Page 63 of A Touch of Gold and Madness

He rose and took two long strides toward me until we stood mere inches apart. A dark smile and a promise danced in those blue eyes of his. I held my chin up as he dipped lower, meeting my determined gaze with his own. “You know I’m anything but small, Princess. You try to pretend like you don’t feel what’s between us, or maybe you’re just in denial with yourself. But it’s there.” Chrome’s smooth voice caressed me with dark sensuality, pulling tight at something in my core. Like a chord tugging me toward him. “It’s always been there. Since that day on the playground.”

The passion burned in his eyes, pinning me to the spot. The force of his presence, his energy, or perhaps it was some weird hybrid connection buzzing between us, robbed me of my breath.

Damn, he was so beautiful.

Warmth spread through my body, starting from my chest. My breaths became a little more ragged as I studied his tense body, seeming to fight the urge to close the short distance between us.

I really needed to get laid. Even just a meaningless roll in the sack. Nothing else. Too much tension had built up, causing me to feel things that weren’t wanted.

But were they really unwanted? The thought of his lips pressed to mine, his fingers gripping my waist…

It was obvious his close proximity affected me. I knew it; he knew it. But I couldn’t give him the satisfaction of vocally acknowledging it. With every last ounce of willpower, I shrugged, feigning indifference. “All I feel is exhaustion. So, let’s just fucking eat.”

Chrome paused, his eyes flaming with desire as his gaze raked over my body. I shivered, a heat burning deep in my stomach. “Don’t tempt me, little savage,” he growled, his eyes meeting mine as he bit his bottom lip. “I don’t think you can handle my appetite.”

It was as if the campfire had sucked all the oxygen from my lungs. My neck and face heated, my palms were sweating. But I enacted the stoic expression I’d trained my entire life to perfect. I rolled my eyes, “Please,get over yourself. I’m sure it’s nothing special.” I shoulder-checked him as I passed by, hoping I succeeded in hiding my overactive hormones. I was anything but calm on the inside, but he couldn’t know that.

To settle myself, I conjured the fading memory of Slate’s loving hands, and sensual mouth on my body. He’d always made me feel loved, wanted—something I doubted anyone else could ever make me feel.

I moved to work on plucking the turkey, giving Chrome a second to breathe from his little adventure in the woods. It gave me the space I needed to allow the feelings of guilt to settle in my heart. I shouldn’t, but I felt like I was betraying Slate, even a year and a half after his death.

Ugh. Fuck this.

Heat warmed my face, thawing my frozen insides. The flames from the campfire flicked through the air, holding me in a trance. I wondered if fire would be my element as an Elemental. It didn’t call to me, but at the moment, I cherished its life force.

Mixed hues of blue and purple painted the sky, casting a calm over our makeshift campsite as sunset approached. I kept my senses open for any intruders, but all was clear, at least for now.

Chrome was preparing the turkey he’d killed. He’d been at it for over an hour. I’d offered to help, but he’d refused, insisting I get the fire ready to roast it.

I was painfully starved. It’d been nearly three days since I’d last eaten. But I didn’t want to be in the way, so I sat huddled on the ground near the fire.

I learned long ago that I was different from others. My father’s outward treatment of me did me no favors. I supposed that was his goal: to keep me isolated.

Then Slate came along. We’d done everything we could to keep our relationship hidden from the king. I knew he wouldn’t allow it. And in the end, my father had gotten his way.

Slate had come into my life when I’d thought about crushing redfern into my coffee before school one morning. I’d hated myself and my entire existence. Everyone considered me too quiet, too unnerving. A burden. Too much. If someone was nice to me, it was because they wanted favor with my father, as if I held any sway with him.

Add in the daily beatings and the public humiliation, and it was no shocker that I believed everything my father had told me. I was nothing, just a placeholder. He’d tell me that since he was stuck with me, the least I could do was be a decent assassin so he could get something useful out of me. I’d always wanted to join the warriors, but he said that was for those worthy of it. Forest would tell me that I’d already disgraced his family name, he couldn’t have me disgracing the esteemed Guilds, too. So, I was to remain hidden away and monitored at all times—unless he needed me to make a public appearance for his own motives.

The crunch of Chrome’s steps on the dead leaves signaled his return, pulling me from my past reflected in the flames. A heavy thud punched the hard earth, making me jump. I glanced around and spotted a severed tree trunk sitting at my side.

“Sit.” Chrome gestured to the stump as he placed the pile of sliced, raw turkey meat onto one of his shirts that rested on the ground. “There are some sticks that I debarked and soaked in water that we can use as skewers.”

“Thanks,” I murmured, my stomach giving a painful rumble. When I saw he had two stumps, I stood and went to sit on the one he’d gestured toward.

Chrome nodded in acknowledgement, his hood draped over his head, blocking my view of his eyes. “There’s also turkey legs, of course.”

I nodded. “I could’ve helped.”

“I know, but you’re tired.” Chrome shrugged.

“And so are you,” I said, knowing he was brushing me off.

“Yeah, but working with my hands and using a blade is therapeutic for me,” he said, grabbing a stick and a raw piece of meat, and then piercing the stick through it. He repeated the action to the other one.

I watched, annoyance rising in me as he did it for me, too. “I’m capable of doing things on my own, you know. You don’t have to do everything.”

He raised his striking gaze to peer up through his thick, dark lashes. It held a gentleness to it that made me squirm and look away. “I didn’t do this because I thought you couldn’t help me. You’re very capable. I just know you have a lot to process and probably needed some time by yourself.” His voice was unnervingly soothing.

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