He raises an eyebrow. “Now you don’t question my knowledge?”
Gonna be difficult with me.
“Fine.”
I turn back to the window and watch the curls of white caress the edges of my sanctuary. If I just stare out the window, I don’t haveto look at my to-do list and if I don’t look at the list, I don’t have to startdoing.
Suddenly, I sense Bastian is right behind me. The heat radiating off his chest smooths over the back of my neck and trickles down my spine through the blanket.
“I do not see the world like you. I do not see much light, but I can sense magic. I watched your aura glow as you crafted the book yesterday. You were feeding your magic—though I still don’t know what form it takes.”
I turn to face him. “Binding the bookfedmy magic?”
“Just as these books feed mine,” he says, gesturing to the stacks. “I’ve consumed most of the stories, so their bolstering properties will fade to sustaining soon.”
I squint. “What do you meanconsumed?”
“I’ve pulled out their content and experienced it.”
My eyes dart to the stacks. Several spicy spines stick out right away, and my cheeks heat.
“Experienced it?”
He tilts his head and a knowing smile tugs on his lips. “When I’mmeditating, as you say, I’m watching the content of the story in my mind’s eye.”
Oh my god…
Bastian grins. “I’ve read about intercourse before, but your books paint it in wildly descriptive ways.”
“Forget that I asked,” I say, whirling back to face the window.
“Such lascivious descriptions.”
He steps directly behind me, caging me against the glass. I put my hand on the pane to steady myself, to fight off the heat building in my body.
“Obscene and gratifying all in one,” he says with a rumble, tugging on one of my curls.
A shiver creeps across my scalp and down my neck, but I stop it from going any further.
“Yes, well, a woman needs something to warm her bed.”
“Then, you’ve never partaken of carnal pleasures?” he asks.
“Of course I have,” I say, glaring over my shoulder, but that was a mistake.
He’s holding one of my curls close to his lips, rubbing it between his thumb and forefinger. The sight of it is enough to make my heart drop through my stomach. My knees tremble and I steady myself against the window.
“Have you?”
The question slips out of me unbidden, and I chastise myself with a quick mental whipping.
“I’ve lain with few maidens throughout my life, but never…”
His eyes dart away from my face and he blinks.
“Never?”
“I was aware of the consequences of copulation through my reading, and so my experience is not as diverse as your books.”
