I growled. “I swear to the Gods, I’ll kick you in the—”
And as if the world decided today would not be for me, my soaked, old leather boot ripped at the tip and my entire foot slipped from the hole.
I would’ve fallen if Laken hadn’t caught me—by dropping the coat and letting all the accumulated water drown us.
My shoes were soaked. My skirt grew heavy with water. And my hair would be a lion’s mane by morning. But, facing Laken after what might have been my worst day, and seeing him smile at me as if he’d been entirely consumed… I fumed.
Laken shook his head. “You have to make everything more difficult.” He swept me off my feet, pressing me into his hard chest. I hated his arms under me. I hated being so close.
We came across my door, and I shuffled back into it. Laken followed. We huddled under the awning in the darkness of the night.
I’d been so worried about how my shirt clung to me, I hadn’t thought about his tunic clinging to him, until now. Each breath, I watched his chest rise and fall. My back hit the door, and the air in my lungs hitched as my eyes dragged up every inch of his features. His full lips. His hand leaningon the doorframe, pinning me under. His darkened, wet hair contrasting with those alluring blue eyes, flickering from mine to my lips.
Those eyes…
Oh my Gods. I know those eyes.
I pushed my hands to his chest. “Nope, absolutely not.” I gently shoved him back, biting my tongue to not feel his chest under my hands.
“What?” A troublesome grin lit his face.
“Don’twhatme. You know exactly what you’re doing!”And it’s working too well.He was playing his games, showing his cards, doing what he did best.
“What am I doing, Reece?”
I crossed my arms. “You’re giving me fuck-me eyes.”
Laken dropped his mouth open, but I knew better. “Fuck-me eyes? What are fuck-me eyes?”
“Oh, don’t act like you don’t know.” I stepped closer. “It’s that little look you give when you want me, the way your eyes narrow and stare at my lips all fixed and slow-like. I know what you’re doing.”
He stared down at me. “Do you really?” He gave every girl that look, I told myself.He’s tricking you. You aren’t special to him.I never was.
“Go home, Laken Augustus. I don’t want you here,” I nearly whispered, desperately trying to find the doorknob behind me.
Laken, as if he’d been in a trance, stepped back, inches away from the rain once again. His chest fell so deep Iworried it wouldn’t rise again; his lips parted, struggling to inhale. Something I couldn’t name flashed in his eyes, but like the lightning behind him, it was gone before I could decipher what it meant. “As you wish,” he yelled through the rain before sprinting off. “See you at the spring festival tomorrow.”
What? Shit.
He’s right—Honey Brooke’s spring festival would be tomorrow.Shit.
Honey Brooke’s spring festival was equivalent to a religious holiday to these people. There would be food, music, dancing, magic benders, and everything else one could imagine for an event. The whole town came, and the whole town saw who didn’t. It used to be a favorite of mine, but no sparks ignited within me at the thought of it. But… it could be an opportunity to make some kind of money. If I brought some of our products, I could sell them. I’d have to check for elixirs.
I had to start finding some way to pay back what I owed.
Life had a funny way of turning the best things into the worst, tormenting me by dangling things I once loved right in my face, never to be loved the same again.
Laken ran off, turning left toward his new home, and as he disappeared, I cursed myself for letting him so close. Dangerously close.
CHAPTER EIGHT
With each step I took, my temples pounded.
The morning with the creatures fell nothing short of a repeat of yesterday. If anything, they were evenmoredisappointed to see me. Like,Damn, she really came back, and,Oh shit, we’re seriously stuck with her.
I wouldn’t want to be left with me, either. The poor things didn’t even know just how dire their situation was. The debt, the possibility of them being auctioned off to Gods knew where. I’d been racking my brain since I woke up, after the alcohol left my system and my anger defused.How am I going to save this place?
Finnigan and Finneas peeked around me to the back of the pasture. I knew who they looked for. I told them he wasn’t coming back.
