Chapter 22
Chapter
Twenty-Two
MOIRA
With barely a greeting between Evie and the other Lord, she sank right to the ground and closed her eyes, slender fingers digging into the soil. When magic started flowing around her, Ethan pierced me with his dark gaze.
“It's cold outside. Come into the house.”
I hesitated. “You sure?”
His lips twitched. “You've already been inside, haven't you?”
I blinked at him. Oh fuck he knew. How the fuck did he know? “Uhhh,” I said eloquently. “No?”
Ethan tapped the side of his nose. “I didn't know who it was at first, you know.” He turned and started walking up to the house. “The scent was tantalizingly familiar, but I'd never really spoken to or had many dealings with you before. I didn't put the pieces together until a few months ago.”
Shit. Deny. Deny. Deny. “Huh. I have no idea what you're talking about.”
“Mmm.” He held the door open for me. I hesitated at the entrance.
“Better get inside. I smell those cookies inside your pocket.”
Against my better judgment, I stepped into the wolf's den.
“Your scent was all over the house,” Ethan remarked as he strode past me. “But I smelled you most in my bedroom.”
My cheeks flamed.
“I don't know how much you saw, but I hope you enjoyed the show.”
I hoped the floor opened up underneath me and swallowed me whole.
“You tried to hide your scent,” Ethan said, “but you were unsuccessful. I have tricks of my own, you know.”
He went to the fridge and pulled out an amber bottle. “Would you like some?”
I licked my lips. “I have no idea what that is.” My voice was hoarse. Too hoarse. Shit.
“Port. A friend of mine makes it.” He pulled two small shot glasses down from a cabinet and poured a thick, tawny colored liquid inside them.
I pulled the cookie container out of my pocket and opened it for him.
Ethan inhaled. “Oatmeal and chocolate.” He inhaled once more, a furrow to his brow. “The chocolate smells different.”
I looked at my feet. “I made it.”
A beat of silence. “From scratch?”
“There's a store that will sometimes have cacao pods.”
When I lifted my gaze, Ethan was staring at me. “You are a constant surprise.”
I wasn't sure if that was a compliment, so I stayed silent. Ethan's eyes crinkled at the edges, and I shoved my hands in my pockets to help me resist the urge to graze my fingers over those fine lines.
He pulled out a cookie and took a bite. I watched him carefully and noted the moment his expression changed. “Cacao pods,” he mused. “Are they hard to find?”
“Very.” In fact, I got super lucky to find the one she had. When I asked for more, the shop owner had shaken her head and said, “I get whatever they send me. Sometimes they come with the shipment; most times they don't.”
Ethan stared at the cookie. “You can't buy this stuff in a bag or something?”
“You can. It doesn't taste the same.”
“Hmm. These are amazing. I would like it very much if you made them again.”
I shrugged. “Depends on if I can find another cacao pod. This was the only one I've ever found.”
Ethan nodded and pushed the port over. “Take a bite of your cookie and take a sip of the port.”
I watched as he did the same. His eyes fluttered shut as his throat worked, and it took everything I had to clamp down on my visceral reaction.
I was already careless when Ethan was around, but he'd shown no urge to do anything else other than tease or taunt me.
I wanted more, and if he wasn't willing to give it to me, I'd do my best not to show him how much he affected me.
I focused on my cookie, savoring the sweet milk chocolate flavor exploding on my tongue.
When I took a sip of the port and swallowed, I gasped in surprise, an involuntary “mmmm,” coming from my throat.
The chocolate from the cookie mixed with the sweet taste of the port, a strange but delicious mix of berries and caramel, combined in the most divine taste.
Ethan stilled, his irises ringed in that strange blue and gold glow. Without a word, he took my glass and poured me a little more. “Do it again,” he demanded.
My throat went dry. “Ethan.”
“Drink, Moira.”
Gods. He was so sexy when he was being bossy. I took another sip, unable to keep my eyes from fluttering closer. “What is this?” I whispered. “It's so good.”
He went to pour me more, but I refused to give up my glass. “No. That bottle is old, and I bet this is hard to get. Save your stash for another day. I'll bring you more cookies.”
Ethan watched me, his eyes still glowing. “What is food and drink if you don't share?”
I felt the same way, but whatever that port was, it felt special. “You did share. More than you should have.” I tipped the rest of the port back and sighed when it was finished.
“Whoever your friend is, please send them my compliments. I've never tried my hand at winemaking, but I doubt I could ever duplicate this recipe.”
“I'll let them know.”
We stood watching each other. Ethan looked away first. “Have you changed your mind?”
He didn't need to clarify. “I don't think staying in your territory is a good idea.”
“And why not?” He tilted his head and studied me, his gaze traveling from my face to my neck, to the top of my chest. “Your collarbones are too prominent. Why aren't you eating?”
I stifled my annoyance. “Why are you so obsessed with my eating habits?”
