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She chuckled. “You’re the only person who saw anything but terror in those sketches.”
“Are they based on anything real or are they just from your imagination?”
“Bit of both, really.”
I nodded. “Our struggles can be our muses. And yet…” I trailed off while Cecil brought us our food.
Once I had my plates settled and had tasted my coffee, I forgot about the sketches and whatever I had to say about them.
But not Rose. I didn’t forget Rose.
Her elbow brushed mine while she dug into her pie. She retracted her arm politely without scooting her chair away. No effort was made to put more distance between us other than that. And it was a major relief to feel like someone wanted to be near me.
Confusion settled into my gut with my food. Strange how a woman could suddenly shift my perspective. But then again, I rarely spent any time around women. Most of them weren’t appealing. My only goal on the mountain had been survival and waiting for the right time to strike back against those who had made me suffer.
My father’s voice circled my brain,Avenge us, Matéo. Don’t forget us.
I blinked at my food. It wasn’t what I wanted anymore. Something else called to me, a deeply warped desire that had fused into my molecules ages ago. It fought with my wolf for attention while the woman at my right did the same. She wasn’t even doing anything specifically other than existing.
But somehow, it still worked. She made me curious.
And I wanted to discover everything I could about her before the night was over.
Chapter 2 - Rose
Don’t look at him. Don’t even think about him. Don’t bother returning his glances. He’s just a guy in a diner that looks hotter than every Motorcycle Weekly spread I’ve ever seen.
If the gods were nudging me to talk to this man, it wasn’t any louder than the clumsy way I handled myself next to him. Eating pie shouldn’t have been this messy, but I somehow managed to spill my milk, drop a precious piece of pie on the ground, and bump into him with my awkward elbows.
That’s what I get for sneaking pie somewhere else, I thought. I grabbed as many napkins from the dispenser as I could fit into my hand. Cecil looked sympathetic but mostly distracted by my handsome counter buddy.Charlotte would rip me a new one if she knew I was eating here instead of at the tavern.
But no matter what I did, Matéo wasn’t bothered. He wore a calm expression the entire time, almost amused by how things constantly changed. He seemed worse for wear, but that only made him more appealing, more mysterious. The scars on his face, his different-colored eyes, and the tattoos slithering over his tanned forearms screamed for me to ask for the stories behind each.
The curve of his muscles stole my attention next. When my thighs pinched together, a shameful ache followed that made me hug my bag harder to my body like I was protecting it. It was silly clutching it so hard when it was already created to never leave my body without my consent.
Spelled objects can hide feelings, right?I gulped while pushing my empty plate away from me.Well, at least that’s over. Now I have nothing else to mess up.
I folded my hands over my bag. I shrugged my shoulders. I fixed my position in my chair. Everything I did was supposed to look normal like I was just another woman sitting in a diner after midnight. Though the place was mostly empty, I still felt eyes on me, the kind of attention that made me prickle with anxiety.
When I looked up, I found Matéo staring at me. Those chiseled features should have been intimidating, but I wasn’t afraid of him.
I was afraid of how Ifeltabout him.
I swallowed hard. “Yes?”
“What?”
“You’re…” I flushed while running my fingers through my hair. Strands tangled around my knuckles, causing me to cringe.
Add that to the growing list of clumsy things I’ve done in a matter of twenty minutes.
Was there a world record for most embarrassing things done in a short time?
I coughed lightly into my hand and continued, “You’ve been staring at me for a while.”
“Have I?” He offered an apologetic smile. “I forget my manners. Living in the mountains does that to a wolf.”
“Mountains? Really?” I rested my elbow on the counter. My muscles relaxed, making it look more like I was a regular person instead of a mannequin who had just come alive. “Is it nice up there?”
