Page 302 of Castings & Curses

“What for?” She doesn’t even bother to turn.

“Saving my life.”

“Don’t mention it.” She hesitates, then tilts her head to show me the luminescence of her sapphire eyes and the hint of a smile through the curtain of gold. “Glad you’re feeling better.” And off she goes.

My heart pounds in my chest. I’m alone again, and she left me wanting more. More of her presence, more of her sparse words. More of her. I nibble at my lower lip, deciding whether the urge I’m having is worth the risk. It probably isn’t, but I’ll never know unless I go for it. I leave the room running after her.

CHAPTER10

I findher in the kitchen. She’s having a drink of water by the sink, her stare lost in the garden outside the window.

“Still half-naked, I see,” she says through gulps without even glancing.

“How do you do that?” I sound a bit exasperated. That’s because I am. How the fuck does she know stuff without looking at me?

“Do what?”

For the first time in what seems like ever, she faces me. Only one semi-closed azure eye and the corner of her lips are visible through her cascade of blonde hair. As though she realizes it bugs me, she grabs the long locks away from her visage, heaving the heaviest sigh. She’s doing me a favor, and it’s costing her. She fixes her indifferent stare on me. I shiver, anticipation meeting desire with a jolt. Then I see it. A scar, crossing her left eyebrow and jaw. Three claws that miraculously spared the eye but ripped the flesh apart.

Taken aback, I stammer, but hold my gaze firm, if only a tad puzzled. “The... thing where you... you know stuff without even watching...”

She snorts. “You can say I’m innately observant.” She grins, the way a kid playing silly would do, her eyes suddenly wide and full of glee. “Or maybe I have eyes behind my back!” She explodes in laughter; genuine, unhindered bellows.

I’m not sure I get the joke, but I’m not gonna ask. My nerves tell me I should be terrified right now. I mean, she’s a freaking lunatic, apparently. But something in her smile at that very second makes me like her more. She looks like she’s needed that laugh for a long while.

As fast as it’s started, the laughter stops. Her stare widens as she realizes how she’s just shared something intimate with me, and she whirls around to hide the embarrassment reddening her cheeks. Too late, honey, I saw it.

A grin draws on my lips. I want to laugh, but she might take it the wrong way. I remain as serious as I can. “For real, though,” I resume. “Can we start over? If I’m gonna be staying here a while, it’d be nice to have your company.”

I half expect her to storm out of the kitchen, or rather, amble away in her laid-back, couldn’t-care-less attitude. She remains glued to the sink, her hands clenched on the shiny ceramic, her back tensing under the thin layer of her dusty pink cotton t-shirt.

Has my request upset her? I mean, sure, she seems to be a total hermit, but you’d think she’d welcome a bit of company now and then. Especially when said company doesn’t have a choice, is completely lost, and really needs human contact. My heartbeat bolts, my breathing shortens. I shouldn’t be making this about me, but here I am, going into panic mode at the thought of being rejected by her yet again.

“You’re right.”

She turns around ever so slowly. She enjoys the drama, this one. I do too, though my neck and shoulders hurt from the shock of her response. My breath remains locked in my chest, and I dare not release it for fear it’ll break the spell she’s cast with those three words.

“I am?” Awe and incredulity trickle through my words.

The corner of her lips shoots upward through the veil of hair covering her face again. “Don’t expect too much of me, though.” Her voice is suave, albeit tinged with bitterness. “I’m not good at people.” She rakes her hair back once more, uncovering her scar and her gorgeous eyes, though she keeps her stare settled on the table between us. “But I’m willing to make an effort for you.”

Her gaze suddenly fixes on me, piercing me through and through. She’s daring me to prove her right—about her misanthropy, her utter lack of social skills, her love of solitude. No. It’s something else. She wants me to show her what she’s missed, shut away from society, shunned, unloved, uncared-for, alone. I want to take her in my arms, answer her plea with all the resonance screaming in me. My heart and guts know this feeling all too well.

I’ve been used to being alone for way too long. I’m curvy and bodacious, and apparently, that’s enough to deserve to be the good friend or the one-night stand. Never the love interest. But that’s okay. I love myself the way I am now, and those who don’t dare go beyond my appearance are the losers. I want to tell her that, though I feel her loneliness and pain go deeper than falling short of society’s physical standard.

“Thank you,” I simply say. “You won’t regret it.”

Half a smile lingers on her lips, and the twinkle in her eyes rekindles.

“But maybe you will.”

CHAPTER11

Color me Disneyand play the corniest song describing in fluffy details how we’ve just spent three days getting to know each other and how I’m totally falling for the woman. She’s even taught me how to play chess! Chess! For the umpteenth time, I reel in my bed, utterly unable to find sleep because of all the excitement.

She’s also got the most amazing book collection on art and architecture. I gush and swoon just to think of it. I can’t believe she’s letting me revamp the place! Though come to think of it, I have no idea how she’s getting the paint and tools I need since we never go out and nobody comes close to the manor.

Meh, I’ve learned to roll with it. Food magically appears in the fridge and the pantry; full meals cover the table when it’s time to eat, even though nobody seems to cook; the bed is made every morning, and clean clothes fill the wardrobe with fresh fragrance. I’ve asked Bella many times, but she always deflects, taking me on an intellectual or artistic ride that has me forget about anything else.

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