“Perhaps that means you don’t know everything there is to know about me. Now, do you want to go out there and try?”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Clarke
As they walked down a cobblestoned street headed in the direction of her hotel, Clarke marveled at the fact that he was enjoying himself.
I don’t want to take her back. I don’t want this date to end.
He looked at the sky ahead and wondered how long before the sun would rise.
He thought back to their dancing. At first, she’d been tentative and unsure of herself, but soon she’d mastered it. He marveled at how natural it was for her, and how easy it was for him to follow her. But it wasn’t just the ease with which he followed her that surprised him, it was the thrill he got from doing so. It surged through his body like an electric current that flooded his blood. He even heard it crackling in his ears.
He liked the feel of her body next to his, sinking into his. He wanted to feel it beneath his.
They were in a residential district, walking along a street with a few dim streetlights, each emitting only the pale flicker of a single flame.
He glanced up at the windows. Most of them dark.
All was quiet. The only sound—their footsteps on the stone.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you something ever since Austin,” she said. “But every date since then has …”
“Led to grievous bodily harm?”
She grinned. “No.”
“Been hazardous to my health?”
“Stop!”
He chuckled. “Okay sorry. Go ahead. What is it you want to ask me?”
“Why did you think coming to my father’s house was doing something nice for me? When I asked you to come the night before, did I say something to suggest that it would be?”
Glancing at her, he hesitated. “No.” His heart began to beat in an erratic way that made him uncomfortable. “It was … how you asked—the way you looked and sounded when you did.”
He stared at her eyes. They looked silver in this light.Stop there, he thought at the same moment his lips parted to speak.
“You seemed … I don’t know … almost … vulnerable. I’d never seen you like that before.”
He blinked. It looked like a shadow passed through her eyes.
Not possible. You’re seeing things.
Turning away, he waved his hand dismissively. “I mean, I might have said no. I could have said no. I just thought maybe it wasn’t easy for you to ask.” He paused. “I don’t think I could do it.”
“Couldn’t do what?”
He didn’t answer and kept his gaze straight ahead, determined he would only give her his profile to look at.
“Do you mean you couldn’t ask me for help?”
No, he thought,I don’t think I could. But he didn’t want to tell her that.
“You couldn’t for instance”—she paused—“ask me to come to the Grouse Gathering?”
He stopped. His head swiveled to meet her gaze. “How do you know—?”
