Page 177 of The Lands Defying
I tilt my head curiously. “Are you okay?” I ask, and his head snaps up to me.
Did he not even realize I was here?
Worried, I walk toward the table and notice him grabbing the wood in his hand, like he’s hiding it.
“Darius?”
His jaw ticks and he looks away from me, but he must have seen the concern in my eyes because he slowly opens his hand.
Getting closer, I round the table and step up beside him, looking down into his palm.
“I can’t do it like you,” he mutters. “I just keep taking off more chunks.”
Pulling a chair out, I sit next to him, and then I think better of it. Lifting his arm, I move it while I lift a leg. Knowing what I’m doing, he scoots back a little and helps me into his lap, an arm going around my waist.
I grab the wood and turn it over so the back of my hand is in his palm as he breathes into my neck. “I don’t think it’s bad at all,” I tell him, picking up the knife. “Can I show you?”
He nods against my neck, his hand curling around the one holding the wood and then I show him how I move the knife over it.
“You have to follow the grain, making sure there is no stuttering in the movement and getting it at just the right angle.” He listens intently as I show him a few times, and then I hand over the knife. “Try it.”
Placing the wood on his hand, I put my own hand on the back of his and go through his movements, giving advice here and there.
“It looked easy when I would see you do it,” he says, getting used to the glide of the knife.
“I’ve done it for years.” I lean back against him, making my power come to my fingertips as I still hold the back of his hand. “I’m still not great.”
He chuckles. “At least I can make out what you are carving,”
“And what areyoutrying to carve?” I feel his smirk against my neck.
“You will have to see.”
Fifty Two
Darius
She sleeps in her own bed for the first time in a long time. I made sure the room was prepared as I painstakingly placed every piece of furniture in here. The bed, the table, the dresser.
I didn’t let anyone else help me with this, and they wouldn’t dare go in her room in fear I would retaliate.
They know not to touch anything of hers, especially from me.
I also made my scent strong here, and she liked it instantly.
No. She loves it.
As soon as I brought her here after dinner, I don’t think she even realized how deep of a breath she took. How her eyes glazed or the small smile on her lips.
What this female does to me…fuck.
I stroke her hair, my chest expanding at the small, happy purr that leaves her parted lips.
I would give everything up for this creature that is mine.
A strong female.
An Heir.
