He smiled against my temple before pulling away. “I’ll be here when you return. Now, go.”
“Yes, sir, Mr. Wolf.”
When he rewarded me with another smile, any nerves I had dissipated.
“Ready yet?” Rowan lounged against the windowsill, arms crossed and expression bored.
“Yep.” I approached him. “I take it you’ll be grabbing me like last time and jumping from the—”
Rowan grabbed me and jumped from the window.
The scream caught in my throat as we fell. He then scaled the wall of the inn and dashed across the roof with me on his back. Chilly air nipped at my cheeks, and I pushed my face into the back of his neck.
He shuddered.
“Cold?” I asked.
“No.” He slowed his pace as he glanced back at me. “I’m on fire.”
The heat of his gaze struck me to my core, turning my blood to liquid flames.
“Are you taking me somewhere private so you can have your wicked way with me?” I teased. Hoped, really.
“Guess you’ll have to wait and find out.”
“Have you met me? Patience isn’t really my thing.”
Rowan chuckled. “Stop talking. You’re distracting me. Unless you want me to drop you?”
“Don’t you dare.” I clung on tighter and squeezed his torso with my legs.
“You’re strong for such a little thing.” He slapped my left thigh. “Are these made of steel?”
“I’m not that much smaller than you. But if you wanna know the secret to my incredible strength…” I moved my mouth to his ear and whispered, “Holding on for dear life as a sexy thief steals me away.”
He chuckled again and stumbled.
I screeched and held on tighter.
“I think you’re going to constrict me to death,” Rowan said through his laughs. “There are worse ways to meet my end, I reckon. Death by your thighs will at least send me into the afterlife with a smile on my face. And a hard swell in the front of my trousers.”
I giggled so hard I snorted.
No longer in fear for my life, I relaxed my hold and looked at the sky. Thin clouds streaked across the moon, though light bled through them, joining the twinkling of the stars. As Rowan dashed from one building to the next, his scent of black cardamom joined the crispness in the air. I snuggled into his nape and breathed him in.
“That tickles,” he said.
“Sorry.” I made no effort to move. “You just smell good. I can’t get enough.”
Rowan’s breathing slightly elevated. That also could’ve been because he was leaping across rooftops. He had amazing stamina. I would’ve been dead by now. My gaze dropped to his feet.
Black swirled around his boots.
“Um. Rowan? What’s that?”
“Shadows,” he answered.
“Cool. Cool.” I watched the swirling intensify and crawl higher up his legs. “But what are they doing? More importantly, do they plan to eat me?”
