Page 59 of Immortal Sins
“Geraldine?”
She stomps the ground impatiently.
“Bay?”
She rubs her nozzle on my hand.
“Alright, Bay it is.”
“You’re such a cliché,” Flynn says on a coarse whisper.
I jolt upward, spooked. “Fuck—you scared me. I thought I was alone.”
The Fae leans one shoulder against the neighbouring box, his arms crossed. “Well, I’m here, too. You’re not the only one who loves to ride.”
My brain struggles not to fall down the gutter. After the scene I witnessed yesterday, I’m rattled. Are we enemies, vying for the same treasure? Or allies by association, forever stuck with each other?
The dapple gray gelding’s coat drips with sweat, so I figure Flynn got up at the break of dawn.
He tucks his horse inside the box and feeds it fresh hay. “Or do I need to askher highnessfor her permission to exist?”
I haven’t been alone with him since our cross-realm adventure, but this sudden burst of ire catches me unguarded. “You’re in a mood.”
Does he resent me for Cole’s choice?
He goes through the motion, his white-blond hair longer on one side, the fresh cut expertly disheveled.
“I thought you and I had found common ground,” I say.
Flynn huffs. “You’ve barely said a word to me since we arrived.”
Fuck, he’s right. Between all the Erron drama, the Fae books, the scorching sex… I haven’t really spoken to Flynn in days. I choke on an apology, my instincts screaming at me not to show my underbelly to Flynn Verinos, even if I’m in the wrong.
I clip Bay in the alley to saddle her up.
When I turn around to get her bridle, Flynn looms, his face inches from mine. My shoulders hitch.
A white shirt sticks to his golden skin, and the V-neck of the Fae cotton allows me a glimpse of his tattoos and leaves his forearms bare. The ocean in his eyes rumbles with barely-veiled grievances, but for a moment, I think he’s about to lean down and kiss me.
“I knew you were there,” he breathes instead.
The heat of his body seeps through the space between us, and I curl my fists. “Err—What?”
A grin tugs at his lips, but the joy doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “I wanted you to see. We’re past false pretences, you and I.”
A hot breath flutters down my neck, and goosebumps freckle my chest.
He arches a brow. “Aren’t we?”
Bottom lip tucked between my teeth, I nod.
Flynn slips Bay’s bridle on with expert hands and throws a blanket over her back. “Cole thinks you’re the same as the other mortals. Boring and closed-minded. I think you’re better.”
The back-handed compliment throws me for a loop. The throaty drawl is both a dare and a confession. It’s intimate. I find myself entranced by the sight of him saddling up my horse, each confident move full of care.
Shivers scatter down my spine.
When he’s done, he smacks a fool-hardy kiss above my ear, fingers tangled in my curls. “I’ll be good and bide my time, but don’t pretend you haven’t thought about it.”
