Page 70 of Wingless Crow: Part 1

It amazed him that one young human female somehow managed to gain this much control over his body. But he didn’t really worry. After all, he’d been practicing self-restraint for quite some time now. He'd very much perfected it over the past few decades.

Sparrow had caught him off guard last time, but today, he was prepared. For one, he was fully dressed—a shirt, a vest, and a matching black coat with wide cuffs embroidered with silver rain clouds and sapphire raindrops. The embroidery was not only expensive but beautiful, and just because he didn’t share in the frivolities of the royal court, didn’t mean he had to completely give up on all beauty in his life.

All his buttons were closed, all laces laced. He had a feeling, he’d need a girdle for his groin, a chastity belt, a fucking chain to leash his cock for the next hour. But all he had was his good old self-control. It had served him well all his life. It better not betray him now.

He had the game table brought in from the outside terrace. The spring had been slow in coming. The weather was still too cold for a delicate thing like a human woman to have the lesson outside.

From Brebie’s daily reports, he knew Sparrow enjoyed desserts. He had a tray of the head chef’s finest creations placed on the stand next to the game table.

He felt prepared. Yet a knock on the door jolted him. He straightened the ruffled cuffs of his shirt. It had been a while since he’d received a woman in his rooms. Still, he shouldn’t be this frazzled.

“Come in!” he said, way too quickly.

Alcon poked his head in.

“High General, Lady Sparrow is here to see you.”

This time, he counted to three in his head before replying, so as not to sound too eager.

“Let her in.”

Sparrow appeared in his sitting room wearing an adorable smile on her face. Doubt seized him again, faced with her irresistible charm that, he'd bet his priceless sword, she had no idea she possessed.

“Good morning, High General.”

She looked like the sunshine he hadn’t seen in decades. Her bright-colored dress was printed with giant flowers that dwarfed her short stature. The style didn’t suit her, but she wasn’t the one ordering her clothes. King Tiane loved things loud and dramatic.

“Morning, Sparrow.” He congratulated himself on making his voice sound calm and even.

She was clutching a leather-bound journal in her hands.

“Thank you again for doing this. I’m so grateful—”

“Pastry?” He interrupted her by pointing at the dessert tray.

The last thing he needed was to listen to her expressing her gratitude for his transgressions. Frankly, he should have known better than to agree to her proposal. But for some reason, it pleased him to give in to this woman.

“Oh, sure. Thank you.” She shifted toward the tray. “I haven’t tried this one yet.” She took a bite-size tart topped with blue snowberry mousse and popped it into her mouth. “Mmm, it’s so good.”

She closed her eyes, savoring the pastry with a nearly orgasmic expression on her face. He made a mental note to stock up on those things before her every visit.

This girl was going to be the end of him.

And now he knew exactly what drew him to her—she was real. She ate with gusto, spoke her mind, and wasn't intimidated by people’s ranks or positions. At least, she clearly was not intimidated by him.

He’d watched Sparrow during the many performances put on for King Tiane. She was the only person in the room who held her breath in genuine appreciation, enjoying the music and the dances that the highborn of the royal court took for granted, including the king.

There was pure, innocent joy in Sparrow that Elaros had lost to overabundance and pretense. Seeing it in her felt like taking a drink of cool, clean water, and Voron couldn’t get enough of it.

Remembering his manners, he moved a chair away from the game table for her and shifted it slightly closer to the stand with the desserts.

“Have a seat. And have some more pastries. Feel free to eat them all.”

“Oh, no more. Thank you.” She laughed, sitting down. “I’m not like you guys. I have to watch what I eat.”

He paused before taking the seat across from her, wondering what exactly she meant by that.

She answered his questioning glance in that no-nonsense tone of hers, “Sugar makes humans fat, Voron. I’m already twice as wide as any of the court ladies. I wasn’t born with the fae beauty. The least I could do is try not to get any bigger.”

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