Page 27 of The Cursed Kingdom

He pulls a metal tool off the shelf, one identical to the foot measurers that used to be available in shoe stores. I obediently place my hand in it, letting Samuel mess with the sliders until he’s decided on a size.

After a second, he puts the tool away and grabs a pair of gloves off one of the left shelves. I slip them on, still cringing over how skin-like they feel.

“How much are they?” I ask, noticing there are no price tags.

“Does it matter?”

I shrug. Guess not.

If Lill were here, she’d be laughing at me. Knowing her, she’d be curled up in the corner heaving with how hard she was laughing. She’s always had a flair for the dramatics.The bitch.

Samuel watches as I slip on the gloves, and only once they’re secure on my hands does he reach out and adjust them.

I have to admit they’re comfortable. I’m accustomed to winter or gardening gloves with thick fabric and scratchy seams, but these feel like a second skin. They mold to my fingers, and the material is so thin, I hardly feel like I have anything on. I feel like I could perform brain surgery with these bad boys on.

I guess when you live in a magic world and wear gloves every day, you manufacture ones that are damn near perfect.

Samuel adjusts the fabric around my wrists, his eyebrows furrowed as he fiddles.

“They’re a bit loose,” he says. “Human bones are thinner than ours, but I can’t afford to buy you tailored gloves.”

“They don’t feel loose to me at all,” I hurry to say. “They’re great.”

I feel guilty, like I’m taking advantage of this man. He’s desperate to touch me, desperate and longing to find his mate, and I’m making him buy me things first. It’s cruel.

“At least try on a smaller size,” Samuel says.

He grabs another pair off the shelf, which eventually turns into four, and after much convincing on my end, we finally settle on the original pair I tried on. Samuel obviously feels bad as he mutters about them not being a proper fit, which only worsens my budding guilt.

The gloves are comfortable, and I’m not trying to spend all this guy’s money. He’s been exceptionally kind to me, and if anything, it’sIwho oweshim.

He respected my personal space, answered my questions, and bought me food. Back in the human world, that would make him better than eighty percent of men I’ve had the displeasure of meeting. I’d probably take him home with me for this alone.

I’d be open to doing it now if I weren’t on a mission to save Lill. If this is how attentive Samuel is when picking out a pair of gloves, I can only imagine what he must be like in bed. It’s such a shame I’ll never know.

Unless he’s my mate.

I’m not counting on that.

“I appreciate this,” I say, following him to the register.

Samuel sinks his teeth into his bottom lip, and I fight back a smile when I notice his cheeks turning red. Is he blushing? That’s cute. He’s cute.

“Find everything you need?” the man behind the register asks.

He glances between me and Samuel with a bored expression.

“Yes,” Samuel says, setting the gloves on the counter.

The store clerk’s gaze drifts to my bare hands, and he stares at them for just a second longer than I’d like before he picks up the gloves.

“You want a skin match for these?”

A skin match?

Samuel peers at me out of the corner of the eye, and after a brief pause, he gives the clerk a curt nod. Are they going to match the gloves to my skin? That’s how everybody else wears them.

The clerk sets the gloves behind the counter, and I let out a quiet squeak when the magic surrounding me begins to move. It usually just floats through the air like dust, and I’m a little frightened as it begins to swirl.

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