Her heart raced so quickly she fought the urge to clutch her chest. It slammed and slammed until she thought it might bruise.
She scooted forward toward the edge of the sofa so he could slide in behind her. It was only then, with her back against his chest and his arms cradling her body, that her heartbeat slowed. As if it knew she was finally safe.
“Is this okay?” he whispered against the skin of her neck.
She closed her eyes, wondering how it was possible that they were here when, just a couple of weeks ago she feared for her life in his presence.
But wasn’t that how life worked? It changed in an instant. This last year proved just that. So, she didn’t question it any further as she sank into him. His arms tightened around her as she said, “Yes. This is okay.”
* * *
The sun struggledto break through the piles of frozen snow atop the greenhouse roof. The plants furled inward, and the flowers had yet to wake, keeping themselves tucked in tight until another snow storm passed.
Despite Evren’s body heat, Tallulah still shivered. Wrapping her arms tighter around herself, she watched as tiny puffs of white expelled from her mouth. Her bones ached and her nose stung.
Evren shifted behind her, his arm tightening around her middle. She held her breath at the movement and glanced downward to where his body connected with hers.
It’d been years since she’d been with a man. Valebridge only allowed interactions between Enchantresses and their designated arrangements with the prospect of bearing a child. She’d met her arranger several times, with never any luck at conceiving.
The thought made her shiver further. A memory she’d suppressed, along with many others. When she couldn’t produce a child, they did not grant her another arrangement. She was content with that. She didn’t need a partner to fulfill her life, and she certainly didn’t need a child to do that. But the way her arranger made her feel used never left her.
Not the way Evren makes you feel.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she pressed down the thought of Evren being anything other than her enemy. A man who swore an oath to the king to capture Enchantresses as if they were wild animals. Before she could think further, she jumped from the sofa, her bare feet stinging against the freezing ground, waking Evren.
“Are you all right?” Sleep lined his voice as he sat up and rubbed at his eyes. His auburn hair was a mess of waves.
“Yes,” she mumbled, shame swirling low in her stomach. She couldn’t look at him. If the other Enchantresses knew what she was doing while they were locked up... Their magick being stolen… “I’m going out.”
“You’ll freeze!” Evren jumped from the sofa. “Whatever it is you must do, I'm sure it can wait until the storm passes, it isn’t worth the risk.”
She turned to face him, to see just how much he worried about his promise of coin walking into the freezing cold.
“Don’t worry, Evren, I’m not going to die in the two minutes it’ll take me to check the snares.” She crossed her arms, mostly for warmth and a touch of impatience. “Your bounty is safe.”
His brows knitted together.
“Did you not understand me last night?” He stepped closer, and she felt herself shrink.
She didn’t want him to be this close to her. Not again. But it wasn’t because she feared him. No, it was the opposite. It was because some part of herwantedhim to be close. And that was unacceptable.
“I told you I’m done making poor decisions,” he whispered.
His thumb met her chin, tilting it slightly to meet his eyes. She waited for her body to recoil. To jump back and hiss at this hunter who had caused so much pain to her people. But she didn’t move.
She studied his face. His strong jaw and straight nose. The freckles that danced over his cheeks. The sweat he’d worn across his brow since he saved her had ceased. His hands did not tremble against her skin. Proof that the ale was making its way out of his system, likely with the help of the yarrow root tea she’d insisted he drink.
Her magick stirred, low in her abdomen. Coming back to life after that damn arrow nearly took her out. But she didn’t reach for it. Instead, she pushed it down.
Be still, she whispered to it.
She wasn’t ready to use it. Or perhaps it was that she didn’t want to.
“And so.” She stepped into his touch. Challenging him. She wanted to see how far he’d let her go. How much he could endure of thiswitch.
He didn’t step back. Didn’t flinch.
“You willnotbe taking me to Valebridge today?” Her stomach flipped as the hand tucked under her chin slid down the soft column of her throat, before landing on the back of her neck.
