Page 20 of Stolen Threadwitch Bride
He’d called me pretty the first night. At least, I thought he had—I couldn’t work out a lie in his statement, though he’d said his people were masters at deception without lies. Callum used to call me beautiful, and although my altered hair colour had scared him away, it hadn’t changed my appearance much. Rose thought it was my power that had put him off; I was still “pretty as a picture” so she liked to say.
My chest tightened.Rose.
How far was I from her? How many miles between me and the one person in the world I loved—the closest thing I had to family? My fingers itched to sew, and my ears ached to hear one of her lewd jokes.
Wrapping my arms around the hind’s neck, I buried my face in her coarse fur. I would get home. Iwould.
If the fae suffered the same affliction as I did and was attracted to me, despite himself, maybe I could use that to my advantage.
Fae Wine
While the fae put our dinner plates in the cupboard that returned them clean, I dragged one chair closer to the other. I would’ve brought out the wine as well, but if he caught me going through the chests, he’d realise I was up to no good.
Instead, I threw off my coat, unfastened the top buttons of my shirt, and sat. I would have to make the drink seem like his idea.
When he turned from the cabinet, his brows shot up. He cocked his head, no doubt wondering why I’d deigned to come closer.
I’d planned to give him a fake smile, but the surprise on his face brought out a genuine one. “I want to talk to you. Will you sit?”
Eyes narrowed, he sauntered closer. Damn, could fae sense traps? It wasn’t as though I planned to hurt him, just… escape.
“You, talk tome?” The mocking smirk returned in full force, dimpling his cheek. “I’d forgotten what your voice sounded like. Indeed, I was beginning to wonder if I’d imagined you having one.”
He wasn’t going to make this easy on me, was he? I rolled my eyes and patted the arm of his chair. “You’re such an effusive conversationalist, I couldn’t get a word in edgeways.”
Chuckling, he sat. “Fair point.”
I leant towards him and stretched my legs until my feet were only a few inches from his.
The movement caught his attention and his gaze travelled down my thighs and calves. My skintight leggings didn’t leave much to the imagination, showing off my curves.
I managed to swallow back the sudden thick feeling in my throat before speaking, voice low. “I realised I haven’t been the best company… or very fair to you.” When his eyes met mine, I lowered my chin so I had to look up through my lashes.
Although the hair on my head was white, I still had dark eyebrows and lashes, and the latter were thick and long like Mama’s had been. Fluttering them had earned me and Rose free drinks on more than one occasion, despite my foreignness. There was something to be said for fae charm.
“I didn’t want to be taken, no, but”—I gave a sigh timed for maximum effect—“you said yourself that you were ordered by none other than yourqueento call in the Tithe. It was wrong of me to blame you.” The words scratched my throat, too close to “sorry.” Even if this was a necessary lie, I couldn’t bring myself to apologise to him. Instead, I smiled.
“It’s…” His broad chest rose and fell as his eyes closed for a beat. “This situation isn’t what either of us want.”
Saddled with a ”mere human.” No, he’d already made it clear how much hedidn’twant that.
I tilted my head in understanding. “Exactly. But we can try to make the best of it, can’t we? So, I’d like to propose a fresh start.” I raised my brows in question.
He held my gaze a long while. The fire sparked in his eyes, bringing out the flecks of pale violet and periwinkle blue. I couldn’t look away, but I also couldn’t remain still under that scrutiny and fidgeted to hide the shiver running through me.
At last, his mouth curved in a gentle smile, not even remotely mocking. Hells, if I hadn’t known better, I might’ve called it “shy” but I didn’t think him capable of “shy.”
“I would like that.” His voice was low and earnest as he inclined his head.
Gods, was that guilt twisting in my stomach?
I stamped it down. There was no space for guilt tonight. He was a deadly fae. He had stolen me. I was his prisoner. Remember. Remember. Remember.
He stood. “Let’s drink to that.”
Perfect. Just like it was his idea. I grinned. “Let’s.”
While he fetched glasses and a bottle, I undid another button, cleavage now on ample display.
