Page 150 of Halfblood Deceived

She chuckled. “He doesn’t always break trees. But he felt the need to give me a demonstration of his strength a while ago.” She rolled her eyes. “I still felt bad for the poor tree though, so we, as in the wolf and I, have planted a few around.”

“That sounds, er, fun,” he said, tone uncertain.

“Very fun,” Aella confirmed. “Turns out his giant paws and the massive claws that go with them make for fantastic improvised shovels.”

“As long as you feel safe with the wolf,” Zeydan said, genuine concern on his beautiful face.

Aella took a deep breath. “Safer than I’ve ever felt with someone who’s not my sister or Kamilla.” She bit her lip, hesitating, but decided to be brave. “And you, of course.”

The smile that spread across Zeydan’s face was as beautiful as the sunrise. “I’m happy to be part of the club.”

Aella grinned. “It is rather exclusive, as you can see.”

“Indeed,” he agreed.

They came to a stop right in front of Diana’s home—mere yards away from where Aella met the wolf every night—waiting for the right moment to cross the street.

Zeydan didn’t let go of her hand, not even when they went up the few steps to the entrance. “So, I had fun.”

“So did I,” Aella confessed.

One side of his mouth tilted up. “Enough to do it again?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have a phone?”

Aella fished it out with her free hand from the inner pocket she’d sewn into her jeans. Whoever was in charge of designing jeans’ pocket size ought to be fired in her opinion.

Zeydan took out his phone from his much more reasonably sized pocket and tapped it against Aella’s twice. Both screens lit up. “Now we have each other’s numbers.”

“I’m afraid I’m not available for late-night texting,” Aella said. “I work until about 3 AM and then I spend time with my—er, the wolf. But I am around after 10 AM.”

He smiled. “What do you know? So am I.”

“Funny how our schedules match,” she mused.

“One of life’s lucky coincidences,” he agreed.

They stared at each other with barely contained grins.

Aella usually detested having to look into someone else’s eyeballs. Which was why Micah bruised her jaw often, forcing her to look at him.

No, she ordered herself firmly. He doesn’t belong here.

It was much easier than she thought to forget about anything that wasn’t Zeydan. His very green, warm gaze, the amused but kind expression on his face. And gods, his face. The line of his jaw, the curve of his lips, the straight arch of his nose and eyebrows. Aella’s pulse sped up. She half wished she could paint him.

Zeydan lifted a hand slowly, placing a loose strand of red hair behind Aella’s ear. His thumb traced her cheekbone, and she could feel her blood rush to that point of contact. A tiny part of her brain reminded her that he was a vampire and her blush could be tempting, but there was no hunger in his eyes, just something like… yearning.

Aella’s heart thumped harder as she realized that the tight sensation in her center was yearning, too. For what? She didn’t know. She had no words to describe the feeling that washed over her like sunlight and spring.

Her right hand seemed to have a mind of its own as it rose to Zeydan’s chest. His eyelids fell slightly and his breathing deepened. He angled his head lower, his breath ghosting over Aella’s lips—mint, chocolate, and something else she had no name for but suddenly wanted to taste.

Their noses brushed.

And then the door opened.

Aella and Zeydan both jumped apart and turned to regard Diana, as if caught doing something naughty.

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