculous.
Shewas ridiculous.
Mallory gripped the paper cup between her palms like it might anchor her to reality, even as her pulse sprinted wildly under her skin. Steam curled up from the coffee and gave her just enough excuse not to look around the resort café too closely. The place smelled like fresh brewed coffee, bacon, and warm pastries. All comforting, familiar things that should have calmed her down.
They didn’t.
Her friends were still in line while she sat at a small round table by the window and pretended to be deeply invested in the pattern of foam on her latte. She tried to act as though she wasn’t absolutely, one-hundred-percent waiting for him.
They had left the ball early and there was no reason for him to follow. If he even knew where to find her. She told herself she wasn’t expecting him to randomly show up.
But, lately she seemed to tell herself lots of things that were blatant lies.
The latte sloshed against the side of her cup as her hand jittered. She forced it still, then immediately overcorrected and sloshed coffee dangerously close to the rim. Great. Public humiliation via latte spill. That would really sell theI am calm and normallie. At least she had changed out of her gorgeous gown before she ruined it.
The café door opened but Mallory didn’t look up. She didn’t need to because she could sense him.
Jakob walked in, all tall, dark, and handsome. His broad-shoulders were dusted with the chill of the evening. He, too, had changed out of his formal attire and must have left early. They had been told that the ball extended into the wee hours of the morning.
Was he there for her? Her heart practically slammed into her ribs.
Conversation volume quieted, the way it should when a king entered a room. A barista fumbled a cup. Someone near the pastry case whispered his name like it was a secret instead of a fact. Mallory’s shoulders tightened instinctively.
Footsteps crossed the tiled floor. Slow. Unhurried. Intentional.
And then he was there. Standing at her table. Looking at her like she was the only solid thing in the room.
“May I?” he asked.
His voice was low and smooth. His eyes locked onto hers with that same intensity that should honestly come with a warning label.
