‘You mean to say there’s something youdon’tknow about me?’
Fox rolls his eyes. ‘How many times do I need to tell you that I’m sorry?’
‘Once more wouldn’t hurt.’
He lets out a long-suffering sigh. ‘Fine.Sorry.Better?’
‘Not really.’
‘Listen, Blaze – I’ve told you everything I know. That is, everything I know aboutyou.’
‘Oh, and how many other people’s secrets are you carrying around like a bag of coins?’ I ask derisively.
He smirks. ‘Are you jealous? I’d rather like it if you were.’
‘Would you?’ I challenge. ‘And why is that?’
Fox’s amused expression fades. He rakes his fingers through his hair, his gaze charged with such clear-cut sincerity it seems to spear me straight through the chest.
‘I think you know why,’ he says.
My heart throbs, each beat as loud and furious as a thunderclap.
The shock must be written across my face, because Fox raises an eyebrow ever so slightly and adds, ‘Come on, Blaze. It’s not like I tried to hide it from you.’
I stare down at the jewel-green water.
It’s true that he never attempted to conceal his …interestin me. From the moment I met him he has sought me out, watched me with an intensity that felt intimate. No, his interest was undeniable. It was the motivation behind it that I questioned.
I used to wonder whether Fox’s attentions towards me were his way of provoking his brother. A game, a ruse, but neverreal. Then I considered whether he was simply using me to get to the Eye, but he had every opportunity to take it for himself and didn’t.
Yet during all this time spent alone with him in the Wildlands, I found myself wondering whether his feelings might, in fact, be genuine. I’ve caught him stealing glances at me, his eyes soft and searching, and when he kissed me in the forest I felt the racing of his pulse beneath my palm, the hunger with which he crushed his lips to mine.
He has healed me, comforted me, cared for me, fought for me. But he has also goaded me, tricked me, abducted me, and worst of all – he’sliedto me.
‘I can’t trust you,’ I mumble.
‘Then tell me how I can prove myself,’ he counters. ‘I already bent the knee. What else do you require? A blood oath? A vow of allegiance?’
‘Honesty.’
‘You want me to be honest?’
I nod, a little warily.
‘All right.’ Fox draws himself up to full height and moves closer.
I don’t back away. I hardly dare breathe.
‘If I were being honest I would tell you that I think about you all the time,’ he says. ‘I’d tell you that I think about your hands and your mouth and that little crease you get between your eyebrows. I’d tell you that I think about the way you say my name and the way you’re looking at me right now. And I’d tell you that I reckon you think aboutme, too.’
His words scorch my skin. They burn right through to the bone. I press my lips tight together and say nothing, which is a bit like saying everything.
Fox shrugs a shoulder. ‘You said you wanted honesty.’
‘This isn’t … We’re not …’ I trail off weakly, eyes downcast.
He angles his head. ‘What’re you so afraid of?’
