Page 35 of A Vow of Shadows

“Enjoy your bath, Miss Fil’Owen.” Pushing off from the wall, I headed for the door, ready to put this entire day behind me.

“Wait!”

Against my better judgment, I did. She faced me now, though she didn’t meet my eyes as I turned. Her hands bunched the fabric of her skirt, eyes downcast as she wrung the material again and again. She’d captured her bottom lip between her teeth, and I had a sudden vision of my mouth replacing hers, of nipping her full lip and kissing away the pain.

I stifled a groan, cursing my body for preserving the worst parts of its humanity.

“I could use some assistance with my buttons.” She turned, displaying a long, tidy row of black buttons. “If you wouldn’t mind, oh mighty shepherd.”

My fingers flexed as I considered her request. It was innocent enough. Of course, the shadows could provide her all the assistance she needed, but I’d stayed this long. Part of me had been longing to touch her since I’d found her half asleep in the library.

She glanced over her shoulder when I didn’t immediately respond, and it was my turn to avert my gaze.

This was a mistake, but apparently, I was making a lot of those lately.

I crossed to her in the span of a breath. Brushing her hair over one shoulder, I was struck again by her intoxicating scent and resisted the desire to breathe in deeply. My hands trembled as I reached for the first of the delicate buttons. With a push of mythumb, it slipped free from its loop and I moved on to the next one.

I’d found a rhythm by the tenth button. At the twelfth, she inhaled a stuttering breath, and I wondered if she’d been holding hers like I had.

“I don’t suppose you’d see fit to tell me your name now,” she said and my fingers stilled.

“And why would I do that?”

Goosebumps rose where my breath met her exposed skin.

“Surely, you can't expect me to continue referring to you by your title after you've practically undressed me.” She laughed though her voice was high-pitched and breathy.

My hands fell away. “So that is your game.” I’d been a fool, but so had she. She’d taunted the monster. My arm snaked around her middle, pulling her flush against the hard evidence of my arousal. I nudged her head to one side with my cheek and inhaled up the length of her exposed neck. “If you think you haven’t driven me mad since the very moment we met, you are mistaken. If you think I haven’t wanted to strip you bare and learn all the places those shadows touch, you are mistaken. If it weren’t for that smart mouth of yours—” I broke off in a growl and stepped away, the distance between us like a cold shower. She swayed in the absence of my support, but I resisted the temptation to reach for her.

“What is so wrong with me knowing your name?” Confusion wrinkled the space between her brows, but it didn’t detract from her beauty.

The differences between us couldn’t have been greater. “It humanizes me. Never forget that I am a monster.”

“A monster wouldn’t be so affected by the souls he encounters. A monster would not have bargained with a crazy woman hailing him from a crossroads. I think you want to be the monster because then you don’t have to try to be a better person.”

“Better than waiting for someone else to solve my problems. The shadows can assist you with anything else you require.”

Before she had a chance to turn, I called my shadows to me and vanished into their cold embrace.

Chapter 26

Katrin

Icrumpled to the floor, trembling in a puddle of skirts but not from fear. My body was on fire. Every inch of me felt electric—alive. My heart beat wildly, and I panted for breath as if I’d run to my room and back. I touched the skin on my neck where I could still feel the ghost of his touch. Even the memory of his hard body pressing into mine made me shudder.

“So much for that,” I muttered into the now empty room. My attempt at nonchalance extended only as far as my words. It took several tries before I peeled myself off the floor. My legs were too shaky to stand, so I settled for sitting on the lip of the tub again.

After several deep breaths, I was able to stand. I couldn’t believe the effect he had on me. No, it wasn’t him, surely. It was being touched by someone. The same would be true of anyone willing to look beyond my shadows.

The steam battered my already flushed skin, and I hastened to complete the job the Ferrier had abandoned. Reaching behind my back, I swiftly unfastened the remaining buttons. I’d gottenmyself into the dress, I could get myself out, but I’d seen an opportunity and ran with it. Unfortunately, I’d pushed too far.

For a few minutes, the Ferrier had been different, not exactly forthcoming, but far more open than I’d known him to be. I thought I’d managed to chip away at some of the walls he’d built around himself, only for him to disappear again.

What was it about his name?

I froze, holding my dress up as I remembered where I was. The room might feel empty, but my two shadow guards lingered nearby. The Ferrier had mentioned that they were an extension of his power, but to what extent? Could he see me through them?

The idea seemed preposterous, but I couldn’t shake it.

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