Page 46 of Marked By the Dark Lord
I didn’t get the joke.
“Are you ready for dessert?”
The question preempted further interrogation, making it obvious he was shutting down that particular avenue of conversation. Not for good, though. I wasn’t about to let that all slide. Something had happened to him, had hurt him in the past to drive him away, and I was determined to find out what.
“I could be convinced,” I said, pushing my dinner plate away from me, careful to keep my napkin under my plate so it didn’t blow away as the breeze picked up, pulling at his hair and mine.
We were sitting on a balcony high on the side of the Black Tower.Veryhigh. The people moving around the busy town below were like ants, each a tiny speck that could be crushed with a finger. It was quite the sight, doubly so because there wasno railing whatsoever, just a single layer of stone perhaps a foot high.
Korr’ok summoned our server. Apparently, dessert was platter-style, with little bits of everything. That sounded perfect. We ordered three. One for me, two for him. Fae apparently needed quite a lot of calories. Or calories mattered not at all to him. I wasn’t sure.
“Can I ask you something?”
“You just did.”
I rolled my eyes at the juvenile response as Korr’ok bobbed with silent laughter, his eyes twinkling with crimson light.
“Why me?” I asked. “Why a date? You aren’t telling me everything. I know that.”
He licked his lips, considering the question. “Truthfully, I have asked myself that same question ever since making the deal. I just … it was what I wanted. You intrigue me, Mila. Most humans are beyond my notice. Yet I have a hard time taking my attention away from you.”
“Ah, so this is an episode ofPeople Watching?” I asked, suddenly feeling like I was under a microscope, my every action judged.
“What? No,” he said, shaking his head. “But I don’t understand you. There’s something different. I can’t place it.”
“Great, now I’m a weirdo.”
“Aren’t we all?” he pointed out. “In our own way.”
I looked at his abnormally dark skin, horns, and of course, his eyes. “You might have a point there,” I admitted.
“Things have been … weird between us in a way I don’t understand,” he said. “When I kissed you that first time, it was so different compared to anything before. I don’t know how to explain it.”
I thought back to the kiss. “You mean that time you took advantage of the fact that I was backed into a cell the size of this table and couldn’t escape your clumsy attempts to plant your lips on mine? Is that the ‘kiss’ you’re referring to?”
Korr’ok grinned. “You know damned well it is. You can snark at me all you want, tiny witch, but I remember how your body reacted. That was not clumsy at all.”
I shrugged, trying to control myself. “If you say so. To me, I say it could have been better.”
“You want better?”
“Did my leg ‘pop’?” I challenged. “No. So, of course, I want better.”
“Leg pop? You want me to hurt your leg?” he seemed confused.
“No. Not that. I mean like this,” I said, standing up and turning so he could see as I lifted my right leg. “When a girl's leg does this, it means the kiss isgood.”
Korr’ok looked me up and down, eyeing the blood-red dress he’d found for me. Then he stood.
“I guess I’ll have to try again,” he rumbled.
“That’s not what I—”
My next words were stolen as he lifted me into the air, holding me over the edge of the balcony with both hands firmly around the small of my back. I gasped with fear as air rushed up, pulling at the hem of my dress, showing far too much leg to be considered classy.
“Put me down,” I said.
“Not until your leg pops,” he grinned, leaning just a bit more forward.
