Page 63 of Final Shift
I swallowed hard. That sounded like a threat but also like something I very much wanted to see him try.
Ethan lifted a hand and took a piece of my hair in his hands. He rubbed it between his fingers. “Like silk,” he murmured.
My throat had gone dry. “It's not a good idea,” I whispered.
Ethan and I locked gazes. My heart pounded against my ribcage. His nostrils flared and he bent his head. The Lord was not as tall as the other Lords, but he was taller than me by at least five inches. “It is a good idea,” he whispered in my ear, his breath brushing against the outer shell of my ear.
“What do I need to promise you to get you to agree to this?”
I sighed. “Nothing.”
“You know I need your help.” His voice was soft, cajoling, designed to pluck at tender heartstrings.
I’d lost most of my tenderness in childhood, but manipulation was beneath Ethan.
I shook my head. “You might need help, but the help doesn't need to come from me.”
He caged me in between his arms. “I trust you.”
I laughed. “I could tell Evie exactly what’s going on and you can’t stop me.”
“You won’t.” He reached for my chin and tilted it so I’d be forced to meet his eyes.
“Says who?”
Ethan’s smile was heart stopping. “You’ve been keeping a lot of secrets from everyone, even Evie. You won’t tell her becauseyou know she’ll involve Rowan, which might harm me if he finds out what’s going on here.”
The fucker was right. “I don’t want to leave Rowan’s territory. I like it there.”
His eyes flickered. “You’ve never spent time in mine.” Ethan’s lips twitched. “Besides your brief foray into closet spying.”
I wouldn’t lower myself to respond to that dig.
“I have free access to his territory. My best friend is there. Rowan has offered me a shop, and I want to take him up on it. If I stay here, I won’t be able to open one or see Evie as much as I want to.”
Ethan sighed. “I’m not asking you to stay forever.”
Oh, if only. “But you’re asking me to stay awhile, maybe even months. My skills are rusty, and if you have no leads, I’m not sure how I’ll find any. I may need to start from scratch.”
Ethan’s lips thinned. “What if I offered you everything Rowan has?”
“You can’t offer me Evie.”
Sensing his defeat, Ethan stepped away. He scrubbed a hand over his jaw and stared outside where Evie was still communing with his lad. “How about three days a week?”
Compromising? Ethan?! Had the world suddenly screeched to a halt?
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Does it matter which three days?”
Ethan shook his head.
“Do they have to be consecutive?”
“They should be, yes.”
“Can I switch them up and come whatever three days I think are best each week?”
Ethan shrugged. “Sure.”
