Page 24 of Collected By the Crow

“It won’t happen again. Here.” He didn’t look at her as he paused his writing to push the microscope her way. “See the irregularity?”

She did. She immediately went to the samples and pulled out any that showed the same traits.

Although they fell into a comfortable pace side by side, she found herself glancing his way often. He showed no signs of being affected by their disagreement one way or another. What was he feeling? Anger? Hurt? Nothing at all? She couldn’t tell. He was a blur of limbs and a rictus of concentration. Unreadable. Her skin itched to offer up her body, just to see his true face again.

Chapter Fourteen

Cassandra

“I propose a challenge.” His gruff voice in the dead silence made Cassandra jump. He didn’t look up from his task. “We each start at opposite ends and work through them. Whoever finds the potion first, wins.”

“Dude. You’re so on.”

For the first time all day, he met her gaze. The ornery grin that shone there sent those damn moths in her belly into a frenzy.

With the temperature between them now lukewarm, she catapulted into her work groove. Time flew by and soon she was yawning, her fingers sore from dropping, squeezing, tightening, and other abuse her hands were used to.

“Tired, human? Do you forfeit?”

“Never!”

But after a few more strenuous squeezes of the dropper, she gently placed it down and walked away, wiping her brow with her wrist. She pulled off her gloves and dropped them in the waste bucket. Qadaire did the same, a tight smile on his lovely face.

“A break is needed.”

“Yes.” She held out a hand. “Truce?”

“For now.” He accepted her hand in his bottom right, his top right rising to run through his head feathers. She watched the movement, barely keeping her mouth closed at the flex of the bicep that connected to his upper pec. Running through the woods and handling huge bucks must be a decent workout, and it wasn’t like he ate a bunch of greasy hamburgers.

“I’m gonna take Zero out.”

“I’ll accompany you. I must go out as well.”

Qadaire spoke so softly, his words were swallowed by the ballroom. Cass realized what he meant belatedly and tried not to stumble.

Once outside, Qadaire sped off—literally, he was nothing but a blur—but didn’t go very far into the woods. By the light of the moon in the violet-blue sky, he was bent over a large wild turkey. She quickly turned away.

He was beside her a few moments later, just as she was about to take Zero back inside. She glanced at the spot he’d come from, where the turkey’s carcass was a mound between the trees.

“Care to join me for a visit to the greenhouse?”

“Sure.” She glanced around the grounds, trying to gauge how long of a walk it would be for Zero. Before she voiced her concern, Qadaire scooped Zero into his bottom arms. Behind him, Cass spotted a troupe of gray wolves stalking toward the fallen turkey.

“About earlier.” He projected clearly, like he’d spent all day mustering the courage to say these very words. “I must apologize for overstepping. I was worried, but most of all, I was impatient. As I said, it will not happen again.”

“Thank you, Q. That means a lot.”

She reached from her shawl to gently touch his bicep. He tensed. Cass pretended not to notice when he stumbled but recovered with an extra half-step.

She was grateful she’d snagged her shawl on the way out and marveled at how unaffected he seemed by the cold. They walked in silence until they reached a huge greenhouse, approximately the size of a neighborhood park. All the windows were full of life, with every shade of green and a spattering of yellows, purples, pinks. The smell of abundant life and tea tree oil swept her away.

“Holy damn, dude. What all do you grow in here?”

“Everything.” Q opened the door and set Zero down, who curled up in the corner of the building. “Dude.”

She cast him a shocked look, and he grinned. How did he make slang sound so good? It was weird coming from his mouth. Like it ought to be kissed from his lips—oh, crap. Damn intrusive thoughts.

“Do you know plants?” asked Qadaire as he deftly filled a watering can with his lower arms, using his uppers to fiddle with some type of watering system, it seemed.

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