Page 47 of The Devil In Blue
Sometimes her pranks were close to going too far, but Elanor was an intense woman and Briar seemed to have learned to handle herself.
“What are you staring at?” she asked.
I’d been staring…
I hadn’t even realized.
“You,” I said.
The word just came out and I held my gaze steady, watching as my presence changed her. I’d been playing with Briar lately, seeing how far I could push her and what she would think of it. I liked how she bit her bottom lip to keep from smiling. I liked the way her cheeks grew pink and the way her pulse thrummed so loudly.
“Me?” she said, her tone entirely too flirtatious for the innocent act she always put on.
I narrowed my eyes at her. This was the first time she seemed to be playing along. The first time she was fighting back a little and gods it made my body respond. I almost felt guilty for it. When she showed up, she was a handful, always getting lost. I had to care for her and teach her like she was a child. But over the years, she developed her personality. Her voice. She matured and became a woman with questions. Opinions. Needs.
And holy heavens, the way she was looking at me at that moment sent heat trickling south. I cleared my throat, internally admitting that if she ever chose to play my game and make a move, I would be on my knees surrendering.
“I will make us something to eat,” I said, licking my tongue across my lips.
“Potatoes?” she said. “With cured meat? Perhaps some rosemary?”
“How did you know?”
“Maybe I was a fortune teller before. Maybe I had abilities like Elanor does. Like a witch.”
“She prefers to think she was an enchantress. She inherited some interesting traits when I made her, I will admit.”
“I prefer to tease her. She can be a real witch at times.” Her eyes dropped to my lips and that simple little shift in her expression made my pulse stutter. “Almost as much as I enjoy teasing you.”
“And how do you think you tease me?”
“Evidently by existing,” she chuckled. “You always look at me like you want to…” she trailed off but the suspense had my hands twitching to touch her.
“Want to what?” I whispered, leaning in closer.
The way her hair was twisted off her neck, leaving the soft, milky skin exposed, made heat swell in my belly. She smelled like honey, baked bread, and flowers and it was irresistible. Perhaps fate put her on my doorstep. For me. Because I found everything about her so wonderfully addicting. From her beauty to the bright way she saw a world that I’d lost hope in long ago, it was all so damn perfect.
I’d all but forgotten about the hunts since I found her. I’d closed the hole and I’d left the Labyrinth to the souls that wandered it. I wasn’t sure it was a good thing, but Briar made me forget the violence. The thirst for the slaughter. All of it.
“Want to…” she said, suddenly swiping her fingers across my cheek and smearing it with honey.
My lips parted with shock and I stilled, processing her assault. She spit out a laugh that she had tried desperately to contain and slapped her other hand over her mouth.
“You just left yourself so vulnerable,” she said, her voice muffled behind her palm. “I’m sorry. That’s for letting me feed those salty buns to poor Gordon.”
Reaching over, I slapped a hand into the flour piled on the rolling board and she stiffened.
“No. This is my favorite dress. You wouldn’t.”
I raised my hand and let my white palm hover over her. She shook her head, but instead of cowering, her eyes were challenging.
“Don’t,” she said.
“I’m very vengeful, Briar.”
“I’ll clean it off.”
“Not good enough.”
