Page 11 of Maddie

Maddie had only spent a little while with Alice, but already she wished the female’s role were reversed with Noah’s. Alice wouldn’t have been as much of a nuisance.

“We’re going to my house to make a hat.” She pulled her index finger and thumb across her lips. “Now put a sock in it.”

“What the fuck?Why? Actually, no. Spare me the illogic,” Noah said, rubbing his temples. “We’re going to make a hat, then what? Have a tea party?”

Maddie stopped and turned to him with a big smile on her face. “Precisely, my friend. Less talkie and more walkie.”

Noah glared but followed beside her, this time keeping his lips sealed. It was a good thing, too, because she didn’t want to have to threaten him with needle and thread. He wouldn’t find her teasing funny, but a part of her wanted to see the mortal’s reaction.

The red lanterns leading to her home grew distant, giving way to the darkness. If she hadn’t given Noah one of her elixirs, the trek home would’ve been unbearable. No beastly things stirred in the city this night—the werewolves must’ve gotten their fill, their appetites satiated. However, she did have her gun loaded and ready in the side of her boot.

Maddie and Noah slowed to a stop in front of her door. “How do you like my home?” Maddie sang. It had been a bit since she’d brought a human guest there. She’d been going to the mortal world or the donor compounds in Wonderland for her feasts. Since Ever had been gone, and while Maddie had been plotting to get Mouse out from the Ruby Heart Palace, she hadn’t wanted anyone to get too close in case Imogen and Rav tortured them to try and obtain any information about the White Queen.

“It’s lovely,” he answered sarcastically.

“Such a party pooper, you are.” Grinning, she unlocked the door, pushed it open, and waved him in as if he were attending a circus.

“Cut the theatrics.” He rolled his eyes, but she could’ve sworn his lips twitched. As his gaze roamed around the sitting room, a confused expression crossed his face. “What. The fuck. Is this?” He whirled to face her. “You have hatseverywhere.”

“Are you going to be surprised byeverything?” She stepped over a clump of fabric on the floor and picked up a bonnet from her chair to take a seat. “Yes, dear mortal. They aremine. You should try one. It would suit that inquisitive head of yours.”

The lack of torture devices was likely asurpriseto him too, but she kept a respectable distance, making sure he didn’t feel threatened. Noah furrowed his brow, his pulse slowing as he examined her home. She’d done her duty—he wasn’t frightened anymore. For now.

“So, this is your job? You make weird hats?” he asked.

“Hey now,” she whispered and pressed a finger to her lips. “They can hear you. You don’t want to hurt their feelings.”

“Whatever.” He shook his head and settled on the settee near the wall. “Is Alice going to be all right?”

Maddie truly didn’t know. She could be dead when they returned if her heart didn’t take well to the blood. The change from mortal to immortal wasn’t as easy as one might think. The human body was a very fickle, fickle thing.

“Let’s hope. Ferris will make sure she feeds regularly, which will help.” Maddie opened her cooler, the contents always cold courtesy of the special ice chests made in Wonderland. She fished out a blood bag and her teacup, then poured the red liquid in. Cold wasn’t the best, but it would do to avert her from the lovely smell flowing from Noah’s veins. This mortal’s unpleasant attitude clashed with his pleasant scent. His cedarwood smell enveloped her once more, sweet as a summer night.

“You weren’t kidding about a tea party, were you?” Noah’s nose wrinkled in disgust, but his eyes danced with curiosity.

“Nope.” She gestured behind her at a pail on the wooden table. “There’s water if you’re thirsty. I haven’t had a human guest here in a while, but I usually refill it just in case. Wouldn’t want you to dehydrate and create another problem for us.”

Not bouncing back with one of his ridiculous questions, he went and poured water into a teacup.

She lifted her own snack and drank the cold liquid down. A low moan escaped her mouth—it had lost some of its richness due to the chill, but the metallic notes hit her tastebuds just right. When she glanced up, Noah was studying her with an unreadable expression.

She took out a roll of tulle along with a spool of thread.

“You can sleep on the settee if you wish,” Maddie said. “I need to finish this fascinator for one of my clients before the morning.” She should’ve had it completed before leaving to retrieve Alice, but her thoughts had been a horse race circling her brain. Or more like a slow drawn-out song that would never end while waiting for night to fall.

Noah relaxed on the settee and took a sip of his water. “Not sure I’ll ever be able to sleep, to be honest.”

Maddie shrugged and picked up a pair of scissors and a sheet of polka dot felt. She then cut out a large circle and concentrated as she folded, stitched, tore, and looped.

After a while of getting lost in her creation, she glanced up to find Noah asleep, light snores drifting out from between his plump parted lips. Smiling to herself, she grabbed a bowler hat off the wall and placed it onto his head.There.Now he looks like a gentleman, even if he doesn’t act like a proper one. She then took the folded blanket beside him and draped it across his body, her eyes unintentionally sliding down his muscular form.

He was an unpleasant guest, but it didn’t mean she wouldn’t have manners. Maddie picked up her project once more and worked and worked until her fingers were tired and her lids shut.

A knock pounded at the door and Maddie jerked out of her seat, snatching a hatpin. Noah studied her hand where it gripped the metal, but he didn’t say a word.

“Stay quiet and act natural,” she whispered.

He bit his lower lip and nodded, his hands clenched into fists. Those human fists would do nothing to save him here.

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