“You're too thin. Beings like us constantly expend magic. Since your magic is altered, I don't think you're fueling your body enough to compensate.”
He wasn't wrong. I noticed the changes in the mirror, but I had no idea what to do about it.
I was eating, maybe not as much as I used to, but I also hadn't been as active as I used to be.
With Evie's shop closed, I had to content myself with baking and puttering around the house. “I eat when I'm hungry,” I grumbled.
He came around the counter and walked toward me. I thought he'd stop when he got within a few feet of me, but he kept coming. I took a step back and bumped into the counter. He came so close our chests almost touched. “If you lived on my territory, I would ensure you ate all the time.”
I swallowed hard. That sounded like a threat but also like something I very much wanted to see him try.
Ethan lifted a hand and took a piece of my hair in his hands. He rubbed it between his fingers. “Like silk,” he murmured.
My throat had gone dry. “It's not a good idea,” I whispered.
Ethan and I locked gazes. My heart pounded against my ribcage.
His nostrils flared and he bent his head.
The Lord was not as tall as the other Lords, but he was taller than me by at least five inches.
“It is a good idea,” he whispered in my ear, his breath brushing against the outer shell of my ear.
“What do I need to promise you to get you to agree to this?”
I sighed. “Nothing.”
“You know I need your help.” His voice was soft, cajoling, designed to pluck at tender heartstrings.
I’d lost most of my tenderness in childhood, but manipulation was beneath Ethan.
I shook my head. “You might need help, but the help doesn't need to come from me.”
He caged me in between his arms. “I trust you.”
I laughed. “I could tell Evie exactly what’s going on and you can’t stop me.”
“You won’t.” He reached for my chin and tilted it so I’d be forced to meet his eyes.
“Says who?”
Ethan’s smile was heart stopping. “You’ve been keeping a lot of secrets from everyone, even Evie. You won’t tell her because you know she’ll involve Rowan, which might harm me if he finds out what’s going on here.”
The fucker was right. “I don’t want to leave Rowan’s territory. I like it there.”
His eyes flickered. “You’ve never spent time in mine.” Ethan’s lips twitched. “Besides your brief foray into closet spying.”
I wouldn’t lower myself to respond to that dig.
“I have free access to his territory. My best friend is there. Rowan has offered me a shop, and I want to take him up on it. If I stay here, I won’t be able to open one or see Evie as much as I want to.”
Ethan sighed. “I’m not asking you to stay forever.”
Oh, if only. “But you’re asking me to stay awhile, maybe even months. My skills are rusty, and if you have no leads, I’m not sure how I’ll find any. I may need to start from scratch.”
Ethan’s lips thinned. “What if I offered you everything Rowan has?”
“You can’t offer me Evie.”
Sensing his defeat, Ethan stepped away. He scrubbed a hand over his jaw and stared outside where Evie was still communing with his lad. “How about three days a week?”
Compromising? Ethan?! Had the world suddenly screeched to a halt?
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Does it matter which three days?”
Ethan shook his head.
“Do they have to be consecutive?”
“They should be, yes.”
“Can I switch them up and come whatever three days I think are best each week?”
Ethan shrugged. “Sure.”
He really, really wanted me to do this. “Where will I stay?”
“I’ll have a Keep apartment ready for your use, stocked and ready to go.”
“And a salary?”
He spit out a number that made me blink a few times.
“For three days a week?” I gawked at him.
“Do you want more?”
“Why do you want me so badly for this? There must be a thousand other people more qualified.”
“Of course there are.”
I blinked at his quick agreement, ignoring the stab of hurt.
“But I don’t know any of those people.” He turned away and walked over to the window, watching Evie. “I don’t trust any of those people.”
“Ethan. You don’t trust me either. We don’t know each other.”
The side of his lip curled. “Don’t we? You trusted me when you were in an inebriated state. I trusted you to watch out for the one woman who might save us all.”
He spoke of the night when Evie claimed the Lords’ lands to purge the poison seeping in. Ethan had given me cashmere and brought me food while I sat with Evie as she worked, ensuring no one would take advantage of her vulnerability.
“I will do whatever makes you comfortable, Moira. Write out a contract. Put whatever you require in there. More than likely, I will agree to it all.” His fists clenched at his sides. “Evie is waking up. We won’t have much longer to speak freely.”
Ethan turned and studied me. “You remind me of someone. A person I trusted very much. Maybe you won’t be successful.” He shrugged. “Maybe this won’t work out. How will we know until we try?”
He was so serious about this it made me pause. Ethan would break my heart. I knew it. Maybe he knew it, too. But I wanted to help him. I just didn’t want to leave everything behind to do so.
Ethan exhaled and turned back to the window. “She’s getting up.”
“I’ll think about it,” I said softly. “That’s all I can promise.”
His shoulders slumped. “Thank you.”
Evie knocked on the back door and waved.