Page 113 of The Darkness Within Us

My eyes flit to his arms, so tight in his jacket sleeves. The way his abdomen bends with each stroke through the water. No one would ever guess he was younger than I. I only remember when I need something to tease him with.

“Wait, I’ve baked in the kitchens with Cook,” I say triumphantly as I remember that working at dough certainly must count. My arms are usually sore the next day.

“I didn’t know you cooked.”

“I bake. I… like sweets.”

“Anyone who says they don’t is a liar.”

“Quite so.”

After only a couple of minutes of rowing, we’ve reached the center. Eryx pulls up the oars and leans back on his hands in the boat as we drift.

“Well, you’ve got me here,” I say. “Alone. Without easy escape. Now what?”

“I suppose we talk.”

“The boat would make it difficult to do anything more.”

He smiles at the joke. It’s rewarding to see his lips turn up. So rare for him. “Then I suppose it’s a good thing I chose it. We’re not going to get distracted.”

“As if I’m helpless to your charms.”

He raises a single brow, as though to question that statement. “Sure you’re not, Miss Laudanum.”

“You’re not going to let that one go, are you?”

“It hurt me, Chrysantha. It’s hard to let it go.”

“I wasn’t ready to admit I liked you.”

“And now?”

“I still admit nothing.”

His smile grows. “It’s going to be awfully hard for us to make sure we’re on the same page if you don’t share anything.”

“Fine.” What’s the point in being all awkward when I’m lying through my teeth to get what I want? “I liked it. There, I said it.”

“Liked what?”

“When you first kissed me. It was a surprise, of course. I thought you hated me. Even more surprising was that I liked it, as I thought I hated you even more.”

“I never hated you. Well, maybe a little. Mostly I hated how easily you got under my skin. How much harder I had to work to keep the monster at bay when you were around.”

“Because I wouldn’t let you get away with your villainy.”

“It’s more than that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Everything about you unleashes him. From your biting words to your hateful looks. The first time I saw you, I barely kept him in check. Not only were you stunning, you held a knife to me.”

“It was a toothbrush.Youheld a knife tome!”

“Semantics.”

“Hardly.”

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