Page 108 of Nightshade

“I see you’ve gotten an early start to training this morning,” I said, strolling up to him.

“Just trying to establish some discipline before all the careless frolicking sets in.”

“You should try it sometime. Careless frolicking. It significantly reduces the risk of curmudgeonism.”

“Curmudgeonism. Seems your vocabulary could use a bit of tweaking.”

“So could your attitude.”

“Is it your father who made you so sharp-witted?”

I chuckled at that, the tension in my stomach settling a bit. “My aunt, I suppose. She always told me never to let a comment slide without a proper rebuttal.”

“I see you’ve mastered her advice.”

“And you? Was it your father who passed along the snarkiness in you?”

The corner of his lip kicked up into a slight smile. “My mother. Like your aunt, few things escaped her sarcasm, when I was growing up.”

“She sounds wonderful. To me, anyway.”

“She was a rare woman.”

“Mine, too. I’m quite certain it was my mother’s unyielding sense of bullheadedness that attracted my scatterbrained father.”

“What man could resist a woman who refuses to give in?” The implication in his voice had my cheeks flaring again. Flirting with him felt like a dangerous game, and I was nowhere near experienced enough to match his wit.

“So. Shall we get to it, then?” I asked.

“Get to what?”

“Careless frolicking. I insist you partake. If for nothing else than to reinforce your hatred of it.”

“I’d rather not.” The bored expression on his face matched his tone.

“Ah. Too scared to cut loose. I get it.”

“You of all people should know mind games are exercises in futility.”

“Me of all people? What does that mean?”

His lips curved into an impossibly attractive smirk. “It means nothing. Go on. Show me this frolicking you do so well.”

The comment made me smile, and I pursed my lips for a whistle, which broke the dogs from their attentive stance. All three of them trotted over to me, a trick I’d taught them while out in the meadow. “I know this is going to sound foreign to you, but the first thing we do is relax. I don’t know what pressing matters occupy a man who runs a creepy cathedral, but it’s imperative that you set it all aside for this.”

“Consider my attention undivided.”

“Good. The next thing? Getting the dogs to chase you.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because it’s both terrifying and fun. Particularly with Fenrir, who likes to nip.”

I leaned forward and sprinted toward the woods.

The dogs barked, and the chase was on. Of course, I’d never keep too far ahead, but that wasn’t the point.

The point was, the three of them never tired of being ‘it’, and that made it all the more fun.