Page 84 of A Promise so Bold and Broken

It was so warm in here.

Dragging Merrick with her, she led them toward the back of the tavern, toward one of the empty benches that still stood around the lit fireplace, stopping only to allow Merrick to pick up his cup from the bar beside Raine and Kerym.

Once they got out, air traveled into her lungs again, and Lessia plopped herself down on the wood with a soft sigh.

When Merrick only hovered before her, she gave him a pointed look.

As he rolled his eyes and went to sit, she playfully snatched his glass out of his hand and took a large sip, grateful when the eerie heat continued to push any unpleasant emotions she might feel away.

It was nice not caring for once.

The alcohol was a distraction.

She knew that.

But she needed one right now.

Especially since she wouldn’t be able to afford them once they set off for Ellow.

Lessia released another breath as she gave the near-empty glass back, and her eyes once again snagged on the soft waves layering across Merrick’s leather-clad shoulders.

They looked so soft.

And now the moon played in them…

Or perhaps they played with the moon?

“What are you thinking about?” Merrick asked after he drained the rest of the glass.

“Whether I’m allowed to pet you.”

Her mouth fell open when she heard herself utter the words, but no heat crept up her cheeks, and she once again thanked the drink swirling inside her.

“You… you’re asking if you can pet me?” Merrick asked, and she knew she should have been worried about his low tone, but still, no sense of apprehension rippled across her skin.

“It’s just your hair looks so soft and shiny, and I thought it would be nice to pet,” she tried to explain.

A muscle in Merrick’s jaw ticked—in the same way it did before he contemplated slamming her into the ground when they trained—so when he said “Fine,” her brows nearly flew up to her hairline.

But she wasn’t about to risk him changing his mind by asking if he was sure, so instead, she lifted her hand and cautiously ran her fingers through the inviting strands on the side of his head.

She’d been right.

They were as soft as they were beautiful.

Like warm butter drifting through her fingers.

When she moved toward his neck, her fingertips brushed his scalp, and she stilled when a shiver went through him.

Peeking at him through her lashes, she realized Merrick had closed his eyes, those wrinkles usually twisting the skin between his brows nowhere to be seen.

Her heart began beating so hard she glanced down at her chest.

And when she looked back up…

Her entire body froze at the look in Merrick’s eyes.

The black was all-consuming, but it wasn’t like a great fall right into their depths.

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