What a lie.
Anna pointed at a pair of chairs facing each other at the opposite side of the room. Without argument, David obeyed, planting himself in the chair she indicated.
And then he waited, his entire focus zeroing in on the pixie across from him. Patience was a virtue honed into him from long years of fraught silences between him and his fake father. He’d whetted the skill on prolonged, challenging eye contact. Will versus will.
Sitting across from Anna Ainslan as she perched an elbow on her armrest, chin rested in her hand, David reached into his bottomless well of patience and forced himself not to react. She stared at him with those bright blue eyes, a depthless lake so clear he sensed himself teetering on the edge ofinfinity.
Still, he waited.
Her thin index finger rested against her temple, her middle at the bridge of her nose. Pressed against her mouth, her ring finger concealed any hints of a smile or frown. Half her face was hidden by her hand, but those blue eyes stared out, unblinking.
He might not have noticed her magic creeping over him if his every sense wasn’t bonded to her like shards of iron straining for a magnet, but it trickled along his arms, barely more than a whisper.
No, wait…
How had she learned to do this in just a few weeks?
She removed her ring finger from her lips to ask, “You’ll remember the rules?”
He sighed. “I won’t break your rules.”
Her gaze slid to Elenya, who’d taken up her chaperone post across the room, then back to him. She leaned forward and skated her hand over his. A meshwork of magic came to life and thrummed between them.
This was…insanity. He’d never felt anything like this.
She whispered his name. The seduction was barely detectable in a sensual cadence. “Tell me something true.” Her thumb grazed his wrist.
“That tickles.” It was the easiest true statement that came to mind. Pulse unsteady, nerves flickering behind his ice, David was no longer sure he’d be able to resist whatever she asked of him. Better to give her something worthless.
Her smile crippled him—mischievous but achingly sweet. A strange duality.The tip of her finger trailed from his palm to the inside of his forearm. “Does it tickle there?”
David narrowed his eyes. The subtle increase in power nagged at his mind, wanting an answer. He refused to relent.
Her smile widened. “What about right here?” She barely touched the side of his neck.
It tickled—annoyingly so—but he neither flinchednor answered.
“Here?” She dropped her hand to his sensitive ribs.
David caught her wrist, shooting a warning look.
Anna chuckled and sat back in her chair. “I see. Then tell me something true aboutyou.”
She was so small. Delicate, dainty features. Endless blue eyes. Like a trap he didn’t want to leave.
It was some sort of psychosis, surely. How was she doing this? Heknewthis magic, so how had she hoodwinked him? He was drowning in her power without having any memory of stepping into the water.
“David.” His name softened on her lips. Blue eyes. Such pretty blue eyes. “I only want one small thing. Can’t you give me one small piece of you?”
For two full breaths, David’s world stopped. Had anyone ever refused this girl anything? He tried to swallow, but a lump impeded it. “What do you want?”
“Tell me how you got that scar.” The power in the words hit like he’d been running full-tilt toward a brick wall. Breathless, his composure frayed to ribbons, and all emotion drained onto the floor, useless. Yet he no longer cared that he couldn’t stop himself from answering, didn’t know why he’d wanted to stop in the first place. It was just a story, after all. Something that had happened to him once. Not a big deal.
“My father’s right-hand man got caught trafficking kids. Garrett was mad I couldn’t convince them not to arrest him. Thought I must need more incentive to get the job done, so he sicced his biggest guy on me. Told him not to stop until he killed me. Thought if my life was in danger, I’d fortify my voice quicker.”
Anna’s face paled. “Did you?”
“Yes. But not before the guy cracked my skull open on the kitchen counter.”
