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Rogue closed his eyes, as if savoring a fine wine. “The strength of your passion is enough for me. It’s connection enough for what I need from you. And—” he opened his eyes again, spearing me with their blue blaze, “—you are now failing the terms of our bargain. Which means you will owe me a forfeit. Are you prepared for that?”
“Oh no—we didn’t define the terms of the bargain. You failed to define flirting. And,” I repeated myself in measured tones, “we haven’t dealt with Darling yet.”
“Observe, darling Gwynn.”
His eyes darkened and I felt something gather in the air around us, like an electrical storm of the navy-black energy I’d pulled from the lily. I could taste Rogue’s magic in the air. I craned my neck to see Darling. With a subaudible chime, the topazes poofed into amber smoke, the armor following suit. Darling sat up, shook himself and meowed at Rogue.
“No—the lovely Lady Gwynn has paid for it. Now leave us so I can collect.”
Darling sent me a salacious image, but it felt tired. He sauntered out of the tent, all dignity, his tail drooping slightly.
“Perhaps I should—”
“Pay attention to your bargain with me? Yes. Anything else to deal with—regarding Darling, of course?”
I tried to think of something, shifted a bit to see if Rogue would release his grip, but it was like being held by granite. Really warm, satin granite.
Giddy relief that Darling was okay surged through me. My blood heated at the press of Rogue’s lithe muscled body. This was not good at all. “I could think better if you’d let me go.”
“No. Darling questions now or we…move on.”
Okay then. I tried to divorce my mind. Focus on what I needed to know.
“Why didn’t Darling know the stones were enchanted? He talked me into using them.”
“If Darling were perspicacious enough to avoid such traps, he wouldn’t be a cat now.”
“You mean he’s not really a cat—he’s a man? Or a faerie, I mean?”
“Both. Anything else?”
“Why wasn’t the spell in the necklace nullified when I transformed it into armor?”
“Because you’re an amateur. You didn’t properly stabilize the spell so it would stay itself.”
“Oh.” How interesting. “Like your chamber pots. How do you do that?”
Rogue’s eyes gleamed with an acquisitive light. “I could teach you—for a price.”
“Sorry, I’m clearly already in debt up to my eyeballs.”
Rogue nipped my ear lobe lightly. “You’re stalling. Do we have anything else to ‘deal’ with, in your estimation?”
“Define flirting.”
“It was your own offer—you define it.”
I frowned at him. “I can’t think in this position.”
“That would be your problem.”
“Acting like you’re interested in someone…romantically.”
“I can accept that.” Rogue trailed his lips along my cheek. “I look forward to your interest in me.”
“How could you do it?” I whispered. “Send me to that…place.”
“That is not a question about Darling.”
