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Most of the night, I stared up at the ceiling and wondered what’d made this woman so damn hard. She’d been forged into a steel blade, and I was in awe of her. Honestly? She barely even needed me.
My hands were useless all over again. I hadn’t been able to save her court, and now I couldn’t do much to help her get it back. If she even wanted it back. Cerri seemed determined to run in the other direction.
Right now, that wasn’t my main concern. It should have been, but I needed to focus on keeping her alive, apparently. That’s why I stayed on the couch. I wasn’t going to let her out of my sight tonight, just in case she decided to try poisoning herself again.
Morning came faster than I expected. Sleep usually escaped me most nights. I should have been on guard. Instead, I slept peacefully through the night. When the first light of the new day stabbed through my eyelids, I recoiled.
With a groan, I sat up and threw my feet to the floor. Soft music poured from the kitchen. I cracked open an eye and peered towards the source of the sound. What I saw stole my breath away.
Soft light poured in through the open window over the sink. The golden glow grazed over Cerri’s plants and highlighted the flour drifting in the air. She stood with her back to the counter, her tongue between her lips while she read from an open book. It wasn’t a spell book. At least, I didn’t think so from the strawberry smear on her cheek and the flour on her pointed ear.
She wiped her free hand on the ruffled apron tied around her waist. The ruffles almost entirely obscured her ridiculously too small pajama shorts. My heart thumped. There was the soft woman I’d expected. She wasn’t a princess, but awife. At this point, I stared with my elbows planted on my knees.
When Cerri looked up from what she was doing, the corner of her mouth lifted in a sly grin. She raised a brow and tapped her temple.
“How’s your head? Hungover?”
I barely heard what she’d said. The blueberry stain on her lips captivated my attention. I caught myself staring, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away.
6
CERRI
Ilooked up over my cookbook at the man staring me down. His expression was unreadable, but his gaze remained intense. I tried not to squirm under his scrutiny. His opinion didn’t matter. I didn’t have to wipe anything off my face just to make myself presentable for him.
He raised a single brow like he’d just processed what I’d said. “Shouldn’t I ask you if you’re feeling all right? You’re the one who poisoned yourself last night.”
I waved it off. “Just another night in the James household. Besides, scotch is a kind of poison, too. And you drank it all.”
“If you want another bottle, I’ll grab you one later.” He stood and ventured into the kitchen.
The sun greeted him in a way that I didn’t expect. The dark-haired warrior clad in modern leather was kissed by the golden morning light. A glimmer sparkled along his high cheekbones. Layers of lilac and lavender were revealed in his pale eyes.
I quickly tore my gaze away from his beautiful face and studied the tattoos running up his arms. On one side, there was a black ink sword wrapped in vines that circled his thick forearm. The other arm bore a ball of flame that reached up towards the inside of his elbow. Inky black rings encircled his fingers, sometimes two or three to one finger.
I couldn’t help but wonder if they all had meaning behind them. What history did the warrior hide in his tattoos?
When his lavender eyes found mine, I couldn’t decipher the thoughts behind them. I could tell he was thinking aboutsomething, but this ancient fae man kept it all hidden behind a serene mask. In fact, the only expression I’d seen from him had been sarcasm and disappointment so far.
Perhaps his expressionless mask was a kind of tell. What had I done to disarm him and force him to hide behind such a self-preservation instinct? I glanced around at the mess of my kitchen. There was a stack of fresh pancakes and several bowls of fruit. The bowl of heavy cream waited to be whipped into fresh whipped cream.
“What?” I blurted out, confused.
Rhoan stepped back like I’d shocked him. He shook himself. “What do you mean,what?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. It was obvious, to me, at least.
Then Rhoan gestured to everything I’d accomplished. “Why go through all this effort for someone you’re going to kick to the curb in ten minutes? You could have microwaved a shitty frozen breakfast sandwich and sent me on my way.”
I bit my lip. Twice now, the man had saved my life. As much as I would have liked to kick him to the curb, I did feel like I owed him this much. It wasn’t even that big of a gift. I mean, he’d saved my life. Pancakes weren’t exactly on par with a life.
“Just shut up and eat,” I told him.
He laughed as I shoved a plate into his hand and turned my back to him. I had cream to whip.
Silence stretched uncomfortably through the room. I kept stealing glances at the man. He plucked a fresh cut strawberry from the bowl and popped it between his lips. The sight made something in my core clench tight.
I turned back to my bowl of whipped cream and worked furiously. To end the strange silence, I started talking. Anything that came to mind came tumbling out of my mouth.
