Page 30 of The Hunchback

My cheeks burned with embarrassment while tension drained from my shoulders. “I should have been gentler and less greedy,” I said sheepishly.

“Did you hear me complain? Do I look like I am now?” she gently chastised me. “You were better than anything I had ever fantasized for my first time. You were always meant to be the one for me.”

My throat tightened again with emotion as I struggled to comprehend how I had earned Esmeralda’s affection, she who had been created to be the mate of a god.

“My beautiful mate,” I whispered before brushing my lips against hers. “You must be starving. Let me feed you,” I said, silencing my reawakening desire.

Wrapping my arm around her shoulders, I tucked her against me, and she wrapped hers around my waist. Once in the dine-in kitchen, I settled her at the table before getting down to business. She offered to help, but I wouldn’t have it. After putting the fish steaks on the grill, I prepared some side dishes of stirred vegetables and roasted potatoes.

“How do you get all these ingredients?” Esmeralda asked, while munching on some nuts and berries I’d given her to nibble on until the meal was ready.

“Frollo,” I said matter-of-factly.

“Frollo buys your groceries?” Esmeralda exclaimed, her voice disbelieving.

I chuckled at the thought of the Praetor running such menial errands for me. “No,” I said, checking on the fish. “I give him a list of my needs, and he passes it off to the cook. Malina runs most of my errands and leaves them in the same location for me, near one of the hidden passages of the temple. That is also where she leaves my meals… or rather did when I still lived in the temple.”

“So Malina knows about you?” my woman asked.

I hesitated before shaking my head. “She knows of the gardener who lives in the temple. However, she has no idea I am a Fallen. I doubt she even knows my name. Frollo told her I was a Noletian hybrid.”

“Aah, clever!” Esmeralda said. “Half of them develop extreme photosensitivity in their early teenage years while having perfect night sight.”

“Correct. And that’s why I have a cloak for the few times I need to go into the temple during daylight,” I explained. “But, most of the time, I live on a reversed schedule than the rest of the population.”

I didn’t add that living at night made it easier than staring all day at the life I couldn’t partake in. And yet, that hadn’t stopped me from watching the population for hours in the early hours of the morning before finally seeking my bed, or in the late afternoon after rising.

“Frollo forbade the staff from seeking me out, stating that a few exposures to sunlight had left me badly scarred, which made me extremely self-conscious.”

“He has thought of everything,” Esmeralda said pensively.

I didn’t need to ask where her thoughts had wandered off to. The same questions that had plagued me earlier were now tormenting her. But in a tacit agreement, we didn’t delve into the subject just yet. After I finished preparing our meal, I served us each a plate.

“That smells wonderful, but it’s way too much food!” Esmeralda exclaimed at theverygenerous portion I’d given her.

I scratched sheepishly at the scales along my neck. “It’s early afternoon. You must be famished. I cannot allow my mate to starve.”

She burst out laughing and shook her head at me as if I were silly. “So, instead, you’ll stuff me until I get indigestion.”

I muttered something mostly unintelligible before apologizing for the lack of fancy tableware, which earned me another ‘don’t be silly’ kind of reaction. Despite her comment about the portion size, my woman dug into her food with a healthy appetite, moaning in delight after the first bite. She ended up devouring more than two-thirds of her plate. I couldn’t tell which one of us was the most surprised, but it pleased me she’d enjoyed something I’d made for her this much.

Sadly, our amicable and relaxed chatter as we ate ended too soon.

“I must return to the temple,” Esmeralda said with a somber tone.

“Why?” I asked, crestfallen. “Frollo will not return until tomorrow.”

“Right, but Malina will have sent food up for me,” my mate argued. “While she may not question me sleeping in late, she will grow worried—if not suspicious—if I don’t collect the heated food tray outside my room in the next hour or so. She’s already too well aware of my gargantuan morning appetite.”

“I see,” I said, schooling my features not to show how badly her words had crushed me. I’d foolishly imagined we’d spend an entire day together without fear of reprisal.

The commiserating look on her face told me I’d failed miserably at hiding my feelings. Rising to her feet, she circled around the table and settled on my lap.

“Don’t look so sad, my love,” Esmeralda said, rubbing her nose against mine before kissing my lips. “I’m only going to let them see me a few times in the next hour then ask not to be disturbed for the rest of the day. And then I’ll come right back to you.”

My heart soared at that news. As much as I hated parting from her even for a minute, one hour would allow me to prepare some romantic escapade for the two of us. I wanted us to enjoy as much of this day as possible before we had to tackle more difficult discussions.

“All right,” I said, unable to suppress my beaming smile.

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