Page 34 of Champion
Something… odd.
While his golden eyes hadn’t left me since he entered, the adoration in his gaze had waned. His perusal was more assessing and seemed somehow colder.
“Charick?”
He tilted his head, and the corners of his lips ticked upward. But even that seemed wrong.“Did everything go okay?” I asked. Perhaps the oddness of his demeanor was due to something that happened… or something he found out.
“Yes. Everything is fine.”
Charick took a step away from the door, and instinctively, I moved to the left, keeping the table and chairs between us. There was something wrong with how he spoke, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. He watched my movements curiously, and an expression flickered across the golden eyes that I couldn’t quite read.
“What took you so long?”
“The guard was late for our meeting.” The broad shoulders shrugged, definitely aCharickgesture, but the thing about his mouth….
“Did he have any new information?” I wanted to keep him talking, trying to pinpoint what seemed so strange to me.
“Nothing of consequence.” He took another step toward me, frowning when I moved to put the table squarely between us. His eyes flickered apathetically over the long blade lying on the tabletop.
I’d trained all my life to be a soldier. Trained to trust my instincts and recognize when my gut told me something was amiss. And at this moment, staring into a pair of golden eyes I didn’t quite recognize any longer, every instinct I had screamed that something was wrong. I just needed to figure out what.
“I missed you.” I took care to make my voice soft and sultry, which wasn’t hard. I had missed him.
“Yes.”
Charick took my words with a curt nod, without a flicker of emotion. The other day, I mentioned being worried when Charick took longer than expected while scouting. His grin at hearing of my concern was so broad I honestly worried he might hurt his face.
Something was definitely off.
“Tell me you missed me, too.” I insisted, gooseflesh pimpling my arms and neck.
“I missed you too.”
There was something in the way he said the words... something. Damn! Why couldn’t I figure this out?
He took another step, issuing a low hiss when I squared myself to the table, putting my hand within grabbing distance from the hilt of the blade.
“Tell me you love me.” I met his gaze, challenging.
Charick sighed with more frustration than affection. “I love you.”
Wrong. So wrong. The Charick I knew would feel elated to express those words to me. His eyes wouldn’t narrow in displeasure, and his mouth wouldn’t twist with….
Holy shit!
His mouth!
I took a staggered step backward, realization hit me like a slap. Charick wasn’t speaking English. The words I heard didn’t match up to his mouth movement. While his voice sounded the same, comprehension came through my translator. For a split second before the words formed in my head, I thought I detected a garbled hissing noise.
Something twisted painfully low in my gut. Why would Charick not speak English to me?
Unless it wasn’t Charick at all?
Oh God.
I needed to be sure.
“I love to hear you say it. Tell me you love me again.” I blinked my lashes, fighting against the tears and trying to hold a smile.
