“Hmm,” Grayson purred absentmindedly, pressing his cheek against mine, twirling a strand of my hair around his finger.
I shifted and peered up at his face. “What are you thinking about?”
He glanced down, and the way he smiled at me, made a knot in my stomach. “You.”
“What about me?” I pressed recklessly.
Grayson chuckled and released me from his stare. “Can’t say. I promised to behave, remember?”
I elbowed him playfully in the ribs, but my heart was beating in my throat. I offered him another bite of my chocolate and popped the last piece in my mouth, hoping it would distract from the flutter in my stomach.
We were quiet for a while and I settled back against his warm chest, turning my head to rest in the crook of his neck. It was completely inappropriate, but it felt so right in this perfect moment, where reality couldn’t reach me.
“There’s more places like this that I can show you,” Grayson whispered. There was an underlying inference to that simple sentence.Stay.
Grayson must have felt the tension stiffening my body. He straightened his spine a bit. “But unfortunately, you’re not part of the club, so…” He shrugged it off.
I gratefully took the out he offered. “Whatever. I’m too cool for your club anyway,” I joked.
“Impossible. I know Banksy’s real identity. Name anything cooler than that.”
I laughed. He had me there. “So it’s not just old Van Gogh’s you’re into?”
“Anything beautiful with a message behind it catches my eye. Like this.” He pulled my hair back and traced the tattoo behind my ear. His soft caress on the delicate skin made my thighs clench together. “Three moons. The Triple Goddess, right? I’m not sure what it symbolises these days, but in ancient times, this symbol was worn by High Priestesses and witches. Are you a witch?”
I turned to look at him. “If I was, you would’ve been dragged away by hellhounds the moment you touched me.”
Grayson’s eyes lighted up. “You underestimate my rank in hell, darling. There wasn’t a force in this world that could’ve stopped me.”
I didn’t know why my insides warmed at that, or why I was smiling like a damned fool.
“I have a necklace with the triple moons that once belonged to a High Priestess, if you’d like it,” Grayson murmured. “This particular Priestess enjoyed luring bad men into the woods, making them believe they were the predator, before cutting their hearts out. I think it’s better suited in your hands than mine.”
“You think I’m capable of cutting out a bad man’s heart, Grayson?” I whispered mischievously.
He swallowed hard, his eyes darkening. “Yes,” he whispered back.
I jumped forward, towards his knife lying by the backpack, but just as my hand closed around it, Grayson was on top of me. A fit of giggles overtook me as he battled against me, for the knife.
“I’m locking your door tonight. Formysafety,” he declared breathlessly, when he finally pried the knife from my fingers.
I laughed from my belly. “Look who’s scarednow.”
He flicked my nose, and I pinched his leg, which got me a bite on the cheek. He was absolutely feral, and had no sense for rules or boundaries, so I quickly surrendered.
Grayson wrapped himself around me again, holding me tightly.
“You’re a good fighter,” I remarked. He’d held back, letting me keep hold of the knife. The way he easily disarmed me when he finally decided to take it from me—he could have pried it from my fingers within seconds. It made me think of that first day in the forest. How did I even manage to scratch him? Had I surprised him? Or was he playing with me?
“I’ve been taking different martial arts classes since I was a kid. It helped with the anger.” His voice changed as the memories of his childhood flickered behind his eyes.
“Are you still angry?” I dared.
He smiled down at me, but it was sad. “No. Not anymore. The anger burned out a long time ago. Now I’m just… different. Cold.” Grayson shrugged.
My heart bled. I lowered my head to his chest and pressed my cheek against him. “I don’t know about that. You feel pretty warm to me.”
He chuckled darkly, gently loosening a knot in my hair with his fingers. “So does the devil, little witch.”
