Page 69 of The Sinner's Bargain

Blue nibbled on her bottom lip but didn’t seem to have anything to say to that. So, I raised her fingers to my lips and kissed the knuckles.

“Still want that tea?” I asked her. “Or do you want to see my favorite spot in the house?”

My attempts to distract her paid off when the lines and creases surrounding her mouth and the center of her brows relaxed and she gave me a smile that made my stomach trip.

“Both.”

Her bold declaration brought a smile to my face. I clicked my tongue. “Both? You ask for too much.”

Blue chuckled and I resisted the urge to kiss that bowed mouth by squeezing her fingers threaded through mine and leading her to the kitchen.

I took her the long way. It was easier to go back through the hallway of portraits, but I had already upset her enough with my past. Plus, there was a whole section past the office I wanted to show her.

“What’s your favorite color?” I asked her as we walked. “You have to tell me that much,” I teased when she peered up at me. “You can tell a lot about a person based on their favorite color.”

Her eyebrows lifted in amusement. “Can you?”

“You can. If you know what to look for.”

Her eyes narrowed over her smiling mouth. “Is that so?”

I nodded. “It’s a scientific fact.”

She hummed softly. “Okay, what’s your favorite color?”

“Green. Obviously. The good shade like the color of the trees during a rainstorm.”

A laugh sputtered out of her. “And what does that say about you?”

“I’m loyal and dependable, and a hell of a kisser.”

Her cheeks darkened. “Is that so?”

“Scientific fact. So, what’s yours?”

“Purple. No shade preference. All of them.”

I hissed through my teeth. “A tough one. Regal and classy, soft, feminine, sweet,” my voice lowered, “beautiful.”

Blue blushed and dropped her gaze to our feet. “All that, huh?”

“Well, it’s not complete. There are follow up questions like what’s your favorite food?”

I kept the questions light. Little things that were seemingly useless. But Blue answered them around little fits of giggles that filled the corridors. The sound was the most addictive thing I’d ever heard. It made me want more the closer we came to the set of stairs and the ornate glass doors opening to the courtyard at the heart of the house.

Blue stilled at my side, her face a mask of wonder as I held the door open for her and let her through first.

The cool, night air swept into the square of space paved in smooth, wet stones and lined with clusters of bushes and trees overlooked by windows on all sides. The path cut down the middle to the twin set of doors on the other side.

“Oh, this is beautiful!” she murmured. “Is this your favorite place?”

I shook my head, reclaiming my hold on her hand and guiding her onto the path. “I wanted to show you the scenic route to the kitchen.”

I had lied to her more in the span of an hour then I had since she fell into my life. But these were necessary lies. They were — mostly — to protect her.

Ignoring the clench in my gut, I guided her across the courtyard with the gold light from the corridors inside illuminating our way. Blue tilted her face back to study the swirling smear of gray crowding the sky overhead and a solitary raindrop burst across her cheek.

Her snort of laughter rippled across the confined space. I turned to face her as she raised a hand to brush the moisture away.

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