Chapter 21 #2
Ethan focused on those cookies like a soldier focused on the battlefield, with intense concentration and attention to detail. Every bite was planned, but his enjoyment was obvious. He ate all three cookies slowly and in silence.
By the time he finished the last cookie, I was about to leap out of my skin and right on top of him. Keeping a stoic face and pretending I was completely unaffected required using all my skills.
“Those were delicious, Moira. Thank you.”
I passed the tin back over, even though I might die if this fucker tortured me by eating another cookie. “Want some more?”
Was that amusement sparkling in his eyes? I watched him warily.
“Maybe when I’m ready to leave. For now, I am sated.” He turned to me, spearing me with that beautiful dark gaze. “With food, at least.”
Holy fucking hell. Was Ethan flirting with me?
He looked away and exhaled a deep breath.
No. He wasn’t. What the hell was wrong with me?
“Where is Thorvin?” he asked.
If I lied, I suspected he would know. He was not as flippant as the other Lords. I pointed to another mound behind and to the left of me.
Ethan didn’t catch it at first, but when he did, he froze. Violence sparked over his face. “Do I dare ask why one of my Lords is in a grave?”
I stayed perfectly still, feeling like a mouse hiding from a predator. “Not a grave,” I said quietly. “A punishment.”
Ethan jerked his attention away from where Thorvin lay. “Elaborate,” he snapped.
“Thorvin delayed asking Evie for help until it was almost too late. When she arrived and saw his territory in this state—” I swept my hand across to encompass the destruction of the land, “she was understandably furious.”
Ethan’s granite jaw tightened. “And she thought that gave her the right to punish one of my Lords?”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed. “Evie is a goddess. She is very close to being Mother Earth, Gaia, whatever the hell you want to call her. It hurts her when the earth dies. Thorvin made a deliberate decision not to call her. So yes, she thought he deserved punishment.”
His irises ringed with magic the color of burnt gold touched by a tinge of that delicious, dark blue. “And what do you think?” His beast rode his voice, turning the already deep timbre into something rough and violent.
I thought I wanted to take him by the collar, push him to the ground, and do terrible things to him.
“I agree with her. He is responsible for everyone in this territory, and we know the magic can infect its inhabitants. If allowed to spread, it’s possible he would have harmed or even killed the people who rely on him to help them. ”
His fingers elongated into claws. I braced myself, waiting for him to leap toward me, but he turned away and stalked toward Thorvin’s makeshift shelter. When he went to his knees and shoved his claws into the ground, I rose and walked over.
“I wouldn’t do that,” I warned him.
A snarl rumbled in the back of his throat. He flashed his teeth at me, elongated canines gleaming in his mouth, and kept digging.
I watched him for a moment before trying again. “Ethan.”
“Do not dissuade me from this task, woman.”
Woman. Le swoon. “Evie could not release him from this cage even if she wanted to.”
His hands stilled. “What.”
“Danu holds him,” I said quietly. “Despite your blatant dislike of Evie, she has always been reasonable. From what I understand of Danu, she is…less so. This punishment was taken out of Evie’s hands the moment he went into the ground.”
Ethan swore under his breath and removed his hands from the dirt. “How long?”
“Another twenty-four hours,” I said.
“Will he be released alive?”
“From everything I know, yes.”
Ethan peered up at me. A smudge of dirt marred his perfect cheek, lending him a decidedly human and rumpled look. Yum.
“Will he be the same?”
I lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “Leaning no on that one, Ethan.”
At the flash of magic in his irises, I held up my hands. “Sometimes the lessons we learn are hard ones. You can see the evidence of his neglect. Perhaps it’s better if he comes back changed.”
He rose to his feet, not bothering to dust off his slacks. His knees and perfectly shined loafers were covered in icy mud.
Ethan Flint, why am I so obsessed with you?
The Lord looked to the horizon, where the sun was slowly beginning to set, then back at me. “You’re staying here?”
