Caspian sighed and bared his teeth, fingering his canines. “These elongate. To pierce flesh. It does not hurt.”
“Oh.”
He arched a brow and extended his hand once more. “Does this answer your question?”
“Yes, I suppose it does.”
His hand was rough against hers as he took her hand and pulled her into his lap. She noticed, then, that his eyelashes were unfairly long. She grew distracted by the dark beard that framed his lips, making him look like a villain in a play.
He lifted his chin, accepting her critical eye as her gaze traced the lines of his face and figure. He smirked. Clearly, he already knew how attractive he was.
“And what is your verdict?” he asked finally.
“Simply hideous,” she said, purely to wipe the arrogant look off his face.
“Is that so?” he said, leaning in.
He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her until she lost all sight of reason. Her head fell back as he kissed down her throat.
She shifted in his lap, her lips parting, waiting—
Suddenly, he pushed her roughly to sit over his knees. It was much less comfortable, and the ease with which he had pushed her troubled her.
She narrowed her gaze. “Why did you push me?”
His nostrils flared, fingers tensing on the sheets.
“I should not say.”
“I am not afraid.”
He gave a hollow laugh. “I can hear your heart. Hear it race, thumping louder than any drum. I can smell the cold sweat gathered on your spine. I can feel the tension in the air when you look at me and notice the way you wring your hands when you’re nervous, like you’re doing right now.”
His gaze slid down to where she was indeed wringing her fingers together. She relaxed them immediately, letting them fall limply to her sides. “You’re verymuchafraid. But allow me to allay these fears and tell you that so long as you honour your end of the agreement, you have nothing to fear from me tonight.” He held out a hand. “Our bargain, Elizabeth.”
She glanced away and then back at him.
He took her hand and gently kissed it, his lips lingering on the back of her hand.
“Now?” she asked, eyes tracking his mouth, watching his canines as he spoke. They still looked normal.
“Not yet.”
They searched each other’s eyes in silence. Now that she was up close, she saw that his eyes had slight creases around the edges, and he appeared only a couple of years older than her. If he weren’t a demon, she would have assumed he was in his early thirties. “How old are you?”
“Old,” he said, shrugging.
“How old?”
“A curious thing, aren’t you? You wouldn’t be thinking of going back on our bargain now, would you, Elizabeth?”
She flushed and looked down. “I keep my word.”
“So do I. To theletter.”
Struck by a horrifying thought, she blurted, “May I—May I have a copy of the contract that we signed? So that I, er, can ensure I’m meeting my end of the bargain?” She leaned forward, smiling more warmly. “If that would be acceptable to you, Caspian?”
“Certainly,” he said, his words honeyed.
