Page 87 of Blood Oath
“Whatever your beliefs are, sangfluir…we’re still yours,” the blood fae says quietly.
His words have a hidden meaning that I try not to read into. I don’t know what he suspects, but I can’t afford to let it distract me. I need to slip away within the next three hours and go hunt down Lykoudis before the deadline, so even if he starts to get an idea of who I am and what I’m here for, now is not the time to worry about it.
Forty minutes later, I sit at the kitchen island again, pushing my now-empty plate away. It’s almost annoying how good Baelfire is at cooking. He’s trying to impress me, and it’s working. For dinner, he made some kind of potato casserole dish, free of meat but hearty and satisfying. Silas eats beside me, and Crypt sits casually on one of the counters, where he appeared a few minutes ago from Limbo.
Everett also finished dinner, and he’s now scowling at something on his phone as he leans against a nearby counter. I’m still not sure why he’s here, but I’m sure he will be the one to mind the least when I make my getaway very soon.
“And now for dessert,” Bael says smugly, pulling out a tub of…white stuff.
He shovels it into some kind of edible dish, handing me the first one. Dubiously, I try the foreign dessert.
Oh.
So this is what love feels like.
“What is this? The nectar of the gods?” I ask, a grin breaking over my face before I can stop it.
They say nothing, and when I glance up, they’re all staring at me in confusion and amusement—even Everett.
“What do you mean? You said vanilla was your favorite,” Baelfire points out, laughing.
It takes me a moment to remember what he’s talking about. But then it hits me. Ice cream. This is ice cream. Duh, Maven. I should have figured that out sooner.
“Oh. Right.”
Too late. Silas tips his head and studies me far too intently, and I get the unnerving feeling that he knows more about me than he’s supposed to. “Tell the truth. This is your first time eating ice cream. Isn’t it?”
“Perhaps.” I take another bite, enjoying the way it melts in my mouth.
Everett scoffs. “What? It’s ice cream. Why haven’t you had it before, or at the very least seen it? Were you raised in a cult or something?”
When I don’t respond, the amusement drops away from their faces really damn fast. They have questions, and I can see that they’re about to start asking them, so I hold up a hand.
“Let it go.”
“Let it go? Fuck that. We don’t know anything about your past,” Baelfire argues, scowling as he practically tosses the scooper into the tub of ice cream. “Look, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that something doesn’t add up with you, Maven. I need to know more about my mate’s life before all this. Why the hell are you?—”
“I said drop it,” I snap, fixing him with a fierce look. “My past is none of your business. Don’t bring it up again.”
Baelfire scowls at me before finally looking away. “Fine. I’ll shut up about it for now, but only because I don’t want to spoil our romantic getaway.”
I almost choke on my next bite of ice cream. “Romantic? That’s what you think this is? You’re kidding.”
Everett snorts as if he agrees. I hadn’t even realized he was paying any attention.
“We’ll all return to Everbound tomorrow morning,” Silas says, studiously spinning an empty cone on the counter like a top. “Tell me. How do you want us to spend our last night here, Maven?”
Unbidden, that same sinfully tempting fantasy I had of them days ago comes to mind. Them surrounding me, whispering and groaning and worshipping my body. Only now, that fantasy includes…touching. All over. I want them all over me.
Oh, gods.
My stomach churns even as my thighs clench of their own accord, trying to stop that damn throbbing at my core. Baelfire’s head snaps up before his golden eyes turn molten. Shit. He can definitely scent what my thoughts just did to my body.
“Fuck, baby. How about we?—”
“Movie night,” Everett surprises us all by interrupting to suggest. “We can watch her favorite cheesy rom-com.”
“Cuddling optional but highly encouraged,” Baelfire adds, biting his lower lip and still not looking away from me.
