Page 172 of Mama Si's Paradise

Grey froze that same way the moment my lips touched his smooth cheek. He froze and his eyes closed and he smelledspicy. Very much like Grey.

“Why not?” he said, his eyes slightly bloodshot as he looked at my still burning lips. I moved away again, not entirely conscious about what I’d just done.

I shook my head. “Because it’s too much.” It waseverythingI’d ever wanted.

The piano was different; it waspartof my dream. This was the whole thing, and it was way,waytoo much.

I’d already learned that nothing really came for free.

“Fall,” he said, coming closer again, bringing his hand to my cheek. It was so warm and soft that it took all I had not to lean into him.

But I wanted to. My God, I really wanted to.

I didn’t fucking understand what was happening.

“Now I’mreallyready for bed.” And I wanted to sleep until the world was ready to make sense to me. Until I understood why I had this sudden urge to wrap my arms around his neck and lay my head on his chest.

It wasGrey.I should have known so much better than this.

He smiled at me, and though it was bitter, it could have been the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen. His fingertip slid down my cheeks slowly.

“Where were you tonight?” he suddenly asked, and my heart skipped a beat instantly, so he added, “I know you were outside, and it’s perfectly fine. I don’t need to know. But this Isle is dangerous. This castle hides so much in plain sight.”

If he only knew… “I was safe enough.”

Grey looked at me like he knew I was full of shit. “Just make sure you always are, especially when you’re alone. And especially when you’re alone with Valentine.”

With that, he turned for the doors, leaving me with another one of those strange twists in my gut.

“What about them?” I said when I walked out the room, and Grey closed the doors behind us fast as to not let the birds fly out.

“I’ll be back to put them in the cage in a bit,” he said.

I nodded. “I can find my way back to the fifth tower.”

But he narrowed his brows. “I would rather walk with you, if you don’t mind.”

“Okay,” I said because I didn’t have it in me to argue or to even try to make a run for it.

I didn’t have the energy to pretend I didn’t want to be near him for just a little while longer.

It was the way he spoke to me, I was sure of it. All this time I thought I knew exactly who he was because everyone said the same things about him, so I had no reason to suspect.But Grey had shown me a side of him when we were alone together that I hadn’t even imagined could exist—andthathad gotten to my head. It was just the mystery, the excitement, thereveal. I’d get over it by morning, especially after a good, long sleep.

“Goodnight,” I said when we reached the stairs of the fifth tower. Now it was Valentine’s territory, and Grey couldn’t come up with me.

“Goodnight, Fall,” he said waiting by the stairs with his head down and his hands behind his back.

I had no clue how to handle the strange instinct to kiss his cheek again, but thankfully I was able to ignore it and continued to walk upstairs, relieved that he hadn’t asked me more questions about where I was. Relieved that he’d just assumed I was outside the castle.

“I won’t feed them anymore, you know.”

I stopped just as I reached the first landing, Grey still by the stairs. “What?”

“The birds,” he said, looking up at me from under his lashes. And he wasgrinning.“I won’t feed them again. I won’t let them out of the cage.”

I narrowed my brows. “You’re joking.”

“I’m not. So, unless you want to go feed them yourself, I’m afraid they won’t survive for long.”

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