I nodded.
“It’s freezing out here.”
A tiny, hairline crack appeared in the stone surrounding my heart. “It is,” I agreed. “I brought a blanket.”
“And cookies.”
“And cookies,” I agreed.
“And nuts and fruit.”
“Yep. This shouldn’t go over two days, and I needed food that would keep.”
He shook his head. “I know you won’t agree, but I can stay with them.”
I stared at him.
He let out a sigh. “Fine.” Ethan fished his wallet out and handed me a heavy, embossed card with his name and a phone number stamped in silver foil across the middle. “Call me the moment he wakes up.”
I lifted an eyebrow.
Ethan rolled his eyes. “Please.”
Not waiting for my response, he stalked back over to the cookie tin, opened it back up, and took a handful of my shortbread.
He held a cookie up to his temple and did a little salute with it before turning to walk away. Just before he disappeared, he turned around, his irises ringed with magic.
“Oh, by the way, Moira?”
I tilted my head.
His eyes gleamed. “Wolves have an extremely acute sense of smell. I had no idea food was your…thing.”
A wicked grin slashed his face, sending my loins into overdrive before he disappeared in a mist of blue and gold.
Oh my gods. I’d forgotten. Not a single person had made me feel desire like he had in years. HOW THE FUCK COULD I FORGET WOLVES COULD SMELL SHIT LIKE ME BEING HORNY?
Maybe because I hadn’t been legitimately horny in probably ten years.
I let out a bloodcurdling scream of horror.
Several hours later, I awoke in the middle of a black night, stirred from a deep sleep by something unknown. My eyes focused immediately, spotting the large brown paper bag six inches away.
I froze, all my senses on high alert, but there was no one around for miles.
Wary, I pulled the bag closer and peered inside. A folded note lay on top of something that smelled delicious. My mouth watered as I unfolded the paper.
Thank you for the cookies. I hope these help ease the pain of a cold winter’s night.
Ethan’s bold signature was scrawled below.
Warmth filled me. If I ever saw him again, I’d probably die, but there was food in this bag. Hot, delicious smelling food. With no shame, I dug in to investigate.
Chicken fried steak, mac and cheese, and roasted broccoli, still hot, lay in the first container. The second held a massive slice of coconut cake. The third held banana pudding.
Gods. Was it possible to fall in love via food delivery?
I frowned as I fished around the still-not-empty bag. I pulled out a large, flexible parcel wrapped in brown paper and tied with a long string of blue twine, then a separate, smaller parcel wrapped in the same.
The first held a battery-operated electric blanket. The other was a blue cashmere cap with ear flaps and a stunning cashmere scarf in blue and gold.
I’d never look at the two colors the same again.
Ethan must have spent several hundred dollars on this.
I wrapped the scarf around my neck and pressed my nose into the deliciously soft fabric, inhaling Ethan’s unique, spicy scent.
No one else had handled this. There was the faint tang of several scents, older now and probably belonging to the people who’d made and packaged the item, but Ethan’s scent was the most prominent. The cap and blanket smelled the same.
Knowing he hadn’t outsourced this to a company or a personal assistant made another tiny hairline fracture around that stone surrounding my heart.
I scarfed down the food, moaning at how good it was, and snuggled up with the warm blanket when I was finished.
I’d have to get it dry-cleaned when everything was done.
Staying out in the wilderness wasn’t good for any fabric, but terrible for cashmere.
The thought of wiping away his scent bothered me, and I squirmed uncomfortably.
Falling in love with a Lord would be all kinds of dumb.
I was not dumb. All the foolishness inside of me had died many years ago. I was no longer that tender girl, the one made of curves and soft edges. Life had honed me until I was only teeth and claws and fury. There was no room in my heart anymore for something silly like love.
But I could definitely get behind a bad case of lust.
My eyes drifted shut, the image of Ethan emblazoned in my mind as sleep claimed me.